The Torah in Parashat Mishpatim (Shemot 22:24) introduces the prohibition against charging interest on a loan by stating, “Im Kesef Talveh Et Ami” – “If you lend money to [somebody from] My nation…” The implication of the word “Im” is that lending money to a person in need is optional. However, the Sages received an oral tradition that in three instances of the word “Im” in the Torah, the reference is to an obligation, and not an optional act. Thus, the Torah here establishes a Biblical command to lend money to a person in need of a loan. A number of Rabbis suggested reading this phrase to mean, “Im Kesef” – if one has money, then “Talveh Et Ami” – he should generously lend to the needy. Additionally, a number of Rishonim (Medieval Talmudic scholars) explained that the word “Im” is used in this context to indicate that there are occasions when one is not required to lend to a person who requests a loan. Namely, if one knows that the person requesting the loan will be unable to repay it, he is not required to lend. In fact, the Poskim rule that one should specifically not grant a loan in this case. The Torah forbids a lender from claiming the loan if he knows that the borrower is unable to pay. Thus, by lending money to a person who is likely to be unable to repay, one puts himself at risk of later transgressing the Biblical prohibition against claiming a loan from a borrower who cannot pay. Of course, if one is able to, he should give the pauper a charitable gift in such a case instead of a loan. The Sefer Ha’hinuch, in discussing the Misva to lend, makes the surprising statement that lending money to a person in need constitutes a greater Misva than giving charity. He explains that a person who collects charity has already grown accustomed to soliciting help, and thus he no longer experiences a great deal of shame and humiliation. By contrast, one who asks for a loan has not yet reached the point where he must ask for charity, and he agonizes over the prospect of having to do so. By lending money to such a person, one offers him the possibility of financial recovery – as he can invest the money to earn more – and thereby saves him from the embarrassment of having to ask for charity. The Sefer Ha’hinuch adds that G-d commanded us to assist the poor, even though He is, of course, capable of providing all people with their needs, for our benefit, so that we cultivate within ourselves a kind, compassionate and generous character. Hashem appointed us as His messengers to assist the poor so we accustom ourselves to feel compassion and dispense kindness, and thereby earn great merit. As the Sages famously teach, a pauper does more for the benefactor than the benefactor does for the pauper, as a donor earns merit through his act of kindness. From the pauper’s perspective, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, G-d arranges that he will be dependent on the grace and kindness of others for his benefit, so that he will earn atonement through the humiliation this causes, and will also learn to exercise moderation in his consumption. The Sefer Ha’hinuch defines this Misva as an obligation “to lend money to the poor” – implying that this Misva does not apply to lending money to the rich. Wealthy businessmen often require loans to buy merchandise or to expand in their enterprise, and the question arises whether lending money to a person in this case constitutes a Misva. The Shulhan Aruch (Hoshen Mishpat 97:1) writes explicitly that it is a Misva to lend even to a wealthy individual in need of a loan. And thus, regardless of whether the specific command of “Im Kesef Talveh Et Ami” includes lending to the rich, certainly, the general Misva to act kindly to people requires even granting loans to wealthy people when the need arises.