DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 570 KB)
Shemitat Kesafim: Paying After Shemita for Borrowed Goods

It is forbidden to demand payment after the Shemita year for loans given before the end of Shemita. If the borrower offers to pay the loan, the lender is obligated to say, "Meshamet Ani" ("I cancel"), announcing the debt’s annulment.

The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Ki-Tavo, writes that this Halacha applies even to borrowed goods. For example, if a person borrows a dozen eggs from a neighbor toward the end of Shemita, and after Rosh Hashanah he approaches the neighbor to pay for the eggs, the neighbor must refuse to accept the payment. The reason, the Ben Ish Hai explains, is that borrowing grocery items is akin to borrowing money: the borrower uses the goods however he likes, with the expectation that he will pay the value of those foods with something else. This situation is identical to a monetary loan, which is given so that the borrower can spend the money and the repay the debt with other money. Therefore, a debt incurred by borrowing goods also falls under the obligation of "Shemitat Kesafim" (the remission of debts after Shemita).

In light of this Halacha, the Ben Ish Hai recommends that people specifically make a point of lending goods to their neighbors before Shemita, in order to have the opportunity to fulfill this special Misva. One should approach his neighbor before Rosh Hashanah and offer to lend items such as flour or eggs, and then, when the neighbor comes after Rosh Hashanah to pay, the lender should declare, "Meshamet Ani," and thereby fulfill the Misva of "Shemitat Kesafim."

Summary: Just as the end of the Shemita year cancels all loans, it similarly cancels debts incurred by borrowing grocery items such as food. Thus, if a neighbor borrowed eggs, for example, from his neighbor toward the end of the Shemita year, once Rosh Hashanah comes the lender may not demand or accept payment.


Visit www.iTorah.com to download the Prozbol form.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
If the Hazan Forgot to Recite Ya’aleh Ve’yabo During the Repetition of the Amida on Rosh Hodesh
Should Two Kaddishim be Recited if a Shiur is Given Immediately Before Arbit?
Reciting “Yiheyu Le’rason Imreh Fi” at the End of the Amida
The Kaddish Before Baruch She’amar
The Value of Praying “Vatikin” and Studying Torah Before Prayer
The Importance and Significance of Birkat Ha’lebana
The Custom Among Syrian Jews Regarding the Text of “Ve’la’minim” and Other Portions of the Amida
Adding Prayers for Forgiveness and for One’s Livelihood in “Shema Kolenu”
If One Mistakenly Recited “Morid Ha’tal” Instead of “Mashib Ha’ru’ah U’morid Ha’geshem”
Should a Mourner be Called for an Aliya if He is the Only Kohen in Attendance?
May Birkat Kohanim be Recited if a Non-Jew is Present
If a Kohen Was Mistakenly Called for the Second Aliya; Calling Kohanim for Later Aliyot
How Should the Aliyot be Arranged in a Minyan of Only Kohanim, or if There is Only One Yisrael?
Birkat Kohanim – The Hazan’s Announcement of “Kohanim”; If There is One Kohen or No Kohanim Present
Birkat Kohanim in a Place Without a Sefer Torah; One Who Enters the Synagogue During Birkat Kohanim; Reciting Birkat Kohanim Several Times in One Day
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found