Laws of Prozbul in the Sabbatical Year

A person who refrains from lending money to their fellow before the Sabbatical year because they know that at the end of the Sabbatical year they will lose their debt, transgresses a negative commandment, and it is a great sin. Rather, one should lend money to their fellow, and Hashem has promised reward for this commandment in this world. In the history of the Jewish people, there were Jews who refrained from lending money to each other because of the cancellation of debts. Hillel the Elder saw this problem and immediately instituted a halachic solution called "Prozbul." The Prozbul is a regulation that prevents the debt from being canceled; rather, the debt remains even after the Sabbatical year. Thus, he ensured that people would continue to lend money to each other and not transgress halachic prohibitions. Explanation of the term "Prozbul": "Proz" - regulation, "Bul" - wealthy (Prozbul = regulation for the wealthy).

Prozbul is effective only when the Sabbatical year is rabbinical, as in our times. But when the Sabbatical year is from the Torah, the law of Prozbul does not apply. The Prozbul is written only in an important court, that is, before three people who are knowledgeable in the laws of the Sabbatical year. The text of the Prozbul is: "I deliver to you, so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so, the judges, that any debt that is owed to me, I may collect whenever I wish," and the judges or witnesses sign it (and there is no need to specify in the document the names of the lender and borrower). The text of the Prozbul document that has been practiced for hundreds of years in the holy city of Jerusalem is as follows: "Before us, the undersigned witnesses, so-and-so came and said to us, 'Be my witnesses that I am hereby delivering all debts owed to me to the righteous court of law here in the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be built and established. They are Rabbi so-and-so, Rabbi so-and-so, and Rabbi so-and-so, that I may collect whenever I wish,'" and two witnesses sign it.

A person who does not want to come to court and make the regulation before a court can say the text of the Prozbul before two witnesses (and although family members are disqualified from testifying, in testimony for Prozbul, family members may also testify).

A person can appoint an agent to go to court on their behalf to make a Prozbul document, and the agent will say in court: "So-and-so delivers to you their debts." The Prozbul is effective only for debts made before writing the Prozbul, but if additional loans were made after writing the Prozbul, an additional Prozbul is needed for the new loans.

Some have the custom to make the Prozbul document at the beginning of the Sabbatical year, and some have the custom to make it at the end of the Sabbatical year, which is the common practice (to make the document at the end of the Sabbatical year).

It is a law that it is forbidden to write during the intermediate days of festivals, however, a person who fears that they will not find a court at another time to write them a Prozbul, is permitted to write the Prozbul even during the intermediate days.

A minor orphan who inherited loans that were given by their father does not need a Prozbul. A loan debt is not canceled at the end of the Sabbatical year because the court is the father of orphans, and all the debt documents of the orphans are considered as if they were delivered to the court. The law is that one who delivers their documents to the court, the Sabbatical year does not cancel them. However, an adult orphan must make a Prozbul for debts owed to their testator. And if nevertheless they did not know and did not make a Prozbul, they can still collect their debt, as we say that their testator had a Prozbul document that was lost, or that the testator stipulated with the borrower that the Sabbatical year would not cancel the debt.

Those who manage free loan funds who have lent money to the public, the loan debts are not canceled at the end of the Sabbatical year, because the documents of the court are not canceled by the Sabbatical year. Therefore, by the letter of the law, they do not need to make a Prozbul document. And it is good that if this manager has personal loans, they should include the loans they have in the free loan fund in their personal Prozbul document.

However, a person who lends from their personal money needs to make a Prozbul, like all other loans.

A person who manages a free loan fund with money from various donors needs to make a Prozbul, like all other loans.

Bank managers must make a Prozbul document so that they can collect debts owed to them. And it is enough that they make one Prozbul document that includes all the bank's debts.

Torah scholars who lent to each other are not required to write a Prozbul document, but can verbally say to their students: "I deliver to you that any debt that is owed to me, I may collect whenever I wish," because Torah scholars know that the cancellation of debts in our time is rabbinical, and can be set aside by mere words (and even in our time we have the status of Torah scholar).

A person who does not observe Torah and mitzvot and does not know at all about the matter of Prozbul, their friend can make a Prozbul document for them even without their knowledge, so that all the loans owed to them will not be canceled, and thus they can collect them lawfully, because we can act for a person's benefit in their absence.

Returnees to religious observance who, when they were secular, collected debts after the Sabbatical year without a Prozbul, there are grounds to be lenient on them that they do not have to return the money to the borrowers. But if they remember who the borrowers were, it is good that they approach them and ask them to forgive what they collected from them.

A person who made a Prozbul document and lost it can still collect their debt. A person who forgot to write a Prozbul document and is just a few hours before the end of the Sabbatical year should say the text of the Prozbul before two witnesses so that they can still collect their debt. And even if they only remembered at twilight before the new year begins - they should do so.

A person who did not write a Prozbul document and the Sabbatical year ended has lost their debt to the borrower, and therefore if the borrower comes to return their money, the lender must say "I cancel it." And even if the borrower insists on returning the money, the lender is forbidden to take this money at all. And even if they gave them the money, they must return it immediately. And if the borrower insists on returning the money, the borrower needs to say that the money is truly theirs, and that they are giving the lender the money as a complete gift and not as a loan.

A person who returns a debt that has passed the Sabbatical year, for which no Prozbul document was made, does not please the sages.

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