Does a synagogue need a Prozbul?
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Question
Hello, I am the gabbai of the synagogue. Do I need to write a Prozbul for the synagogue, as there are many debts for the synagogue, including loans from the synagogue's fund [according to the terms of our bylaws].
Answer
Debts to yeshivas, Talmud Torahs, synagogues, and charitable institutions are not annulled.
Source
In the Gemara (Bava Kamma 37a), it is explained that orphans do not need a Prozbul because the court is considered their father, and it is as if their debts are handed over to the court and are not annulled. The Rashba and Meiri write there that similarly, with debts for charity, the court is their father, and it is considered that the debts are handed over to the court and are not annulled. This is also the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 67:28) that debts for charity are not annulled. However, the Levush (there on the words of the Shulchan Aruch) wrote that the reason charity debts are not annulled is because it is written "do not exact from your neighbor and your brother," and charity does not fall under the category of "neighbor" and "brother." The difference between the two reasons is in a case where the charity fund owes others, [for example, if a person deposited money in a charity fund and the responsibility is on the charity fund], according to the first reason that the court is the father of charity, in this case where the charity fund owes others, the debt is annulled, as this reason only applies to debts owed to the charity fund - for the benefit of the charity fund, but the debts of the charity fund to others are not handed over to the court. However, according to the reason written by the Levush that the charity fund does not fall under the category of "neighbor" and "brother," it is not annulled, and just as a debt to charity is not annulled, so there is no prohibition to demand from the charity. (Azmera Leshimcha, Laws of Shemitah).
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