Bava Metzia 71a — the Talmud in English

Rav Hiyya, son of Rav Huna, said: It was necessary only

the Mishna did not intend to permit lending to a gentile at interest in every circumstance

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for his livelihood,

so that the Israelite can subsist; but beyond this it is forbidden, so that he should not come to the prohibition of interest with an Israelite.

Ravina said

to resolve it

:

Here,

we are dealing with Torah scholars; for what reason did the Sages decree

concerning the interest of a gentile

lest he learn

the Israelite

from his deeds? And since he is a Torah scholar, he will not learn from his deeds.

There are those who teach this statement of Rav Huna with regard to that which Rav Yosef taught

[There are those who taught the words of Rav Huna stated above as an interpretation of the beraita of Rav Yosef]:

It is written: "

When you lend money to My people, to the poor man

with you,"

and the beraita expounds:

The phrase “My people” was stated in order to teach:

My people

[Israel]

and a gentile

who came to borrow from you,

My people comes first

it is a mitzva to lend to an Israelite before a gentile. "

As for “the poor man,” it was stated for this reason":

a poor man and a wealthy man

who came to borrow

— the poor man comes first.

And “with you” was stated for this reason, to teach:

your poor

[your poor relatives, who are “with you”]

and the poor of your city: your poor come first.

And likewise to teach:

the poor of your city —

who are more “with you” -

and the poor of another city: the poor of your city come first.

And Rav Huna came to interpret this beraita, for

the master said

in the beraita:

My people and a gentile: My people comes first,

and this is difficult:

Is it obvious

and why were we required to learn it from a verse!?

And

Rav Nahman said: Huna said to me

to interpret it:

It was necessary

for the beraita to teach us only

that even when it is to a gentile at interest and to an Israelite without interest,

you must give precedence to lending to the Israelite, even though in lending to the gentile you have profit from the interest.

It was taught: Rabbi Yosei said:

Come and see the blindness of those who lend at interest

[how blind they are]:

For when

a person calls his fellow "

wicked,"

this one whom he called so

goes down with him

— with the one who called him “wicked” —

to his life,

quarreling with him as though he had struck him and as though he had come to kill him —

And

if

they —

those who lend at interest —

bring witnesses and a scribe

[a writer]

and a quill and ink

in order to write the document,

and write and sign

in it:

“So-and-so” —

the lender —

“denied the God of Israel,”

for he lent to an Israelite at interest, and this is much more than calling him “wicked,” yet they do not take heed of this.

It was taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:

Anyone who has money and lends it without interest,

concerning him the verse says: "

See the Mahar"ם Schiff.

He did not give his money at interest, and a bribe against the innocent he did not take; he who does these things

shall never be moved" —

From this you learn

from what the verse said about one who lends without interest, that he “shall not be moved,”

that everyone who lends at interest has his property shaken,

for from the implication of the negative — “he who does these things shall not be moved” — you hear the positive.

And we object:

But we see that those who do not lend at interest also

nevertheless

are shaken

[yet we see people who lend without interest and nevertheless are shaken], whereas the verse says of them “he shall not be moved”!

He said

he resolved it:

Rabbi Elazar: These

those who lend without interest

are shaken and

again

rise,

as the verse says, “shall never be moved,” which implies: even if he is shaken, this will not be an everlasting shaking; rather, he is shaken and then rises again.

But these —

those who lend at interest —

are shaken, and

again

do not rise.

The Gemara further brings an interpretation of another verse connected with the matter stated above:

It is written: "

Why

[Hashem]

do You look

[at]

the treacherous

[this was said concerning Nebuchadnezzar; and]

remain silent when the wicked swallows one more righteous than he

[for Nebuchadnezzar blinded King Zedekiah’s eyes]":

Rav Huna said:

One more righteous than he

[more righteous than the wicked]

the wicked swallows,

but

a completely righteous person he does not swallow,

for even if he is shaken, he returns and rises.

It was taught: Rabbi says:

The righteous convert mentioned

in the Torah

with regard to a sale

[of a slave, as it will explain],

and the resident convert mentioned

in the Torah

with regard to interest — I do not know what it is,

that is, there is a difficulty concerning both of them, and the Gemara explains it as it proceeds.

And the Gemara explains:

The righteous convert mentioned with regard to a sale,

which was difficult to Rabbi, means:

We learned in a beraita: Come and see how severe is the dust of the Sabbatical year: a person conducts business with Sabbatical-year produce, and in the end he sells his movable property, as it is stated: “In this year of the Jubilee you shall return, every man, to his possession,” and it is written [nearby]: “And when you sell a sale to your fellow, or acquire from the hand of your fellow,” something acquired from hand to hand ... If it did not come into his hand [that is, he did not repent], in the end he sells himself,

as it is written

[Leviticus 25:39]: "

And when your brother becomes poor with you and is sold to you,"

and not to you

he shall be sold; that is, if it did not come into your hand, until he is sold not to you,

but to a convert, as it is stated

[verse 47]: “And when the hand of a convert and a resident with you attains wealth, and your brother becomes poor with him, and he is sold”

to a convert

; and not to a righteous convert, but

if he did not come into his hand, he may be sold even

to a resident convert,

as it is stated: “And he shall be sold

to a

to a resident convert

with you” —

And it is written further in the verse: “or to the root of the family of a convert,” and the beraita explains: "

the family of a convert"

this is the gentile

whose family the convert is from;

when it says "

or to the root

of the family of a convert,"

this is one who is sold

to be a servant

to idolatry itself,

and in the end he will be sold to all these.

