The Torah’s Vision of Kindness: Lending, Dignity, and the Human Soul

“If you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you, you shall not act toward him as a creditor; you shall not impose interest upon him.

If you take your fellow’s garment as collateral, you must return it to him by the time the sun sets.

For it is his only covering; it is the garment for his skin. In what shall he sleep? And it shall be that when he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”

(Shemot 22:24–26)

The Commandment of Lending and the Warning Against Oppression

The verse introduces the mitzvah of lending to the poor and warns the lender not to exalt himself over the borrower or behave with dominance and pressure.

Immediately afterward, the Torah commands the lender to return the poor person’s garment by sunset on that same day, since it is his only clothing and he has nothing else with which to cover himself.

This leads to an obvious question: why does the Torah repeat the phrase “if you take a pledge, you must take a pledge”?

The Three Levels of the Soul According to the Or HaChaim

The Or HaChaim HaKadosh offers a beautiful and profound explanation. He teaches that every Jew possesses three spiritual dimensions that can be damaged through sin:

• Nefesh

• Ruach

• Neshamah

The Torah subtly alludes to all three within this verse:

• “If you take a pledge” corresponds to the neshamah

• “You shall take a pledge” corresponds to the ruach

• “Your fellow’s garment” corresponds to the nefesh

Clothing the Soul: A Deeper Parallel

The verse then continues with a parallel description:

• “For it is his only covering” refers to the neshamah

• “It is the garment for his skin” refers to the ruach

• “In what shall he sleep?” refers to the nefesh, which accompanies a person to the grave, as it is written, “And his soul mourns within him” (Iyov 14)

“You Shall Return It to Him”: Repentance Without Suffering

At this point, the Or HaChaim reveals a deep and essential insight.

The words “you shall return it to him” allude to teshuvah, repentance. From here we learn that a person is not required to endure suffering or affliction in order for repentance to be accepted.

Rather, it is enough that a person cries out to God and returns in repentance before his death.

As the Or HaChaim explains, when the verse states, “and it shall be that when he cries out,” it refers back to “you shall return it to him,” meaning repentance. One does not need suffering to restore what was lost. When a person cries out sincerely, God hears him and forgives his sins.