“But that which is due you from your brother’s hand, you must release” (Dt.15:3)— but not that of your brother’s which is in your hand. On this basis you say: one who extends a loan on the basis of collateral— [the loan] is not released [in the Sabbatical year].313//T. Shev. 8:5.
“From your brother’s hand, you must release” (Dt.15:3)— but not one who deposits his bills of indebtedness with the court.314//M. Shev.10:2. On this basis they taught: Hillel established the prozbul315=M. Git. 4:3. The remainder of Pisqa’ 113= M. Shev.10:3-4. for the sake of an orderly world. When he saw that people refrained from lending to each other [since the Release-year cancelled all debts,] thereby transgressing what is written in the Torah (Dt.15:9)— he rose up and established the prozbul. This is the text of the prozbul: I hereby transmit to you, O judges So-and-so and So-and-so, who are in Such-and-such a place, all the debts due me, so that I might collect them whenever I wish. And the judges sign at the bottom— or the witnesses.316=M. Shev. 10:3-4.
(דברים טו ג) אֶת הַנָּכְרִי תִּגֹּשׂ – זוֹ מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה.
Pisqa’ 113312H:160; JN1:286.
1. “You may dun the foreigner” (Dt.15:3)—
this is a prescriptive commandment.
וַאֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֶת אָחִיךָ – וְלֹא שֶׁל אָחִיךָ בְּיָדְךָ; מִכָּן אַתָּה אוֹמֵר (שביעית פ״י מ״ב): הַמַּלְוֶה עַל הַמַּשְׁכּוֹן אֵין מְשַׁמֵּט.
“But that which is due you from your brother’s hand, you must release” (Dt.15:3)—
but not that of your brother’s which is in your hand.
On this basis you say:
one who extends a loan on the basis of collateral—
[the loan] is not released [in the Sabbatical year]. 313//T. Shev. 8:5.
אֶת אָחִיךָ תַּשְׁמֵט יָדֶךָ – וְלֹא הַמּוֹסֵר שְׁטָרוֹתָיו לְבֵית דִּין. מִכָּן אָמְרוּ (שביעית פ״י מ״ג-ד): הִתְקִין הִלֵּל פְּרוֹסְבּוּל מִפְּנֵי תִקּוּן הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁרָאָה אֶת הָעָם שֶׁנִּמְנְעוּ מִלְּהַלְווֹת זֶה אֶת זֶה, וְעָבְרוּ עַל מַה שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה – עָמַד וְהִתְקִין פְּרוֹסְבּוּל. וְזֶהוּ גוּפוֹ שֶׁל פְּרוֹסְבּוּל: מוֹסְרַנִי אֲנִי לָכֶם פְּלוֹנִי וּפְלוֹנִי הַדַּיָּנִים שֶׁבְּמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי כָּל חוֹב שֶׁיֵּשׁ לִי – שֶׁאֶגְבֶּנּוּ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאֶרְצֶה; וְהַדַּיָּנִים חוֹתְמִים לְמַטָּה אוֹ הָעֵדִים.
“From your brother’s hand, you must release” (Dt.15:3)—
but not one who deposits his bills of indebtedness with the court.314//M. Shev.10:2.
On this basis they taught:
Hillel established the prozbul315=M. Git. 4:3. The remainder of Pisqa’ 113= M. Shev.10:3-4.
for the sake of an orderly world.
When he saw that
people refrained from lending to each other
[since the Release-year cancelled all debts,]
thereby transgressing what is written in the Torah (Dt.15:9)—
he rose up and established the prozbul.
This is the text of the prozbul:
I hereby transmit to you, O judges
So-and-so and So-and-so,
who are in Such-and-such a place,
all the debts due me,
so that I might collect them
whenever I wish.
And the judges sign at the bottom—
or the witnesses.316=M. Shev. 10:3-4.