CASH ADVANCE BUSINESS Torah Sources Showing Its Destroying Judaism & World

1:28Now, why is this a problem when we decide? Because if we decide, we start going away from Hashem (God) to such an extent that we start violating the Torah outright while calling it kosher. Now, anyone that watches my shiurim on a regular basis knows that I've spoken against the horrible epidemic we have in the business world today, specifically the Jewish business world. An industry called merchant cash advance. This, rabotai yekarim, is the epidemic of the generation that will bring the next Holocaust. No exaggeration. Now you may disagree with me at first, because you may be in it, or you may be benefiting from it, or you may know somebody that's in it, and you don't think it's so bad. Wait till you hear. In the 1100s, the Jewish people were doing really well in England. The primary business was lending money. They lent money to the goyim, the English mayors, seduces.

2:38necessary for the economy. Jewish people were prospering, started increasing interest rates, little by little took a certain amount of control over the economy. One day, the mayor decided to take a vacation. As you would have it, HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, perfect opportunity. For what? A revolt. The Goyim started killing Jews in the streets. Reason: You guys destroyed our economy with your high interest rates. Fast forward to the Spanish Inquisition, and the same thing happened. Fast forward to the Holocaust, less than 100 years ago, less than 80 years ago. The number one thing that Hitler said, which he used as a pretext for why it was "the right thing to do" to hate Jewish people, was because of their usury, their high interest. It's so high, it got to the point where it destroyed the German economy. Why? If you charge somebody an average interest rate, let's say five, 10%, they're able, with normal growth of the business, to make payments. But if you charge somebody 35, 45, or 50% interest rates, that means that the business has to double every year just to meet the demands of the interest payments. How many businesses do you know that double every year?

4:03It almost never happens. It almost never happens. And if it does, it’s only for a temporary amount of time. The merchant cash advance business charges as much as 400%. And if that’s not bad enough, they make people sign certain documents that give them outright permission to take over all of their assets in 24 hours, even if they’re late on a payment. Not in default, just late. It's called a confession of judgment. Now, some people who are not familiar with this business, but they know someone who works in it, may think, okay, you know, how is this going to bring a Holocauster? I mean, this rabbi is a little fanatic. Mordechai HaYehudi was also fanatical, by the way. We have something in common. It's a good thing to have in common. Why? He was right. I am hoping I'm not right. You look at what's happening in the economy in America: Many small businesses are failing. Big businesses are succeeding, while small businesses are failing, declaring bankruptcy left and right, almost to the extent of what happened during the 2007-2008 collapse. Why are they failing? The economy is supposedly doing fantastic. So why are you failing? Why is this guy shutting down a shop and starting a new company the next day?

5:25He's declaring bankruptcy because he cannot meet the interest payments. When he can't meet the interest payments, he shuts down the business and starts something new. All over the country and other places around the world, there are businesses being shut down because of this issue. This is exactly what happened before the Holocaust. This gives power to Amalek. Now, just so you don't think this is my own idea or source, this is also found in the Torah. If you look at the Midrash Me'am Loez, Parashat Yitro, when he gives you the commentary on each one of the Ten Commandments, he says when there is usury, when there is dishonest business, when there is stealing, on the commandment of "Do not steal," he says if the Jewish people steal in large quantity, HaKadosh Baruch Hu brings famine to the world. Starvation. All of a sudden, Great Depression. Market goes to nothing. And if that's not enough, he also says, don't be immoral. These gay parades and all of these things that people are doing as if it's allowed. And there are certain rabbis or people that call themselves rabbis that are supporting it. Like this one clown from last week that calls himself an Orthodox rabbi but made a wedding between two guys.

6:51Two guys got married last week under the Orthodox. Orthodox. K'ilu. HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, when there is open immorality, when you're making the sin as if it's allowed, HaKadosh Baruch Hu brings a plague. Now for anyone that's not sleeping under a rock, right now we have a plague in the world. It's called coronavirus. Now, the coronavirus wasn't just discovered a couple of months ago. A team of scientists from Wuhan discovered the virus almost a year before it was in the news. They publicized the paper and made it publicly available. They actually even said it was going to come from China. They said it was coming from bats. Everything that we know today was already published in a research paper a year and a half ago. HaKadosh Baruch Hu made the smart people blind and ignored it. Fast forward, we have an epidemic in the world with no cure. According to logic, the end of the world could be in 10 months from now. According to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, this is nothing.

8:16Why? He decides. So why does He bring an epidemic? Why does He bring a potential famine? Why does He bring all of these things? Because He loves us, even if we don't love Him. Sometimes we forget that He's Abba. So Abba says, "My son, my daughter, I'm Abba. I'm the One running the show, not you." Oh, you don't understand? Okay, I'll show you. I'll show you. Rabotai yikarim. Certain types of people are in these dishonest businesses that cheat non-Jews, under the false understanding that they're allowed to do it. So I'll read you a few halachot so you understand that this is not merely an opinion. If you look... at David HaMelech. David HaMelech says that there are certain types of people that are not going to see Mashiach. In Tehillim 15, verse number 5, he says anyone that lends people money with interest is not going to see Mashiach. Yeah, but he keeps Shabbat. Good for him. What about Mashiach? David HaMelech says no. David HaMelech is related to the Mashiach, by the way.

