Repayment Without a Pruzbul

Q. I forgot to write a Pruzbul, but my neighbor who owes me money insists on paying me back. Is this permitted?

A. Shulchan Aruch (CM 67:36) writes that the lender must tell the borrower, “the loan is canceled, and you do not owe me anything”. If the borrower responds, “even so, I insist that you take the money”, it is permitted to accept the money. However, the debtor may not say, “I am giving you the money as payment”, but rather he must say, “the money is a gift”. If the borrower will not say that the money is a gift, the lender may not accept the money.

In a fascinating departure from the position followed by most Poskim, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l (Igros Moshe, Choshen Mishpat 2:15) writes that if the creditor forgot to write a Pruzbul, he may demand payment from the debtor. His psak is based on a major debate between the poskim whether shemitas kesafim (the abrogation of loans) applies in our times. Rabbeinu Asher (1250-1327) writes that when he fled from Germany to Spain, he was amazed to discover that loans were collected after shemita, even if a Pruzbul was not written. Though Rabbeinu Asher strongly objected to this position, he nonetheless did not attempt to change the custom in Spain. Later poskim such as the Terumas Hadeshen and the Maharil justified the position of the Spanish poskim. The Remah makes note of this debate, and Rav Moshe contends that the primary minhag in Europe was to not require a Pruzbul. Rav Moshe goes one step further and says that if the lender demands payment even though a Pruzbul was not executed, and the borrower refuses to pay because he subscribes to the more traditional opinion that shemitas kesofim is still in effect, the lender is entitled to call the borrower to a din Torah to extract the funds. If the lender cannot find a beis din that will adjudicate the case (because the botei din follow the opinion that without a Pruzbul a loan is cancelled), the creditor can take the case to a secular court, since (in Rav Moshe’s opinion) the botei din are acting improperly. Because of the complexity of this matter, rabbinic direction is recommended.

It should be noted that the halachos of shemitos kesafim only apply to loans. Shemita does not cancel wages or credit obligations, unless it was agreed upon that these charges should be rewritten as a loan. However, since there is a fine line between credit and loans, and it is very easy for wages or credits to become loans, a rabbi should be consulted.

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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.