The rabbis continue to discuss the forbidden practice of charging interest on a loan made to another Jew, ribit. But the rabbis argue about other practices that may fall into the category of charging interest. What is the consequence when one transgresses this law? Are we always required to return the interest paid?
Rabbi Elazar suggests that the Torah's discussion of this issue includes the verse, "and your brother will live with you" proving that interest should always be returned to ensure that one can maintain one's own life. This is a tenant of Jewish thought; we must preserve our own lives before we preserve the lives of others.
We learn the differing opinions of Ben Petora and Rabbi Akiva regarding two men lost in the desert where only one has enough water to make his way out of the desert. Ben Petora says that the water must be shared, which will offer the possibility that both will live, whereas if only one drinks the water, the other is certain to die. Rabbi Akiva disagrees. He says that one must protect his own life which will be saved if he drinks the water himself. This is based on the same verse, "and your brother will live with you".
The rabbis consider a father who leaves an inheritance to his sons and other examples of money that must be shared. They also walk through many instances where interest might be repaid. It is important to note that it is permitted to question one's degree of honour for one's parent depending on the parent's actions. It is also notable that the rabbis want us to understand that when we ourselves are in great need, we must feed ourselves before we feed our needy neighbours.
This makes me wonder about the levels of generosity in the times of the Talmud. Were the people so incredibly giving that they neglected their own needs and the rabbis created this halacha in part to help them with boundaries? Or were the people already quite selfish, and the halacha reflected the behaviour of the community?
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