It seems to make no sense. Why does Hashem want loans to be canceled at the end of the Shemitah year? There are no free lunches in life—why does the borrower receive a free pass and not have to repay his loan? Moreover, why does the Torah condemn one who refuses to extend a loan towards the end of the seventh year in anticipation of loans being canceled? One who refuses to extend loans at that time seems not to be evil but rather acting in a financially prudent manner. Finally, what is the justice of Hillel’s Prozbol document that cleverly skirts the laws of Shemitat Kesafim? How is Hillel’s enactment in line with not merely the letter of the law but the spirit of the law?
Important insights of the Hizkuni and Yereim help solve these mysteries and make sense of the Shemitat Kesafim process we engage in these weeks as we head towards the end of the Shemitah year 5775. Hizkuni explains that the lender is forbidden to demand payment of the loan after the Shemitah year “ki kara Shemitah laHashem” (Devarim 15:2), the farmer has observed Shemitah year and does not have funds to repay the loan.
If so, then why is the loan permanently canceled? The Yeriem explains that it is not canceled. The borrower is expected to pay even after the Shemitah year has passed, when he recovers financially from Shemitat Karka (not working the land during Shemitah) and has the ability to repay the loan. Shemitat Kesafim merely forbids the lender from demanding payment of the loan, as stated in the Torah, “lo yigos et rei’eihu” (ibid.).
A Prozbol avoids this restriction by converting a private loan into a communal loan when the lender submits his loans to the beit din. The lender, when pressing a claim for payment of the loan, acts as a representative of the beit din. However, the beit din can cancel such authorization if the lender does not respect the borrower’s financial challenges in the wake of the Shemitah year. Thus, the Prozbol is in line with both the letter and the spirit of the Shemitah rules.
Next week, iy”H, we shall present the Ben Ish Hai and Hacham Ovadia Yosef’s beautiful and practical suggestion as to how everyone can fulfill the mitzvah of Shemitat Kesafim in the full sense, even in the post-Prozbol year.
Rabbi Haim Jachter is Rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.
By Rabbi Haim Jachter
