פרשת בהר תשי"ח - נשך

that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed Mine ordinances, hath walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

He that putteth not out his money on interest, Nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

And if thy brother be waxen poor, and his means fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a settler shall he live with thee.

Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

[So] that he shall live with you. It is a positive commandment to enable him to live, and from here we derive that we are commanded to save a life as a positive commandment. The Sages derived from here (v. 36): “Your brother shall live with you” — this was interpreted by Ben-Potiri: Two men who were traveling on their way [in the desert] and one of them had a flask of water. If he alone will drink it he will reach civilization, but if both of them drink they will both die. Ben Potiri derived that it is better they both should drink and die, and let one not see the death of his fellow; until Rabbi Akiva came and taught: “So that he shall live with you” — your life has precedence over your fellow man’s life. Interest or usury. According to the plain explanation it seems to me that “נשך (interest)” is when someone will lend one hundred shekalim on condition that the borrower gives him five shekalim per year. It is called נשך because in the end it is as a snake bites (נושך), which [causes a wound that] increasingly oozes. “תרבית (usury)” is when one will lend until a certain time and then the borrower will pay him and give him five shekalim in interest, and there is no other interest after that date. This does not bite, because it will not cost more than that amount, but it is usury. Therefore it continues, “You must not give (lend) him your money with interest, and usuriously you must not advance him your food,” because the custom was to lend money with interest — that he should pay such and such each year — but one would lend food until the harvest and then he would be paid from the borrower’s threshing-floor with an additional amount set in advance.

Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.

interest or usury The Oral Tradition defines these terms precisely [Bava Meṣi‘a 60b], and Scripture elaborates their meaning in the following verse. Usury, from “excessive” [e.g., Genesis 13:6], stems from a lamed-heh verb. The tav is extraneous, as in “deceit” [Zephaniah 3:13] and “perfect hatred” [Psalms 139:22]. The mem in usury is also extraneous, like the mem in “ornament” [Leviticus 26:1].

his fortune drops From “He shall not waver” [Psalms 112:6]. The mem is part of the triliteral root. Compare, “when I said, ‘my foot slips’ ” [Psalms 94:18].