Question
:What is the halacha regarding money that was returned due to an erroneous sale?
Answer:
There is a dispute if money returned due to an erroneous sale is considered like a loan for the purposes of interest. The Chasam Sofer YD 85 and Maharam Shik YD 161 dispute whether money that was taken because of a sale and then the sale falls through whether it is like a loan and it is permitted to pay interest or not. Maharshag 1:4 argues with the Maharam Shik.
-It is forbidden to rent money to someone else because that is considered biblical interest.
There is a minority opinion that one can rent out coins if they stipulate that the renter is exempt from all responsibility including damages from theft, loss, and unexpected circumstances. Ashkenazim rely upon this opinion for rabbinic interest, while Sephardim reject this opinion. The Rama Y.D. 176:1 accepts the Trumat Hadeshen 302, while in 177:6 he only uses it for rabbinic interest. Shach there opines that the Trumat Hadeshen is even relevant to biblical cases. Gra 176:2 completely rejects the Trumat Hadeshen. Beis Yosef 176:1 writes that the Trumat Hadeshen doesn’t actually allow it in practice.
If the person is planning on using the coins to show them off or to learn from them and isn’t going to be allowed to use them then It is permitted to rent them just like one can rent out any utensil.
If one is renting coins for show or learning purposes the borrower can’t accept responsibility for the coins if there’s an unexpected circumstance in which the coins are damaged.
-It is permitted to rent utensils even if the renter has permission to sell them and replace them. However, one can’t do this with utensils that don’t depreciate with use such as gold or silver utensils.
It is forbidden to rent out a car, ship, or pot such that they pay rent and if the item breaks the renter must pay for the value of the item at the time of the damage. This is only permitted for items that depreciate with use.
According to Ashkenazim they may not stipulate that if it breaks then the renter should pay the value of the item when it was originally rented. According to Sephardim this is permitted. The Shulchan Aruch and Rama 176:4. The Rambam in hilchos Malveh Vloveh 8:13 holds that it is permitted to stipulate that the renter will pay the original value of the rented item if it breaks since if it is still around it can be returned as such even if it is worth less due to ware or market fluctuation. Beis Yosef 176:4 cites that the Rashba 69b, Ran 69b, and Mordechai b”m 5:330 agree with the Rambam. On the other hand, the Tur 176:4 holds that doing so is forbidden since the obligation of paying back the original value of the item indicates that it was like a loan and the rent was interest. Rabbenu Yerucham 1:27b agrees and thinks that it is only rabbinic interest, while Ramban b”m 70a s.v. ha damrinan is similarly strict but isn’t sure if it is rabbinic or biblical interest. |