- Family and Society
- Banking and Interest
11
Question
Hello my question is the following: I started working at a law firm and our biggest client is an investment fund that makes personal loans. The fund is managed by two Jews and one non-Jew who are partners. The money they manage comes from both Jews and non-Jews, but mostly from non-Jews. I would like to know if in the case that this fund lends money with interest to Jews, I can participate as a lawyer by setting up the structure for this business or is it prohibited by the Ribit law. Thank you very much and I look forward to your response
Answer
Shalom.,
Why don't you include the "Heter Iska" in the contract? It won't cost you or them anything. Simply add a few sentences of the "Heter Iska" text to the contract, and this way there will be no concern about the prohibition of interest (ribit).
In any case, it's important to note that according to the Halacha, you can be lenient and go by the poskim that hold there is no prohibition of interest in this case, for several reasons : There's a non-Jewish partner, and also it’s a limited company. See what I wrote here: [https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/136466].
In this case, there’s another reason to be lenient, since you’re not lending with interest yourself, but only assisting with the loan, where they could manage without you (see Responsa Minchat Asher, Part 2, Section 28).
All the best!
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