Interest

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do not exact advance or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let your kin live by your side as such.

You shall not deduct interest from loans to your fellow Israelites, whether in money or food or anything else that can be deducted as interest;

Deuteronomy 23:20

has lent at advance interest, or exacted accrued interest—shall he live? He shall not live! If he has committed any of these abominations, he shall die; he has forfeited his life. Now suppose that he, in turn, has begotten a son who has seen all the sins that his father committed, but has taken heed and has not imitated them: He has not eaten upon the mountains or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; he has not defiled another man’s wife; he has wronged no one at all; he has not seized a pledge or taken anything by robbery…

Ezekiel 18:13-17

who has never lent money at interest,
or accepted a bribe against the innocent.
The man who acts thus shall never be shaken.

Psalms 15:5

but you may deduct interest from loans to foreigners. Do not deduct interest from loans to your fellow Israelites, so that your God יהוה may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

Deuteronomy 23:21

“When a person presents a meal offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of high quality flour; he shall pour oil upon it, and place frankincense on it” (Leviticus 2:1).
“When a person presents a meal offering,” Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “A handful of tranquility is better than two handfuls of toil and herding wind [ureut ruaḥ]” (Ecclesiastes 4:6). One who studies two orders and is fluent in them is better than one who studies halakhot but is not fluent in them. Rather, ureut ruaḥ, his desire [reutei] is to be called a master of halakhot…

Vayikra Rabbah 3:1

(Devarim 23:21) "To the stranger shall you give interest, but to your brother shall you not give interest": "to the stranger shall you give interest" — a positive commandment; "but to your brother shall you not give interest — a negative commandment. R. Gamliel says: What is the intent of "but to your brother shall you not give interest"? It is already written (Ibid. 20) "You shall not give interest to your brother" — There is antecedent interest and supervening interest. How so? If he thought to borrow from him and sent him (a gift), thinking "So that he lend me…

Sifrei Devarim 263:1-3

And Shmuel said: In accordance with whose opinion is this baraita, which permits the practice if the borrower is in possession of such produce? It is in accordance with that of Rabbi Yehuda, who said that uncertain interest, a transaction that may or may not result in the payment of interest, is permitted. Rabbi Yehuda holds that if at the time of the loan it was not certain that the agreement would result in the paying of interest, then even if it is so that if specific circumstances were to develop there would be interest paid according…

Bava Metzia 63a:8-63b:11

נשך is what is called in Rabbinical Hebrew רבית (from רבה to increase). It is called נשך “biting”, because it resembles the bite of a snake: it bites, inflicting a small wound in a person’s foot which he does not feel at first, but all at once it swells and distends the whole body up to the top of his head. So it is with interest: at first one does not feel the drain it makes on him and it remains unnoticed until the interest mounts up and suddenly makes the person lose a big fortune (Exodus Rabbah 31:6).

Rashi on Exodus 22:24:5

“You shall not be as a creditor to him.” If you lent to him, do not pressure him. If he has a field or a vineyard, do not say to him: ‘Take a maneh, invest it in business, and write a writ designating your field or your vineyard to guarantee repayment to me.’ The next day, he will lose his business investment and you will repossess his field or his vineyard. Therefore, it is written: “You shall not be as a creditor to him.” From here you learn that anyone who takes interest is not God-fearing…

Shemot Rabbah 31:6

“He neither gives his money with interest”; meaning he does not lend money with interest even to a gentile, which is permitted by Torah law.

Makkot 24a:13

“What is increase?” It was stated: A Jew who lent to another Jew with interest can collect neither principal nor interest, the words of Rebbi Meïr. But the Sages say, he may collect the capital but not the interest. It is written: “Your money you shall not give him by biting.” Not only money by biting and food by increase. From where increase in money and biting in food? The verse says, “do not take from him biting and increase,” it brackets biting with increase and increase with biting. Since biting refers to money, increase also refers to money…

Jerusalem Talmud Bava Metzia 5:1:3

The Sages taught in a baraita: The verse states: “You shall not give him your money with neshekh and with marbit you shall not give him your food” (Leviticus 25:37). I have derived only that there is a prohibition of neshekh for a loan of money and a prohibition of ribit for a loan of food. From where is it derived that there is neshekh with regard to a loan of food as well? The baraita answers: A different verse states: “You shall not lend with interest…

Bava Metzia 60b:19-61a:3

(Devarim 23:20) "You shall not give interest to your brother": This tells me only of the borrower (that he should not give interest.) Whence do I derive (the same for) the lender (that he should not take interest)? From (Vayikra 25:36) "You shall not take from him interest." (Vayikra 25:37: "Your money you shall not give him on interest, and on increase you shall not give your food."): From "your money," I derive: your money, but not that of others (i.e., gentiles); "your food," but not that of others…

Sifrei Devarim 262:1-2

§ The mishna teaches: And which is tarbit? It is the case of one who enters into a transaction that yields an increase in the produce beyond his investment. How so? For example, a case where one acquired wheat from another at the price of one kor of wheat for one gold dinar, with the wheat to be supplied at a later date, and such was the market price of wheat at the time he acquired it. The price of one kor of wheat then increased and stood at thirty dinars…

Bava Metzia 61b:12-18

And with interest and usury, there is a negative commandment - as it is stated (Leviticus 25:36), “Do not exact from him usury or accrued interest, but fear your God” - and it is rectified by a positive commandment, as it is stated, (Leviticus 25:36) “let him live by your side as your kinsman.” Its explanation is, if you have taken interest or usury from him, surely return it to your brother, in order that he may live with you. And his punishment is very weighty - so long as he does not fix that which is crooked, he does not come to the resurrection of the dead, as it is stated (Ezekiel 18:13)…

Sha'arei Teshuvah 3:25

If thou lend money to any of my people (Exod. 22:24). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: He that putteth not out his money on interest (Ps. 15:5). Come and observe that every wealthy man who gives charity to the needy and does not lend out his money on interest is considered to have fulfilled all the commandments, as it is said: He that doeth these things shall never be moved (ibid.). Who was one such person? Obadiah, the wealthy overseer of Ahab’s household, as it is said: And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household…

Midrash Tanchuma, Mishpatim 9:1-2

GEMARA: It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: From where is it derived with regard to one who is owed one hundred dinars by another, and the borrower is not accustomed to greeting that lender, that it is prohibited to start greeting him after being granted the loan? The verse states: “Interest of any matter [davar] that is lent with interest” (Deuteronomy 23:20), which can also be read as indicating that even speech [dibbur] can be prohibited as interest…

Bava Metzia 75b:5-7

Rav Adda bar Ahava teaches that statement of Rami bar Ḥama cited above with regard to this baraita: If their father left them money that he obtained by taking interest, which is prohibited, even if they are aware that the money is from interest, they are not obligated to return the money to the debtor who paid it. Rami bar Ḥama said: That is to say that the domain of an heir is comparable to the domain of a purchaser, and because the money has changed domains, the heirs have acquired it…

Bava Kamma 112a:2-3

Another matter, “to the poor who is with you,” the poor man is not with you, but rather, he is with Me. Likewise, David said: “For You rescue the poor people” (Psalms 18:28). The attributes of the Holy One blessed be He are not like the attribute of mankind. The attribute of mankind is that if someone is wealthy and he has a poor relative, he does not acknowledge him. He sees his relative and hides from him because he is embarrassed to converse with him because he is poor. Likewise Solomon says: “All the brethren of the poor hate him” (Proverbs 19:7)…

Shemot Rabbah 31:13

Relatedראו גם

Laws of Interest on Loans and in Commerce

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