The Torah, in Parashat Re’eh (Debarim 15:2), establishes the law of "Shemitat Kesafim," the cancellation of debts at the end of the Shemita (seventh, or "sabbatical") year. One may not demand payment for a loan once the Shemita year ends, unless he signs a "Prozbul" document before the end of the year. A person who does not sign such a document yet demands that a borrower repay the loan transgresses the affirmative command to annul loans ("Shamot") as well as the negative command against collecting loans ("Lo yigos").
The Hatam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Sofer, 1762-1839), in one of his responsa (vol. 3, Orah Haim 15), addresses the question of whether a willful violator of "Shemitat Kesafim" may be called to the Torah for the reading of the section in Parashat Re’eh that discusses this law. If a person demands payment from his debtors after Shemita without signing a "Prozbul," knowing full well that this constitutes a Halachic violation, it would perhaps seem inappropriate for a congregation to have him receive the Aliya for the section dealing with this very Halacha.
Indeed, the Hatam Sofer rules that a willful violator of "Shemitat Kesafim" should not be called to the Torah for the reading of this section. He records that his Rabbi, Rabbi Natan Adler, issued a similar reading regarding somebody who does not make a point to observe the law of "Hadash" (the prohibition against partaking of new grain before the second day of Pesah). Rabbi Natan Adler held that a congregation should not call a person to the Torah for the reading of the section dealing with this prohibition (Vayikra 23:14). Likewise, the Hatam Sofer maintained that a person who ignores the law of "Shemitat Kesafim" should not be given the Aliya for the relevant section of the Torah.
The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Rav Pe’alim (vol. 2, 11), cites the Hatam Sofer’s ruling, and adds that although it is preferable not to give such a person this Aliya, a congregation may do so for the purpose of avoiding strife and controversy. He notes that the Hatam Sofer’s ruling is not mentioned anywhere in the writings of the Rishonim (Medieval Halachic scholars), and therefore it is superseded by the concern to avoid animosity and hard feelings. Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, as recorded in Yalkut Yosef, accepted the Hatam Sofer’s view as an authoritative Halachic ruling, and thus congregations should not call for this Aliya a person who disregards the law of "Shemitat Kesafim."
Summary: A person who knowingly disregards the law of "Shemitat Kesafim" (the obligatory remission of debts after the Shemita year) should not be called to the Torah for an Aliya for the section in Parashat Re’eh that presents this obligation.
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