{"id":13080,"date":"2025-08-29T17:50:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?p=13080"},"modified":"2025-08-29T17:50:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:50:41","slug":"why-does-the-torah-forbid-interest-on-loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-does-the-torah-forbid-interest-on-loans\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does the Torah Forbid Interest on Loans?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Why does the Torah forbid loans with interest (ribit<\/em>)? After all, it\u2019s the normal way of doing business, and people are fine with it. And why is the punishment so severe that Chazal (our Sages) tell us that someone who lends with interest won\u2019t merit techiyat hameitim<\/em> (resurrection of the dead)<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emulating Hashem\u2019s Ways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the 613 mitzvot is \u201cVehalachta bidrachav\u201d\u2014to walk in Hashem (God)\u2019s ways. Rambam (Hilchot De\u2019ot 1:5-6<\/a>) explains this to mean that we must emulate Hashem<\/a> in both our actions and our middot<\/em> (character traits). The Torah describes Hashem with many qualities\u2014compassion, patience, kindness, humility, etc.\u2014and it is our duty to mold our own character after those same traits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trait of Chanun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of these traits is chanun<\/em>. Chanun<\/em>, commonly translated as \u201cgracious,\u201d actually comes from the root chinam<\/em>, and reflects the quality of giving purely out of kindness, without expecting anything in return. Hashem treats us with boundless kindness and mercy, giving freely\u2014even to those who may not deserve it, and without asking for anything in return. So \u201cjust as He is chanun, so too you must be chanun\u201d<\/em> (Shabbat 133b<\/a>), giving freely, without expecting repayment or reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rivka’s Test of Kindness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In fact, this is the very quality Eliezer the servant of Avraham sought when testing Rivkah to see if she was worthy to become one of the Imahot <\/em>(Matriarchs of the Jewish Nation). He wished to test her quality of kindness, yet of all the acts he could have chosen, he asked her to do something that seemed unnecessary\u2014drawing water for his ten camels while his entourage of grown, capable men, who could have surely drawn the water with much greater ease than her, stood idly by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that was precisely the point. He wanted to see if Rivkah would give even when there was no real need\u2014simply out of the goodness of her heart. Her kindness wasn\u2019t transactional or strategic; it was chinam<\/em>. Like Hashem\u2019s trait of chanun<\/em>, it came from a pure desire to benefit others, making her the fitting candidate to be the forbearer of the Jewish nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the Torah Forbids Interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is why the Torah forbids interest. A loan to a fellow Jew in need is a basic form of chesed<\/a><\/em> (loving kindness). Turning an act of chesed <\/em>into a business deal corrupts the trait of selfless giving we are meant to embody. Even if the borrower wants to pay interest in order to secure a loan, it remains forbidden. In fact, the borrower himself is prohibited from paying it. Why? Because preserving this value is so important, it overrides even the borrower\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Link to Techiyat HaMeitim<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A person who lacks selflessness cannot merit techiyat hameitim<\/em>. In the World to Come, Hashem will bestow His boundless goodness entirely as a selfless gift, giving without receiving anything in return. To receive Hashem\u2019s selfless kindness, we must embody that same trait ourselves. One who collects interest falls short in this fundamental quality, as he is unwilling to give without expecting something in return, and therefore cannot merit enjoying Hashem\u2019s free, selfless goodness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In short: Lending with interest undermines the obligation to emulate Hashem\u2019s selfless kindness\u2014giving freely without expecting anything in return. To merit techiyat hameitim<\/em> and partake in Hashem\u2019s selfless giving, one must embody that same selflessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about the Jewish laws of interest with a TorahMate. Sign up for a weekly learning partner today!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have another question to ask a rabbi<\/a>? You can ask Rabbi Mintz your own question at asktherabbi@oorah.org<\/a>, or head to oorah.org\/asktherabbi\/<\/a> to watch the latest Q&As or join Ask the Rabbi Live, Tuesdays at 9PM ET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Why does the Torah forbid loans with interest (ribit)? 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