Re: the procedure of remitting the debt in the year of Shemitah.

Question:

Re: the procedure of remitting the debt in the year of Shemitah.

Highly Esteemed Rabonim of the Din On Line:

This year of 5782 is the Year of Shemitah.
If a friend from the minyan of the synagogue did borrow some money from me, (or somebody else from someone else) and I was greatly honored by this trust of confidence in asking me, how I should remit the debt? Should I write something? Or the debt should be presented to the Rabbi – Beit Din (although we did not sign any Pruzbul) and then be remitted by the Beit Din? Of course, I suppose the debt can be simply verbally declared as written off. But what is the correct and proper procedure for such an action according to the Halacha?
Thank You very much for considering my question.

Ba kavod rav

Answer:

Thank you for your question.

It is so nice to see how eager and anxious you are to fulfill all of the mitzvos, especially a mitzva like canceling a loan.

Here are some of the things that you need to know. The first thing is that the loans are not canceled until the end of the shmitta year, which will be before the coming ever Rosh Hashana, right before sunset. Therefore, for right now it isn’t applicable. Secondly, there is nothing official that one has to do, except for simply not collecting the loan, and when the person comes to pay it, to tell the person that the loan has been canceled because of shmitta.

There is a document called a “Pruzbol”, which is widely used to circumvent a person’s loans from being uncollectable, which essentially is giving the loans over to the Bais Din, and then the loan may be collected. Most people are going to sign this document before the coming Rosh Hashana. When it gets closer to Rosh Hashana, it would be advisable for everyone to learn the laws of how this is done. Although we do write a pruzbol, there are pious people that will lend a friend something small after writing the pruzbol, specifically in order that shmitta should take off some sort of loan, so that the mitzva can be fulfilled. These people want to do just like you.

Best wishes