Going into
OVERDRAFT
Borrowing beyond current means should be
only for the most vital necessities
I BY RABBI DR ASHER MEIR, BUSINESS ETHICS CENTER OF JERUSALEM
Q
I notice many people living
beyond their means, racking
up credit card debt or overdrafts. Does Judaism have anything
to say about this phenomenon?
A
The human tendency to live beyond our means is hardly a new
one, and is discussed in many ancient Jewish sources. One of the most
prominent is the following passage from
Maimonides’ Code. Maimonides begins
with the prohibition to dun and harass a
debtor when in any case he has no means
to pay, but then in characteristic fashion,
he also discusses the opposite problem:
It is forbidden for the creditor to present
himself before a debtor when he knows he
has no way of paying... And just as it is forbidden to dun him, so it is forbidden for
the debtor to withhold his fellow’s money
that was entrusted to him and to say,
“Come back later,” when in fact he has [the
money]... It is likewise forbidden for a borrower to take a loan and to spend it unnecessarily, and to lose it until the creditor
will not find any way to collect – even if the
lender is very wealthy. And anyone who
does so is called wicked, as it is written:
“The wicked borrow and don’t pay.” And
the Sages taught us, “Let your fellow’s
property be as dear to you as your own.”1
Maimonides’ main focus is on the interpersonal. A person who borrows to finance
frivolous expenses (“to spend it unnecessarily”) is likely to end up leaving the lender in the lurch. This was particularly abhorrent in previous times, when loans were al-
52 JEWISH LIFE ■ ISSUE 83
most solely
interest-free
and lenders
were motivated solely by a
desire to help
the needy. However, even today,
when most lenders are motivated
by a desire for gain,
a person should take
his monetary obligations seriously. Whenever you borrow, you
give your word that you
will pay back [