Mortgages in Geonic times in light of the law against Usury
The prevailing practice from the Talmudic period onward was for lenders to take possession of mortgaged property during the mortgage period. Thus, if the property were a field, lenders would harvest the produce of the field during the period of the loan, and the produce that the lenders consumed was...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1997
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 1997, Volume: 68, Pages: 97-108 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judaism
/ Middle Ages
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| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism TE Middle Ages |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | The prevailing practice from the Talmudic period onward was for lenders to take possession of mortgaged property during the mortgage period. Thus, if the property were a field, lenders would harvest the produce of the field during the period of the loan, and the produce that the lenders consumed was considered by the rabbis to be usury, forbidden by law. In the Talmudic period, the Amoraim developed a number of techniques for circumventing the ban on such dealings. One was called a mortgage with a deduction, where the lender deducted a fixed amount from the debt each year to offset his income from the property. This arrangement came into popular usage in the Geonic period and was approved by the Geonim of Sura. However, the Pumbedita authorities disallowed the use of mortgages with deductions. The decision of Sura's Geonim can be explained by the economic circumstances of the times which placed many landholders in desperate need of loans. Sura's Geonim may also have been influenced by Islamic jurists who adjusted their law to make such transactions possible. Pumbedita's refusal to allow such practices is best understood as part of a pattern reflecting a more conservative interpretation of Talmudic law by its Geonim and one less responsive to the economic condition of the population. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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