"Take no usury from him or increase; but fear your G-d; that
your brother may live with you" (Vayikra 25:36.). The
prohibition of usury was fixed by Chazal as high on the
ladder of severe sins. One who lends money for interest will
not be resurrected at the time of techiyas hameisim,
which is virtually saying that this sin strikes at the very
root of life. The Torah states this commandment -- "Take
from him no usury . . . that your brother may live with you"
-- to teach us that taking interest is equal to sucking the
very lifeblood of a person, the marrow and essence of his
life. And one who takes the life of another is not living,
himself; he is dead.
Not in vain did the Torah liken interest to venom:
neshech, a snakebite, for it was the Serpent who was
the first to introduce the poison of death into the veins of
Mankind, the originally-eternal creations who thenceforth
became mortal.
*
HaRav Yonoson David, rosh yeshivas Pachad Yitzchok,
illuminates the meaning of the prohibition of taking
interest in his introduction to Otzar Meforshei HaTalmud,
(Perek Ribbis).
We find in Melochim II the story of a woman, wife of
one of the contemporary nevi'im, who came to Elisha
weeping that the moneylender had come to claim her two
children. Rashi and Radak bring the words of the Midrash
stating that this was the wife of Ovadia who had
borrowed money with interest in order to sustain the
nevi'im in the time of King Achov. These are their
words: "Ovadia fulfilled `And his money he did not give in
interest' but Yehorom, did lend money for interest . . .
Said Hashem . . . ' "
This is not just a retelling of the facts the way they took
place, simply recounting a story, but is brought to clarify
the episode regarding Elisha, who was granted double the
potency of Eliyohu's spirit to perform miracles in reviving
the dead.
We must bring here the words of the Ramban regarding the
commandment of the Shulchon in the Mishkan:
"Ever since the creation of the world ex nihilo,
Hashem does not create anything, including His blessing,
from nothing, yeish mei'ayin. Rather, the world
operates according to the set rules of nature as established
at the time of Creation, as it is written, `And Hashem saw
all that He had done and lo, it was very good.' But when
there is a root of something, a shoresh, then the
blessing can settle on it and cause increase.
"Elisha asked, `Tell me, what do you have in the house?' and
the blessing subsequently came to rest upon the cruse of oil
and filled all the vessels she had and had managed to
borrow. With Eliyohu [it came to rest on], `The vessel of
flour did not become depleted and the pitcher of oil was
never wanting.' Similarly, the Shulchon always had
the Lechem Haponim which was the root of [material]
blessing and thereby plenitude was channeled to all of
Israel. Therefore was it said: Every kohen who
received even a small portion the size of a bean would eat
and become fully sated."
We have received in explanation of this important principle
in the Ramban that the Torah is not relating to the
prophet's capacity to perform miracles of supernatural
order, but that the point applies to the descent of bounty
and blessing to this world. The world, as it was created, is
"very good," full of plenitude, as was declared at the time
of creation. This is reflected through the phenomenon of
growth and sprouting, germination of a small seed which can
eventually produce a multitude of fruit. This burgeoning is
the blessing of expansion and the process is a natural one;
it is all in the course of nature. The power of growth was
incorporated into the nature of the world and is an
expression of the primeval "very good" of Creation. "Very
good" actually translates into the expansion of good or, in
other words, into blessing.
This primeval nature was flawed through the sin of Odom
Horishon, which caused the curse of "thistles and brambles
shall grow for you." In the process of abundance of the
world there was introduced a factor of lack and
impairment.
According to the Ramban, the act of Elisha is not a wonder
or any supernatural act that changes nature, but merely a
restoration of the original "very good" that was
incorporated into Creation -- a return to the time before
the Sin. He was able to draw that pristine blessing into the
cruse of oil while removing the impediment of "thorn and
thistle" in order to reach that original state of "very
good." This became the source of great munificence. These
are the words of the Ramban as they apply to this matter.
Now we can more clearly understand the words of the
Midrash Aggada quoted by Rashi. Elisha told the
woman, "And you shall pour into all of those vessels and
move aside the full ones." Move them from before you and
place another vessel in its stead. The cruse of oil which
was the source of the blessing was not to be moved because
Hashem had transformed it into a wellspring, and springs are
not wont to move from their place.
In other words, Elisha restored that cruse of oil to its
original state before Odom's sin and the decree of death in
this world. Before, life had a special power of eternal
continuity. This is why he later told her, "And you and your
sons shall live on the remainder [of the oil]."
"Until the dead are resurrected," say Chazal quoted by
Rashi, there. In other words, the potency of that blessing
would be in effect increasingly until techiyas
hameisim.
*
We must now review the words of the Maharal (Drush
leShabbos Hagodol) about the severity of the prohibition
of taking interest, punishable by the denial of techiyas
hameisim from the sinner. Eternal perdition. Seen in
depth, his holy words indicate a punishment of measure for
measure. The sinner trespassed the boundaries of life and
the plenty of his friend to take some for himself. This is
not like ordinary theft which a person seizes from another,
but rather he appropriates the gain in a businesslike
agreement. In this way he is appropriating the very source
of blessing and growth in his friend's life, that source
that comes from Hashem, Who sends everyone sustenance and
life.
That is why regarding the prohibition of usury, the Torah
states: "And your brother shall live with you." And that is
why it is called "neshech." The usurer is biting into
that blessing, so to speak, just like the snake bit into the
immortality of man by introducing the sin that led to death
in this world. The snake's venom is not merely a local wound
but a poison that enters the very bloodstream, the life flow
that affects the source of blessing. It cuts off the flow of
blessing whose nature is expansion; it introduces
contraction, curtailment of life and insinuates itself into
the entire body until no space for life or vitality
remains.
Ovadia was privileged since he did not give his money for
usury (even though he was forced to borrow money on interest
in order to sustain the prophets whom he had hid) and
rewarded with the oil that became a spring and source of the
very blessing that prevailed in the world before the bite of
the serpent and the decree of death in the world that
resulted from it. Thus, one who keeps the commandment of
refraining from usury is connecting himself to the source of
eternal life.
