Question :
What is considered Ribbis derabanan?
Answer:
It is considered rabbinic ribbis to lend 100 items to get 100 items in return even if at the time of the return those 100 items are worth more than the price of the 100 items were originally. The reason that this is only rabbinic ribbis and not biblical ribbis is because we judge the situation whether something is ribbis or not based on the stipulation at the time of the loan. That is the ruling of the Shach YD 160:35 and Gra 160:53. This is also the opinion of the Ritva 61b s.v. vtisbara, Ran, and Talmid Harashba cited by Beis Yosef 160:21. However, the Hagahos Ashri 6:1 writes that this was the doubt of the Gemora whether we judge the deal from the stipulation or the time of the return and if we judge it by the time of the return it is considered ribbis. This case might therefore be ribbis biblically. The Granat explains that even the Hagahos Ashri only considers it biblical ribbis if it is an exchange of currency which is uncommon but not with actual commodities which is certainly rabbinic.
Anyone involved in the interest transaction, such as the lender, buyer, witnesses, scribe, or another intermediary is violating the halacha of ribbis.
There is another type of interest called Conditional Interest. Interest that is only charged in the outcome of a certain specified condition is called sad echad bribbis (lit. one sided interest, Hebrew צד אחד ברבית). According to most poskim it is considered biblical interest. The Taz 174:1 and the Beis Yosef 177:8 cites a teshuvas Rashba that sad echad bribbis is rabbinic and so returning taxes for the lender is only rabbinic. However, Tosfot b”m 63a defines sad echad bribbis to be something that depends on the decision of the borrower or lender.See the Netivot Moshe on Taz 177:16 asks that the Beis Yosef 174:2 citing Rashba 67a and Teshuva Ktav Yad 85 holds that Tzad echad bribbis is biblical.
There are several different forms of interest that are prohibited only rabbinically. There are several practical differences if it is only rabbinic. For example, Rabbinic interest was not extended to charities. Additionally, one who receives biblical interest must return it but this does not apply to certain cases of rabbinic interest.
There is no prohibition of ribbis upon the borrower whenever it is rabbinic ribbis, the prohibition is upon the lender.
It is permitted for the yeshiva to give out student loans for tuition with interest since it is only a rabbinic form of interest in that the money was never given to the students to spend and a yeshiva is allowed to taking rabbinic forms of interest.
It is forbidden to couple a fair transaction together with a loan because it appears as interest. For example, a person can’t offer an employer an interest free loan and have the employer hire him for a fair wage. Even if the wage is fair and would have been paid even if not for the loan, it is forbidden when they discuss it as part of the same transaction. Furthermore, it is even forbidden if they explicitly state that they are two separate transactions unless they are done at separate occasions.
It would be permitted if they did the other transaction and then instead of doing a loan, they did a gift and the other party could return the gift but didn’t have to. The Maharam cited by Mordechai b”m 316, Shulchan Aruch 177:13, Rama 166:3. Gra 177:34 in fact argues that it is forbidden according to the Rashba since it has the appearance of a legal subterfuge of interest. He is in disagreement with the Beis Yosef’s understanding that the Maharam and Rashba are not at odds. |