Heter Iska — for whom is it effective?
Question
Is it forbidden for someone who does not own real estate to receive a line of credit from the bank? And if I have a laptop that can generate financial profits, may I rely on the heter iska?
Answer
Shalom u’vrachah.
The general rule is that a person must have a “business” in order to be able to arrange a heter iska.
The idea is that the loan is intended to be invested in that business which the person owns, and from it he shares the profits with the lender.
The poskim were lenient and ruled that if a person owns an apartment or land whose value generally increases, that too may be considered a “business.”
Someone who has only a “tool” with which profits can be made, but has no “business” at all, cannot arrange a heter iska on that basis.
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