And the Gemara explains what was difficult to Rabbi: for

the master said

in the beraita: "

And not to you, but to a convert, as it is stated, to a convert,"

and not to a [righteous] convert, but to a resident convert”; and surely this is difficult:

Does this mean that a convert

righteous

can acquire a Hebrew slave

[and can a convert acquire a Hebrew slave] so that Scripture says concerning your brother that he shall be sold to a convert!?

And we juxtapose

but surely this is difficult from the beraita that we learned:

The convert

righteous

is not acquired through a Hebrew slave, and neither a woman nor a convert

righteous

acquire a Hebrew slave,

so the righteous convert cannot acquire your brother!?

And since the beraita was brought, the Gemara explains it:

A convert is not acquired through a Hebrew slave,

because it is stated: “And when your brother becomes poor with you and is sold to you ... he shall serve with you until the Jubilee year. And he shall leave you, he and his children with him

and return to his family”;

we require this, but it is absent,

for a convert has no family, since “a convert who converted is like a newborn child.”

And neither a woman nor a convert acquire a Hebrew slave,

the reason is:

A woman — it is not the way of the land

[this is not proper conduct and modesty], because he is secluded with her.

A convert also,

the reason he does not acquire is that

it is received as a tradition

[a halakha given to Moses at Sinai]: whoever

is acquired —

acquires; one who is not acquired does not acquire

[one who himself can be acquired can acquire, and one who himself cannot be acquired does not acquire others], and since the convert is not acquired through a Hebrew slave, he too does not acquire others —

In any event, we have learned: the convert does not acquire a Hebrew slave; so how does Scripture say: “And he shall be sold to a convert”?

He said

he resolved it:

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak: He does not acquire

and his law is like that of an Israelite

[the convert does not acquire the Israelite to be under the status of a slave sold to an Israelite], but the convert acquires the Israelite

and his law is like that of a gentile,

that is, one sold to a convert has the law of an Israelite sold to a gentile, whose laws differ from those of a slave sold to an Israelite, as explained in the beraita below; and it is in this manner that Scripture said, “And he shall be sold to a convert.”

For it was taught:

A Hebrew slave

whose ear was pierced

[after six years, and whose law is to go out at the Jubilee],

and one sold to a gentile

— and likewise one sold to a convert, as explained — and the master dies,

does not serve the son

of the master

and not the daughter;

unlike a slave sold to an Israelite, who serves the son.

Before the Gemara continues to explain Rabbi’s words concerning interest, the Gemara concludes explaining the beraita that was brought:

The master said

in the beraita:

And neither a woman nor a convert acquire a Hebrew slave:

The Gemara asks:

Shall we say

that this beraita is

not in accordance with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel; for it was taught:

A woman acquires maidservants,

that is, she can acquire a woman as a maidservant,

but does not acquire

slaves.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: She also acquires

the woman

slaves,

and if so, it follows that the beraita — which says that a woman does not acquire a Hebrew slave — is not in accordance with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel?

And we answer:

You may even say that it is Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and it is not difficult:

Here — where we learned: a woman and a convert do not acquire —

concerns a Hebrew slave; here —

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, who says: she also acquires slaves —

concerns a Canaanite slave.

And the Gemara explains the reason for the distinction:

A Hebrew slave is modest for her,

he is modest in her eyes, and she trusts that if she commits adultery with him he will not publicize the matter; therefore the woman does not acquire him.

A Canaanite slave is licentious for her,

he is immodest in her eyes, and she fears that if she gives herself over to him, he will go and publicize the matter; therefore, according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the woman acquires him.

And the Gemara challenges the reasoning that a woman is not suspected of committing adultery with one whom she fears will publicize her:

But this which Rav Yosef taught:

A widow should not raise a dog

and

likewise

she should not lodge a yeshiva student in an inn

[a widow should not raise a dog, and she should not lodge a yeshiva student in her house], because of defamatory talk concerning adultery.

And if you say that a woman is not suspected of committing adultery with one whom she fears will publicize her, this is difficult:

Granted, concerning a yeshiva student,

it is understandable that she should not lodge him, because

he is

m

odest for her

[he is modest in her eyes, and she does not fear that he will publicize it],

but a dog

why should she not raise it? For

since it becomes attached to her —

she is afraid

[since, if she commits adultery with it, it will become attached to her, she is afraid] lest the matter become public!?

They said

the members of the academy to resolve it:

Since, when she throws it a piece of meat, it becomes attached to her, people say, "

It is because of the piece of meat that she throws it that it becomes attached"

[since even when she gives meat to the dog, it becomes attached to her, she trusts that people will say, “That is why the dog follows after her, because she gives it meat”].

And here the Gemara returns to explain the continuation of Rabbi’s words:

What is the matter of the resident convert mentioned with regard to interest

[what difficulty does Rabbi have concerning this matter]:

As it is written: "

And when your brother becomes poor and his hand falters with you, you shall support him, a convert and a resident, and he shall live with you.

You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall fear your God, and he shall live

your brother with you,"

and the prohibition against taking interest from a resident convert is explicit —

And we juxtapose,

that is, Rabbi found it difficult from our Mishna, in which we learned:

We borrow from them

[from the gentiles]

and lend to them at interest, and likewise with a resident convert,

so it is clear that it is permitted to take interest from a resident convert!?

He said

he resolved it,

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak:

Is it written "

You shall not take from them"

which would imply: do not take interest or increase from your brother and from the resident convert mentioned above!? But

from him

is written,

and this means only

from an Israelite

your brother mentioned above, whom the Torah prohibited taking interest or increase from; but from a resident convert it is permitted to take interest or increase.

The Sages taught:

It is written: "

You shall not take from him

[from an Israelite]

interest or increase,"

and we expound:

But you may become for him —

for the Israelite —

a guarantor

for the interest-bearing loan that he takes, and it explains it as it proceeds.