<b>If thou lend money to any of My people (Exod. 22:24).</b> R. Tanhuma began the discussion with the verse: <i>He that is gracious unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord … He will repay unto Him</i> (Prov. 19:17). What is meant by <i>The Lord will repay unto him</i>? Is it possible that <i>The Lord lendeth, and His good deeds He will repay unto him</i> (ibid.). R. Phinehas the priest, the son of Hama, said that R. Reuben posed this query: What is the meaning of <i>And his good deeds He will repay him</i>? One might conclude that if he gave a perutah to a poor man, the Holy One, blessed be He, will repay him. Indeed not. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: When the soul of a poor man is struggling to leave its body because of hunger, and you give him food and help him to live, be assured that I will repay you soul for soul. In the future, when your son or daughter becomes deathly ill, I will recall in their behalf the good deed you performed for the poor man, and I will save them from death. Therefore <i>And his good deeds will He repay</i>, that is, I will repay you soul for soul.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is sufficient that you should be spoken of as one who loans to Me. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: <i>If thou lend money to any of My people (ammi)</i> implies that you will be with Me (<i>immi</i>). That is, you will merit My area (in heaven).
You find that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in judgment upon every transgression of man, and asks: What decision shall be rendered? Whether the man is a thief, an adulterer, or a transgressor, the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in judgment upon him. And so you find that in the time of Ahab, Micah said: <i>I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left</i> (I Kings 22:19). Is there a left hand on High, since it is written: <i>Thy right hand, O Lord, glorious in power; Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy</i> (Exod. 15:16), and also: <i>The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly</i> (Ps. 118:16)? What, then, is the meaning of <i>on His right hand and on His left</i>? Those who plead in behalf of a sinner are called <i>His right hand</i>, and those who argue against him are called <i>His left</i>.
<i>And the Lord said: “Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?”</i> (I Kings 22:20). This verse indicates that He discussed the law with them (the heavenly hosts). <i>One said: On this manner; and another said: On that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord, and said: “I will entice him”</i> (ibid., v. 20–21). He asked him: “Do you know the cause of the sin?” And He replied: “Yes.” Then He began to discuss His decision with them, as it is said: <i>And one said: On this manner; and another said: On that manner</i>. but in regard to the one who lends money on interest, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not discuss His decision, for it is said: <i>Hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live</i> (Ezek. 18:13). He renders His verdict immediately, and the ministering angels declare: <i>He hath done all these abominations; he shall surely be put to death, his blood shall be upon him, he shall not live</i> (ibid.). Thus Moses said: <i>If thou lend</i>.
Observe the difference between the deeds of men and of God. If a man owes his fellowman a hundred,<sup class="footnote-marker">26</sup><i class="footnote">Probably referring to gold dinars.</i> or two hundred, or three hundred, and the latter says to him: “Pay me what you owe me.” And he replies: “I have nothing,” they quarrel and abuse each other forthwith. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not act in that fashion, however. You find that during the summer, in the interval between Tevet and Tammuz (when the days grow longer and the nights shorter), the day borrows from the night, and in the interval between Tammuz and Tevet (when the reverse happens), the night borrows from the day, <i>Yet there is no speech, there are no words, neither is their voice heard</i> (Ps. 19:4). Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, warned Moses to tell the Israelites: If you lend money to one of My people, do not embarrass him, for he is with Me. <i>Even to the poor with thee</i> (Exod. 22:24). Consider yourself as though you were among the poor of your people. <i>Even to the poor with thee</i>. The sages concluded from this verse that between the poor of your family and the poor of your city, the poor of your family must take precedence, and between the poor of your city and another city, the poor of your city must take precedence.
The R. Nahman BeRabbi said: Observe what is written in this verse: <i>Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; of this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy work</i> (Deut. 15:10). It does not say “for the sake of,” “on account of,” “in consequence of,” or “instead of,” but simply <i>because</i> of this I have made you rich and him poor. But if you do not give to him, I will reverse the wheel of fortune and make you poor and him rich. Why is that? Because God is judge; <i>He putteth down one, and lifteth up another</i> (Ps. 75:8).
R. Shila stated: Observe that the verse is written <i>Thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother</i> (Deut. 15:7). What is the meaning of <i>thy brother</i>? It is not written “from the poor” but rather <i>from thy brother</i> to teach us that the two of you are equal, and that you should not cause yourself to become like him (poor).
They say concerning R. Tanhum the son of Hanilai that whenever he brought home some meat or vegetables or anything else, he would tell the members of his household: “Set aside a portion for the poor, for I bought one measure of meat for you and a half-measure for the poor.” In that way He fulfilled the verse <i>In the day of prosperity be joyful, in the day of adversity consider; God hath made even the one as well as the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him</i> (Eccles. 7:14). In the day of prosperity be joyful in the good deeds you perform in behalf of the poor. <i>In the day of adversity consider</i> indicates that you too are not far removed from poverty, and that there is no greater misfortune for you than poverty. Thus it says: <i>Even to the poor with thee</i>.