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BAVA METZIA 62

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SUMMARY

If a person lends money with Ribis d'Oraisa R. Elazar says the borrower may claim the money back in Beis Din while R. Yochanan argues.
 
If two people are traveling together and one of them has a flask of water that is insufficient for the two of them and if one of them drinks it he will survive according to Ben Petura it is better for both of them to drink so that one of them will not witness the death of his friend.
 
R. Yochanan says the one who is in possession of the water shall drink it so that he will survive because a person's own life takes precedence over the life of his friend.
 
If a person inherited money of Ribis he is not obligated to return it, however if he inherited a Talis or a cow of Ribis he must return it in for the honor of his father. (1)
 
The prohibition of cursing someone only applies to a person who is not a Rasha.
 
If a Shtar with Ribis was written even if it was not yet collected the lender, borrower and cosigner receive Malkus according to the Tana Kama.
 
R. Nechemyah and R. Eliezer Ben Ya'akov hold that the lender and consigner are Patur from Malkus because it is a Lav that is Nitak l'Aseh. (1)
 
When a Shtar with Ribis is written the lender, borrower, consigner and witnesses transgress a Lav.
 
It is forbidden to lend a Se'ah of wheat for a Se'ah of wheat because the price of wheat may go up in the interim, however if he already collected the Se'ah of wheat he is not obligated to return it. (3)
 
If someone borrows money and gives a vineyard as a Mashkon and the lender eats the grapes without subtracting it from the loan it is Ribis d'Rabanan and the lender is not obligated to return the money. (4)
 
If someone sends money to his friend in order to encourage him to give him a loan it is Ribis Mukdemes, however it is only forbidden d'Rabanan and the money doesn't have to be returned.
 
If someone sends money to his friend after he paid back a loan and tells him he is sending it because his money was idle with him it is Ribis Meucheres, however it is only forbidden d'Rabanan and the money doesn't have to be returned.
 
If two people make an agreement that the buyer will be supplied wheat throughout the year for the going price of a gold Dinar (25 Dinarim) per Kor if the price goes up to 30 Dinar per Kor he may not agree to supply him with 30 Dinar worth of wine instead unless he has the wine in his possession at the time. (5)
 
A person may not take money on condition to supply produce for a year at a certain price unless the market price for that produce had already been fixed.
 
If someone lent his friend a Manah and he tells his friend give me a Manah because I want to buy wheat and his friend says I have wheat which I will supply it to you for the current price for the next 12 months it is forbidden. (6)
 
If someone requests that his fiend loan him a Manah (25 Sela'im) and his friend responds that he doesn't have a Maneh but he will give him instead wheat that is worth a Manah and he subsequently buys it back for 24 Sela'im it is forbidden because it is deceptive Ribis.

A BIT MORE

1. Although a person who inherits money of Ribis is not obligated to return it even according to R. Elazar and according to R. Yochanan even the lender himself is not obligated to return it, however if he inherited a cow or a Talis of Ribis he is obligated to return it because if he keeps it people will point it out and talk about the fact that the object was received from lending with Ribis, consequently it is a dishonor for the father if he keeps it and if the father did Teshuvah before he died they must return it.
 
2. The lender and the consigner have a Mitzvas Aseh to rip up the Shtar and therefore they do not receive Malkus if the Ribis was not yet collected.
 
3. Since it is only Ribis d'Rabanan (Avak Ribis) everyone agrees that he is not obligated to return the wheat.
 
4. Since there is no guarantee that the vineyard will produce any fruit it is not Ribis d'Oraisa.
 
5. He may supply him with the wheat at the price of a gold Dinar per Kor even though the price went up because at the time he agreed to supply him the wheat at the lower price the market price of wheat had already been fixed, however if he may not supply him 30 Dinar worth of wine because it is Ribis d'Rabanan unless he had the wine at the time of the agreement.
 
6. Since no money is changing hands right now it is forbidden to guarantee the current price for the next year because it is Ribis d'Rabanan.

BRIEF INSIGHT

INSUFFICIENT WATER
 
If two people are traveling together and one of them has a flask of water that is insufficient for the two of them and if one of them drinks it all he will survive, R. Yochanan says the one who possesses the water shall drink it so that he will survive because the Pasuk states 'and your brother shall live with you'- a person's own life takes precedence over the life of his friend. The Maharam Shif asks with respect to a Jewish servant the Pasuk also states 'with you' and yet with we give the servant precedence over his master and if the master has only one pillow he must give it to the servant. The Maharam Schiff answers that in the case of the water if he gives the water to his friend since his friend is also obligated to keep the Mitzvah of 'and your brother shall live with you' he is obligated to give it back to the first person who will than be obligated to give it back to his friend and so on and so forth, therefore since it will never come to a resolution the person who possesses the water shall drink it, however with regards to the Jewish servant only the master has a Mitzvah to treat the servant well but the servant doesn't have the Mitzvah therefore the master must give the servant the pillow and the servant is not obligated to give it back to the master.

QUICK HALACHAH

BORROWING WITH RIBIS
 
One must be very careful about Ribis and many Lavin were written regarding it, even the borrower who gives the Ribis and the cosigner and witnesses are transgressors. It makes no difference if one lends to a pauper or to a wealthy individual. A borrower is only a transgressor if it is Ribis Min ha'Torah but if it is Ribis d'Rabanan he only transgresses the prohibition of placing a stumbling block in front of a blind person. If someone claims his money belongs to a non-Jew and he lends it with Ribis he will be punished by Hashem Yisbarach. (Shulchan Aruch CM 160:1, 2, 3)

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