Credit is the oxygen of every society. In many cases we wonder why the rabbis prohibit certain business credit transactions considering them usury. The writer uses literary and epigraphic sources to decipher the rabbinic approach. This book shows how rabbinic legislation innovatively expand the Torah prohibition of usury in loans to all fields of credit. It is a pioneering inquiry regarding rabbinic literature compiled under Roman and Sasanid rule, helping to fill the void in research concerning credit. It also distinguishes various kinds of credit differentiating credit of money for money, or products, exposing the ramifications of the rabbinic legislation.
By:
Ben Zion Rosenfeld
Imprint: Brill
Volume: 75
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 155mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 571g
ISBN: 9789004681958
ISBN 10: 9004681957
Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism
Pages: 268
Publication Date: 13 December 2023
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents Preface Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1.1 Aims and Structure 1.2 Credit: A Definition 1.3 Sources and Methods 1.4 Previous Research, Manuscripts, and Editions 1.5 The Structure of the Book 2 Credit in Rome and Persia 2.1 Credit in the Roman World 2.2 Credit in the Parthian and Sasanian Empires 3 Credit and Usury in Jewish Society in Palestine and Babylon 3.1 Socio-Historical Background 3.2 Lenders and Borrowers in Jewish Roman Palestine 3.3 The Economy of the Jewish Community of Babylon 3.4 Types of Credit in Palestine and Babylon 3.5 The Rabbis’ Considerations: Social Justice 3.6 Credit in Jewish Society: The Problem of Interest 3.7 Expanding the Scope of Usury 3.8 Jews and Non-Jews 4 “Money for Money” 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Lending “Money for Money” 4.3 Usury in Loans of “Money for Money” 4.4 Business Partnership (Iska) 5 “Money for Fruit” 5.1 Introduction 5.2 “Money for Fruit”: Future Sales (Pesika) 5.3 Linking a Loan to the Price of a Commodity 5.4 Down Payments 5.5 Future Sales That Are Not Pesika 5.6 Loans against Deduction of Future Tithes from the Field 5.7 Summary 6 “Fruit for Money” 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Sale on Credit 6.3 Delayed Payment 6.4 A Cash Loan Presented as a Two-Sided Sale Transaction 6.5 Tarsha: A Talmudic Version of Delayed Payment 6.6 “Fruit for Money” in a Partnership 6.7 “Iron Flocks”: An Agreement to Ensure the Investor’s Capital 6.8 Transport of Merchandise Guaranteeing the “High Price” 6.9 Conclusion 7 “Fruit for Fruit” 7.1 Introduction: In the Roman World 7.2 “Fruit for Fruit” in Rabbinic Literature 7.3 “Fruit for Fruit” for the Purchase of Seeds 7.4 Additional Cases of Usury in Sharecropping 7.5 Paying Back a Prohibited Loan of “Fruit for Fruit” 7.6 Exchange of Services 7.7 Loan of “Denars for Denars” 7.8 Conclusion 8 The Sages’ Attitude toward Those Involved in Usury 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Expanding the Prohibition 8.3 Combating Usury 8.4 Repentance from Usury 8.5 Permission to Lend for Interest in Special Cases 9 Conclusion 9.1 Contributions to Scholarship 9.2 Epilogue Bibliography Index
Ben-Zion Rosenfeld, Ph.D. (1982), Bar Ilan University, is Prof. (Em.) of Jewish History. He has published many monographs and articles on Social and Economic History of Rabbinic Literature of Roman Palestine, including research on Greco Roman culture and Early Christianity.
