In Parshas Mishpatim, we learn: “Im kesef talveh es ami – When you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you, do not act toward him as a creditor/lender; you shall not impose interest upon him” (Sh’mos 22:24). There is a positive commandment in the Torah to lend money to anyone who needs it. Our sages teach us that the mitzvah to lend money is even greater than the mitzvah to give tz’dakah, because a person is much less embarrassed to receive a loan than to receive tz’dakah. The Torah prohibits a Jew from imposing interest on the borrower, because when people help each other, they are uniting through their act of kindness. However, when a person takes interest, he acts in the opposite manner, taking advantage of his fellow Jew’s misfortune in order to enrich himself.