Q. If someone lent you money can you give him Mishloach Manot? Isn’t it considered interest and should therefore be prohibited?
A. If the borrower would have otherwise given the lender Mishloach Manot had he not lent him the money, as the borrower had already given him in previous years, then he can continue to give him Mishloach Manot. But only on the condition that he does NOT say that he’s giving it as appreciation for lending him money for those words would constitute interest.
The borrower should also be careful that the Mishloach Manot he gives the lender should not be fancier than he would have given in previous years.
However if the borrower never previously gave the lender a Mishloach Manot, he should not give him one this Purim.
With blesings,
Hillel Meyers
