<b>If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24).</b> The prophet Jeremiah said: <i>Refuse silver shall men call them</i> (Jer. 6:30). You find that when Israel was exiled from Jerusalem, they were led out in chains and the peoples of the world declared: Their God already rejects them, as it says: <i>Refuse silver shall men call them</i>. But just as silver may be refined and converted into one vessel and then melted down repeatedly and fashioned into other utensils, until it crumbles when hammered and is not suitable for any purpose, so too there was no more hope for Israel’s survival, since the Holy One, blessed be He, had rejected them. When Jeremiah heard that, he said unto Him: Master of the Universe, <i>Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath Thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast Thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us?</i> (Jer. 14:19).
This may be likened to a king who beats his wife. His best friend says to him: “If you desire to drive her away, beat her until she dies, but if you intend to take her back, why do you punish her so severely?” “Even if my kingdom was to be destroyed I would not drive her away,” he replied. So Jeremiah said: If you desire to drive us out, smite us until we die, since it is said: <i>Thou canst not have utterly rejected us, and be exceeding wroth against us!</i> (Lam. 5:22), but if that is not (Thy desire), <i>Why hast Thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us?</i> (Jer. 14:19). The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Even if I were to destroy My entire world, I would not cast off Israel, as it is said: <i>Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord</i> (ibid. 31:37). Nevertheless, I have made an agreement with them that if they should sin, the Temple will be seized as a pledge on their account, as it is said: <i>And I set My Tabernacle among you</i> (Lev. 26:11). The word <i>mishkani</i> (“My Tabernacle”) should be read as <i>mashkoni</i> (“My pledge”). Similarly, Balaam said: <i>How goodly are thy tents (ohalekha), O Jacob, thy dwellings (mishkenotekha), O Israel</i> (Num. 24:5). The tabernacles are called <i>ohalekha</i> (“thy tents”), but when they are demolished they are called <i>mishkonotekha</i> (“Thy pledges”).
The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: It is not because I am indebted to the nations of the world (because of their merit) that I have pledged My Temple to them, it is only your transgressions that have caused Me to do so, as it is said: <i>Thus saith the Lord: “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, wherewith I have put her away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was your mother put away”</i> (Isa. 50:1). Similarly, I made an agreement with Moses concerning them, <i>If thou lend money to any of My people</i>. However, if they transgress these commandments, I shall seize two pledges, as it is said: <i>If thou at all take (habol tahbol) thy neighbor’s garment to pledge</i> (Exod. 22:25). Our master Moses asked: How long shall they remain as pledges? He answered: <i>Until the sun cometh</i> (ibid.) that is, until the Messiah comes, as it is said: <i>But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings</i> (Mal. 3:20).
<i>Even to the poor with thee</i>. Our sages of blessed memory said: All manner of physical suffering is on one side (of the scale), while poverty is on the other. At the time that Satan came to denounce Job, it is said: <i>Then Satan answered the Lord, and said: “Doth Job hear God for nought?”</i> (Job 1:9). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Job: Which do you prefer, poverty or suffering? He replied: I willingly accept all the suffering in the world but not poverty. How can I transact business in the marketplace without even a perutah in my possession? Satan thereupon departed from God and afflicted Job with ugly boils from the sole of his foot to his head. Job cried out: <i>O that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat</i> (Job 23:3), to plead for divine justice. Elijah then said to him: Why do you complain? Did you not choose suffering in preference to poverty, as it is said: <i>For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction</i> (ibid. 36:21).