This week’s Torah portion tells us we are obligated to lend money to a Jew in need. While the lender is allowed to collect collateral for his loan, if the borrower needs his object back for his livelihood, the lender is required to return the item, as the Torah states that should he cry out to God, God will listen as He is compassionate (22:25, 26).

Why would the lender be obliged to return the item? After all, isn’t that the whole point of taking collateral?

Lesson:

God is the creator of the world – from the heavens and seas down to a pencil on our desk. Everything exists solely because He wills it to exist. Saying a blessing helps illuminate this concept. Why say a blessing over a homemade piece of cake? After all, God didn’t make it – you did! You went to the store, bought all the ingredients, paid for it with money that you worked hard to earn and then spent the time and effort making the cake. Where is God in this process?

However, when fully dissected, we see that God is in every step, just behind the scenes. The store got the flour from distributors and manufactures who bought wheat from farmers who planted and harvested the wheat. The wheat grows from a seed in the ground, both created solely from God. God also gave you all the capabilities needed to get the job and earn the money to buy the food from the store. God gave you the car to get to work and the store, the stove to cook the cake, and this list goes on.

When we have a mentality that we earned something, it is much harder to part with it. However, if we are aware that God is the source of everything and we only have what we have because God gave it to us to use it for the good, then we are much more willing to happily share. This is what the Torah is telling us: while it does allow for the lender to take collateral, that object is still not his and as such would have to be returned should the borrower need it. Everything is in our possession only because God wants us to have it.

Exercise: Give tzedakah, charity, this week with the intention that God only gave it to you for you to participate in the mitzvah of sharing with others. Have in mind that we are just the distributors!