Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

The commandment of lending to the poor person: To lend to the poor person — according to what is in reach of one’s hand — in accordance with what [the poor person] needs, in order to give him space and to lighten his distress from upon him. And this commandment of lending is stronger and more obligatory than the commandment of giving charity. As the duress and the darkness of one who whose duress is [already] known and revealed among people and has [already] asked from them is not the same as the one who has not yet come to this embarrassment and is [still] afraid to enter into it. And if he would have a little assistance of a loan with which to make a little profit, maybe he will never need to come to asking. And [then] if God has mercy upon him with profit, he will pay his creditors, and he will live on the remainder (Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 197). And therefore, our perfect Torah warned us about this to assist the impoverished man with a loan before he needs to come to ask, as it is stated (Exodus 22:24), “If you lend money to My people.” And they, may their memory be blessed, said in Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael 22:24:1 [that] each and every “if” in the Torah is optional except for three that are obligatory — and this is one of them. And they proved the matter from that which it is written in the way of a command in a different place, “you shall surely pledge” (Deuteronomy 15:8).

The root of the commandment is that God wanted His creations to be trained and habituated to the trait of kindness and of mercy, since it is a praiseworthy trait. And from the refinement of their bodies with good character traits, they will be fit to receive the good; as we have said that the good and blessing always descend upon the good, and not upon its opposite. And when God, may He be blessed, does good to the good, He fulfills His will, since He desires to do good to the world. And if it were not from the angle of this root, does He, blessed be He, not have enough for the lacking of the poor person without us? Rather, it was from His kindness, blessed be He, that He made us His messengers to give us merit. And there is also another reason in the matter — that God, blessed be He, wanted to support the poor person through [other] people because of the greatness of [that person’s] sin, so that he be chastised by pain in two ways: by the contracting of embarrassment through those his age; and by the reduction of his food. And in the manner that we said [that it is] in order to give us merit did a sage from our Sages answer a certain heretic who asked him if God loves the poor — as He commanded [to help] them — why does He not provide for them, etc., as it appears in Tractate Bava Batra 10a.

The laws of the commandment are for example, which poor person is prioritized for this commandment; the many warnings that they, may their memory be blessed, warned us about it — as they said (Bava Batra 10a), that a person who has [the wherewithal] but withdraws his hand from this commandment is pushed off and disgraceful and abominable and disgusting and detestable until his vileness is close to being like the vileness of idolatry; and how beautiful and beloved and favored and blessed from several blessings is the one who supports it. It is all elucidated in [various] places in Ketuvot and in [Bava] Batra and in many [other] places in the Gemara. (See Tur, Choshen Mishpat 97.)