Someone went to a machaber of a sefer to buy his sefer for 50 shekels. The person didn’t have money but the machaber let him take the sefer anyway and to pay him back at a different time. When the guy came to pay for the sefer he gave him a 100 shekels instead of 50 (in order to be m’haneh this Talmud Chacham.) Is there any problem of ribis with this?
Answer:
It is permitted under the circumstances to pay extra as a gift, and this does not involve a problem of ribbis.
Sources:
Paying extra on return of the money is considered ribbis me’ucheres. The BeisYosef (Yoreh De’ah 160) cites from the Rashba and the NimmukeiYosef that where a gift is given at the time of paying back, the prohibition does not apply if there was no original loan, and the money owed is the result of a purchase.
This halachah is ruled by the Rema (160:4); see also Shaarei Ribbis 2:10; ChutShani, Ribbis p. 52.
