In this week’s parshah we read the tochachah, which is preceded by pesukim foretelling the berachos that we will enjoy when we adhere to the Torah and its commandments. The Gemara (Megillah 31b) says that the reason we read this parshah right before Rosh Hashanah is because we want the year to end along with all of its troubles.
There is an interesting pasuk in this section describing some of the blessings we will enjoy. It says that we will have enough money to lend to other nations, and we will not need to borrow anything for ourselves (Devarim 28:12).
The Gemara (Baba Metzia 71a) says that the Rabbanan forbade lending money to other nations, even with interest. The Gemara explains that this decree was intended to prevent us from learning from their ways. The Gemara says that it was never prohibited to lend with interest if a person is earning a livelihood; it was only forbidden to earn additional income from lending to non-Jews. This law is codified by the Rambam (Hilchos Malveh V’Loveh 5:1, 2) and the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 159:1).
The Gemara (Baba Metzia 70b) says that one should not lend money to a non-Jew even with interest. According to Tosafos, the Gemara questions how the Chachamim could prohibit lending money to non-Jews when the Torah explicitly permits it. Tosafos explains that the Rabbanan cannot prohibit something the Torah explicitly permits. The Gemara answers that it is only prohibited to earn additional income. Alternatively, the Gemara suggests that there is no prohibition for talmidei chachamim to lend money to non-Jews for we are not concerned that they will learn from their ways.
(The Taz offers a famous answer to a common question based on Tosafos’ principle. Why we do not find a gezeirah against performing a bris milah on Shabbos? Whenever we have other mitzvos that we must perform on Shabbos – such as lulav, shofar, and Megillah – the Rabbanan prohibited us from performing them. So why is bris milah allowed? The Taz (Orach Chaim 588:5) answers that since the Torah explicitly permits performing a bris on Shabbos, the Rabbanan could not prohibit it.)
However, based on Tosafos’ understanding that the Rabbanan cannot prohibit something that the Torah explicitly permits, how can the Rabbanan prohibit earning extra income? Didn’t the Torah permit this as well?
The Chasam Sofer (Yoreh Deah 106) explains that the Torah never commanded us to lend non-Jews money; it only allowed it. The Rabbanan can therefore prohibit such a practice. The Chachamim are only prevented from prohibiting something that the Torah commanded us to do, such as bris milah.
The Chasam Sofer then asks a question on his own position based on the pasuk in this week’s parsha which implies that we should lend money to the non-Jews. How, then, can the Chachamim prohibit such a practice?
The Chasam Sofer answers that this parshah refers to a time when all of Klal Yisrael is following the will of Hashem, keeping the mitzvos, and studying Torah. Under these circumstances, we would all have the status of talmidei chachamim and thus the prohibition would not apply to us.
In truth, I think the question needs clarification. According to Tosafos, the Gemara answered this exact question by stating that the pasuk only permits lending money to make a living, and the Rabbanan only prohibited lending money to non-Jews to make additional income. So what is the question from the pasuk?
I believe that the question is specifically from the pasuk in this week’s parshah which discusses a scenario where we will have an abundance of wealth, as a result of listening to the Torah. And included in this abundance is the fact that we will have so much money that we will lend it to the other nations. This is clearly referring to additional income, not a livelihood. Therefore, we must ask on the first answer of the Gemara how the Rabbanan could prohibit lending to make additional income.
Consequently, the Chasam Sofer’s answer does not address this question, since he only answers for the Gemara’s second answer that talmidei chachamim were never prohibited from lending to non-Jews. However, the first answer that the Rabbanan only prohibited earning additional income from lending to non-Jews is, in my opinion, still contradicted from the pasuk in this week’s parshah.