Pruzbul - Land Ownership

Q. Why is a Pruzbul only effective if the borrower owns land?

A. The Mishnah (Shevi’is 10:6) states that one of the conditions for a Pruzbul is that the borrower must own land. Rashi and Tosafos explain that most loans are made with borrowers who own land which serves as collateral, and Pruzbul was enacted only for common loans. Even if the borrower owns a small piece of land that is less valuable than the loan, it is sufficient. If the borrower does not own land, the lender may gift him a piece of land by asking a friend to acquire it behalf of the debtor. This can be done even if the borrower is completely unaware of the gift.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.