9:40David the Melchizedek? You're not going to see him. I promise you, you're not going to see him. The prophet Isaiah, chapter 33, verse 15, says the same thing: people that make extortionate profit, Hashem is disgusted by it. says what does it mean by extortionate profit? Page 24a says charging people interest, extortionate interest, not market interest. If you're a regular bank, you charge five, six, seven percent—that's the normal market rate, no problem. But you start charging people 40, 50, 60, 70 percent types of interest where you're killing people's businesses just because they're desperate. The prophet Isaiah says, the words of God say, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is disgusted by such behavior. The prophet Micah, chapter 6, verse 8, emphasizes that charging people interest is not something that requires learning directly from the Torah; it is simply logical. Even without the Torah, we would inherently understand that such actions are wrong. And that's why Shlomo HaMelech made a halacha in his time 3,000 years ago, at the time of the Beit Hamikdash. And he states in Proverbs 28, verse 8, that anyone who charges interest is merely amassing wealth that Hashem will eventually take away and give to someone who cares about people. Midah k'neged midah: you hurt people, and He will give it to someone who cares about people.

11:00made a halacha in his time 3,000 years ago, during the time of the Beit HaMikdash. And he says it in Mishlei 28:8, that anyone who charges interest is simply going to make a bunch of money that Hashem is going to take away from him and give to someone who cares about people. Midah k'neged midah, you hurt people, and Hashem will transfer it to someone who cares about them. And that's why Shlomo HaMelech, Chacham Mikol Adam, the wisest man of all time, says, who is he talking about? Is he referring to lending between Jews? No, you don't need Shlomo HaMelech's wisdom for that. Shlomo HaMelech declares that you are not even allowed to charge a non-Jew interest, even if he is an idol worshiper. Meaning, even if he is considered a rasha, not a good person. Hashem despises him, yet you are still not permitted to charge him interest. So how come people are doing it? So how come people are doing it? Because there's a little confused point. Where the Chachamim say you are allowed to charge interest if you are a Talmid Chacham and you're learning Torah all day and you need to make a living, but you can't work a regular job. So you have a little bit of money, you could lend it to somebody to make some money from it, but just enough for you to live.

12:23Not to become rich. That's allowed. But how many of these bankers do you see who are actually Talmidei Chachamim? How many of them are making just enough to live? Almost zero. Now, the Yalkut Yosef, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, and you read there, Siman 159, Hilchot Ribit, Seif 8. Says, the Torah permits us to lend to a goy, but the heter (leniency) was only made to make a living. Meaning, the leniency that Shlomo HaMelech says is not allowed, but it's a rabbinical mitzvah. But where is there leniency on what Shlomo HaMelech, the grandfather of Mashiach, says? You're allowed to lend to a goy if you meet these qualifications. which is just to make enough to live. You need two, three, four, $5,000 a month to survive, that's it. No big conglomerate businesses, no going public or selling stocks to the public, none of that stuff. Just enough to survive. This means that most Jews wouldn't even be in that business if it's just allowed to survive on it. One might say, "If I'm only allowed to just survive in this business, I can find something else to make a living on." And not to become wealthy, he says,

13:50Unless it's a talmid chacham who's even permitted to become wealthy from it, meaning if it's, let's say, a huge talmid chacham, someone that's a major scholar, and he's only lending money. Here he has one customer; this guy comes to him every few months, "Listen, I need to borrow 50,000, 100,000," and he wants to give money. If he ends up becoming wealthy from it, that's beracha. Why? HaKadosh Baruch Hu is deciding it. But that's not because he's going to chase people looking for customers. Already, we see there's a lot more clarity on an entire industry that, unfortunately, today in the religious world is very popular. It's become so popular that I'm hearing there are certain bachurim from yeshivot leaving the yeshiva and joining this business. Now, the Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson, in Sefer Divrei Shaul, Hilchot Edut, Perek 2, Halacha number 5. He actually says, this is a couple of hundred years ago, that you shouldn't even lend money to a Goy in order to charge interest, because if a person wants to do Teshuva for lending money...

15:15that he charged interest to someone that, let's say, for example, he lent money to a Jew, and he charged him interest. If you want to do teshuva for it, in order to do teshuva, you have to stop lending money, even to non-Jews. Why? To completely destroy the desire you have for lending money. Why? Because it's easy money. Hashem doesn't like easy money. Why? It's in Parashat Bereishit. That you are going to make a living with the sweat of your brow. Meaning you're supposed to toil. It's not supposed to come easy. Nothing good comes easy. So, there are many, many other places. Many of the Chachamim, the Rama, talk about it. The Gra, the Vilna Gaon, talks about it. Some even call it Gezel. The sages speak very harshly against Jewish people making money with interest, whether it be with Jews or with non-Jews. Why do I tell you all this? Perhaps none of you are in this line of business. But if you are, B'ezrat Hashem, you'll leave it. I tell you because I care about you, and because no one else might bring it to your attention. The reason I know this is because this business has been growing for years, quietly, without a single rabbi speaking against it.

