With much mazal tov, I attained the status of “mechutan.” Before my oldest daughter’s wedding, I desperately needed 20,000 shekels. I went to a certain gemach, where I was given a form to sign detailing the rules of the gemach. I read the large and small print, and I had a question about ribbis. I asked my question to the head of the gemach, but he barely heard it. “Why are you asking questions? This gemach has existed for several years, and no one has ever had any problems.”
I saw there was no one to talk to, and I decided I would not take the loan. I don’t want to take a chance of transgressing the prohibition of ribbis. Then, just moments later, my phone rang. My friend asked how I was doing, and he told me, “There’s a Yid here who wants to donate money in honor of a wedding. How much do you need?” “Twenty-thousand shekels,” I responded.
Before long I received the entire sum that I needed, as a gift! Not a gemach or a loan, but a complete gift.
This happened immediately after I decided not to take a loan that involved a question of ribbis.
