[Avodah] Tiqun Olam

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 09:15:37PM +0300, Michael Makovi wrote:
: Regarding extending interest to a gentile, Rabbi Hertz draws a
: distinction between nokhri and toshav...

He is assuming that neshekh vetarbit are somewhat immoral, and therefore
needs to tone down the immorality against a geir toshav who wouldn't
charge us interest in return.

I wouldn't conclude that at all. The pasuq says "achikha". A geir toshav
isn't achikha. The problem isn't immorality, it's a lack of achdus
amongst *Benei* Yisrael. A brother doesn't charge a brother interest.
But in general, interest can be a win-win situation for both parties --
why assume it's immoral? And what if the geir toshav comes to you asking
for a loan on interwest, without there being  "dire economic need" (to
quote your phrasing of RIE's 2nd uqimta.

And in any case, a discussion of halakhah can't begin and end with RJHH,
R' Isidore Epstein and R' Hermann Adler, and certainly not a quote
that assumes the author writing in the 57th century was more aware of
a distinction in the terminology of the chumash than Chazal were. (Even
if it were possible, the difference in halachic authority would make the
point moot anyway.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha, writing from somewhere in NY's financial industry

-- 
Micha Berger             When you come to a place of darkness,
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