Conflicts of Interest By Rochel Gross | December 30, 2020
Hilchos ribbis is one of the least studied areas of halachah. Rav Pinchas Vind, founder of the Beis Horaah L’Inyanei Ribbis, is here to help you through it
Photos: Elchanan Kotler, Personal Archives
Rav Pinchas Vind has a surprising piece of advice for American parents of children studying in Israel.
“Give them a dollar.”
What is this? Some kind of segulah?
“The dollar will save them from committing one of the most serious aveiros,” Rav Vind declares. “They shouldn’t spend the dollar, but make sure to keep it with them the entire time that they’re in Israel. That way they’ll be protected.”
Money talks, but what is it saying? I
mean, no one thinks we were created just to shop and have fun, right?” I asked a group I was addressing rhetorically or so I thought.
“Of course we were!” a girl called out. “Hashem created us for pleasure.”
“Buying clothing relaxes me and that’s kedushah,” another girl added.
“Bishvili nivra ha’olam,” said a third, impressively misapplying the famous quote.
Similar ideas chorused from all around the room. These girls had been fed a steady diet on how to elevate the physical world, but were digesting it a little funny.