Status disclaimer: I think my mother is Jewish but I have no proof sufficient for me to seek recourse to any Jewish help with this issue.
Problem: I have U.S. student loans consolidated under a private corporation before 2008.
Detail: I visited the land of Israel in summer 2008 and shmitta was on my mind and lips in a confused capacity.
I returned to the U.S. and chose to ratify pre shmitta loans with the private corporation because they threatened punitive measures for not paying post shmitta.
Current Issue: I expect to begin employment with a Public University which would qualify me under a U.S. government program of loan forgiveness with better terms than the private consolidation. But this would require changing the entity in which I’m in an agreement with from a private corporation to an organization more closely tied to the U.S. government. (which would redeem my obligation from the private corporation.)
My concern is that should I not be able to meet the obligations to the new entity my default would be subject to stricter scrutiny “in the heavens” than a default in my relationship with the private entity which would not have the same degree of ‘clean hands’ in the relationship as the prospective new entity.
More fundamentally; I regret the act of borrowing U.S. currency at all and tying myself up into the U.S. system; but changing creditors to obtain more favorable terms is a very rational thing to do.
Respectfully.
Answer:
Shalom.
I don’t think that in this case you need to be concerned for the greater degree of scrutiny “in the heavens”.
Your principle concern should be meeting your obligations vis-a-vis your creditors, and if the more favorable terms will permit you to do so more readily than your current terms, this is certainly a rational and correct thing to do.
I wish you much success, and I recommend that you find out about your Jewish status sometime soon.
