[Avodah] ribis and being elevated? (status??)

[David Riceman]

RHB:

<<when the gemarra states that a few people are eleveated in status, 
(eg, king, etc) their sins are forgiven, what does this mean (eg what 
does it apply to?) dinei mamonis (if he charged a fellow jew ribis is he 
patur?) dinei shamayim? etc,>>

I think it refers to habit.  Sometimes people become so habituated to 
certain sins that they don't even notice doing them (Ibn Ezra's example 
is that, in his time, people swore oaths so frequently and so 
thoughtlessly that they would utter phrases like "I swear I've never 
sworn an oath in my life").  A change in status usually induces a change 
in lifestyle, and that gives a person the opportunity to rearrange his 
life to avoid these habitual sins.

David Riceman