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Why does the Torah (תורה) use the word "im" (if) when commanding us to lend money, suggesting it's optional when it's actually obligatory? The shiur develops the principle that interpersonal mitzvos must be performed not merely as obligations, but with genuine caring and sensitivity—as if we desire to do them. This explains why lending money should psychologically be treated as a gift (even though structured as a loan for the borrower's dignity), why there's no berachah on tzedakah, and why charging interest to a fellow Jew is forbidden.
Rabbi Zweig begins with a textual question from Parshas Mishpatim: The Torah (תורה) states "Im kesef talveh es ami"—"If you lend money to My people." The word "im" typically means "if," indicating something optional, yet Rabbi Yishmael in the Mechilta explains that here it means you must lend—it's an obligation. Why would the Torah use misleading language, adding an extra word that suggests conditionality when it means to command? If the Torah simply said "kesef talveh" without "im," the obligation would be clear. Rabbi Zweig suggests that the Torah deliberately uses "im" to teach a fundamental principle about how interpersonal mitzvos must be performed. Even though lending money is obligatory, you should fulfill it as if you want to—as if it's your voluntary choice rather than a burden. This transforms the entire dynamic of the mitzvah (מצוה). When someone comes to your door needing charity, you can give because God commanded you to, or you can give in a way that communicates genuine care and desire to help. The recipient feels completely different in each scenario. Performing mitzvos bein adam l'chaveiro as mere obligations, without sensitivity to the other person's feelings, misses the essence of these mitzvos.
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Mishpatim 22:24
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