16:43Why? Look, they're using the money for tzedakah. Look, they're using the money to build another yeshiva. Yeah, we're building another yeshiva, but intermarriage is over 80% in America. What kind of yeshivot are we getting today? If the yeshivot are being built, great, that's good. We need yeshivot. I want to build a yeshiva also in Florida because over there we need a lot of help. Baruch Hashem, yeshivot, we have. A woman called me just a week ago. She told me, "I have a problem." I said, "What's the problem?" She said, "What you said in the shiur two months ago came true." I responded, "I said a lot of things. Please, be a little bit more specific." She said, "You mentioned that there are Christian missionaries teaching inside yeshivot." said "Yeah," and she goes, "That's happening?" I said, "To elaborate, please. I want to say this in a shiur." She says, "My seven or eight-year-old boy came home and said, 'Ima, I learned a chiddush today from my history teacher.' She asked, 'What did you learn?' He said, 'I learned about Yoshke.' She says, 'I borrow money every month just to make sure my kid goes to yeshiva, and he comes back to me with a different religion.'"

17:59This is not a new story, and it's not an individual story. When our primary concern is building buildings and acquiring money, we start making all types of leniencies. For example, hiring history teachers, gym teachers, and English teachers who are not even Jewish. Why? Maybe they're a little cheaper. So now you are letting Haman and his friends inside, sometimes even in the yeshivot. Almost every yeshiva that I'm familiar with has this situation, and they don't think it's a problem. I had a group of kids from here calling me for six months straight, asking me all types of questions, but these were questions that big people ask. Not questions that 13, 14-year-olds ask. Big questions. Questions that philosophers ask. Questions that people who are very, very learned ask. Adults ask. Heresy questions. Oh, Hashem, we had the answers for six months straight. After six months, I asked them, don't you guys go to yeshiva, though? Where do you get these questions from? He says, there are a lot of questions.

19:12I said, "Whose questions are these for six months straight?" "Oh, it's our teacher's questions," they replied. I asked, "What kind of rabbi do you have? He's asking each question." They said, "No, it's not the rabbi, it's the science teacher." I asked, "Is he a Jew?" They responded, "No, he's an atheist." I exclaimed, "You have an atheist teaching in the yeshiva?" They answered, "Yeah, but he's not teaching us religion." I said, "He's the best religious teacher in the world. Look, he's teaching you atheism. He's teaching you atheism inside the yeshiva." called the Rosh Yeshiva. I saw him and said, "You're not embarrassed of yourself? You have 14, 15 kids that are calling me left and right, and I'm trying to save these kids from becoming atheists because of you." He asked, "What did I do?" I said, "You hired an atheist, and he told me he's not going to do it, but apparently, he is doing it." He still gave him two weeks before he fired him. This is happening because we're obsessed with money. Our obsession with money doesn't just start and end at being dishonest in business. Our obsession with money has many, many different tentacles that lead us astray, leading us away from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. And this is one of the things that HaKadosh Baruch Hu doesn't like. He doesn't like it at all. He doesn't like it to such an extent that He gives very big warning shots, like we see in the world today.

20:34Some of this stuff may have nothing to do with you, but it may do with your brother, your sister, or your friend. Either way, a person needs to know that if he wants to have bracha in their parnasa, first and foremost, he should understand where it's coming from. If you understand where your money is coming from, you'll act accordingly. If you know that Hashem is the one giving you the money, then there's no reason for you to cheat. There's no reason for you to try to maneuver something that's perhaps illegal or safek allowed, safek not allowed. There's no reason for you to cheat the system. There's no reason for you to try to beat the system. Whatever Hashem wants you to have, you're going to have anyway. This is one of the things that a person needs to know. And the reason why... then there's no reason for you to cheat. There's no reason for you to try to maneuver something that's perhaps illegal or safek allowed, safek not allowed. There's no reason for you to cheat the system. There's no reason for you to try to beat the system. Whatever Hashem wants you to have, you're going to have anyway. This is one of the things that a person needs to know. And the reason why... is because if you simply ignore everything I just said, which is everybody's choice, everybody can choose to do that. If we ignore it, then the problem is that HaKadosh Baruch Hu says that if we don't pay attention to His signs,

21:46you treat me with casualness, meaning as if what I'm saying is not so important, as if my permission to do something or prohibition to do something doesn't really matter. Thank you. You treat me with casualness; I'll treat you with double casualness, meaning the signs the warning signs, the difficulties become much worse.

23:03...the warning signs, the difficulties become much worse. In many cases, without proactive intervention, the challenges can escalate significantly. For instance, when individuals ignore the musar (ethical teachings), they may find themselves facing even greater spiritual and communal struggles. Therefore, it is crucial to engage in regular cheshbon ha-nefesh (self-reflection) to remain aligned with Torah values and avoid the pitfalls of neglecting one's spiritual growth.