This week’s parsha contains the mitzvah of lending money to a fellow Jew. Even though the pasuk introducing this mitzvah (Shemos 22:24) begins with the words “Im Kesef Talveh...” which is normally translated “If you lend money...” this is one of the places in the Torah where the word “Im” does not mean “If”. It means “When”. There is, indeed, a positive Biblical mitzvah to lend money to your fellow Jew when he is in need.
It is not always easy to lend money, because a person can “make money with money.” It is therefore often hard to part with our money. I recently heard the following amazing story:
Reuven and Shimon are best friends, as close as brothers. Reuven went to Shimon and said “Shimon, I need to borrow $250,000. I need this money urgently. Otherwise, my business will collapse.”
Shimon hesitates. “Where am I supposed to get $250,000?” Reuven tells Shimon, “But Shimon, you told me just a couple of weeks ago that you finished paying off your house. Take out a new mortgage on your house.”
Shimon hesitated, but Reuven begged and pressed him for the loan. Shimon went home and consulted with his wife. She advised, “Go ask the Rav.”
The Rav told him, you are not actually obligated to do this, but if you trust the fellow then it would be a very big mitzvah to do it. Shimon went back to his friend and said, “Okay. I will do it.” He went to the bank and applied to take out a second mortgage on his house. Both these Jews live in Far Rockaway, N.Y.
The bank processed the paperwork and agreed to give Shimon a second mortgage, but they warned him that he lived in a flood plain and would not be eligible for the loan unless he took out flood insurance. Shimon took out flood insurance and received the mortgage. He lent Revuen the $250,000. Three weeks later, Shimon’s house was flooded by Hurricane Sandy... but he was covered because he took out the flood insurance.
Who did whom the favor?
