The subject of
loans and interest in Judaism has a long and complex history. In the
Hebrew Bible (the
Old Testament of the
Christian Bibles), the
Book of Ezekiel classifies the charging of
interest among the worst
sins, denouncing it as an abomination and
metaphorically portraying
usurers as people who have shed the
borrower's blood. The
Talmud dwells on Ezekiel's condemnation of charging interest.
The
Torah and
Talmud encourage
lending money without interest. But the
halakha (Jewish law) that prescribes interest-free loans applies only to loans made to other Jews. Jewish law allows making loans with interest to persons who are not Jewish.
