Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Leave Me a Loan

September 9, 2022

Q Does my wife have to write a pruzbul? Do I need to write one if no one owes me money? Does a pruzbul work if the borrower doesn’t own land?

A Women are also subject to the laws of shmitas ksafim, so a single, widowed, or divorced woman who is owed money should write a pruzbul. Dinei Hashvi’is Hashaleim (31:21) quotes from R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach that a wife who has a bank account in her name only should write a pruzbul. It is recommended that married women who are primary breadwinners—especially if they were so right after their marriage—and are creditors, should write a pruzbul. Her husband (or someone else) can be her shliach (proxy) to appear before bais din. There are pruzbul texts written specifically for a husband representing his wife.

Many people think they have not made loans and so do not need a pruzbul. But this is often not the case. One who has money in a Jewish bank with a heter iska, for example, requires a pruzbul. A shopkeeper who allows customers to buy on credit often requires a pruzbul.

Finally, a pruzbul can only be written if the borrower owns land, rents land, or has a room and board agreement; he must have some connection to land. A young bachur, for example, may not have one, so some pruzbul texts include a clause wherein the lender gifts the borrower a tiny piece of land.