Fuhgeddaboudit

When someone does you a favor, you say “Shkoyach.”

“Can you please pass the gefilte fish?”

“Sure.”

“Shkoyach.”

What does shkoyach mean? Although it is obviously not a real word, the closest definition might be “forget it.” So a conversation might go something like this: “I would like to give you a new car as a present.” You answer, “Shkoyach (forget it!)” Of course, the intended literal definition is usually something close to “good job.” However, people have varied uses for the word.

When my brother became a chasan, someone wished me “shkoyach.” I’m not sure what the intended usage was there. Sometimes, shkoyach is used derisively—as in when you hear the ad on the radio asking you to donate your used car to Heritage for the Blind, you say shkoyach. Perhaps you say shkoyach when you see the J&R ad for the solar-powered flashlight. (Now, why didn’t I think of that!)

Many of us know that shkoyach is just a short way of saying “yasher koach,” which means “true strength.” Sounds funny, right? The real term intended is “yeeshar kochacha,” which the Schottenstein edition of the Talmud translates as “your strength should be true,” a blessing intended to wish the recipient continued strength.

Who coined this phrase? Hashem did! My brother pointed out the Gemara in Shabbos 87a. Reish Lakish expounds the words “[the Tablets] that you [Moshe] broke” to be a reference to Hashem’s statement to him of “yeeshar kochacha that you broke.” Hashem was informing Moshe Rabbeinu of His approval of the breaking of the Luchos by giving him this berachah. However, most people do not intend to give a berachah when they utter “shkoyach.” They just intend it as “job well done.”

The intention of the speaker and whether or not it is a berachah may have halachic consequences.

Our Gemara in Shevuos (44a) quotes Rebbi Yitzchak as stating that a creditor legally acquires collateral while it is under his care. Rashi (in Pesachim) takes that to mean that the creditor has total liability for any loss of the collateral, even if due to wholly unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances. What was Rebbi Yitzchak’s proof? The verse (Devarim 24:13) states that if the creditor temporarily returns the collateral to the borrower when he needs to use it, it will be considered an act of charity for him (“v’lecha tihyeh tzedakah.”)

Tosefos explains that an act of charity can be achieved only by giving up something that one owns. Giving permission to the borrower to use an object that the borrower legally owns would be considered an act of kindness, but not tzedakah. From the fact that the Torah refers to permitting the borrower to use the collateral as tzedakah, we see that the object belongs to the lender for the duration of the loan.

However, Tosefos in Kiddushin explains Rebbi Yitzchak’s proof quite differently. The pasuk says (Devarim 24:13) “You shall surely return the security at sundown and he will sleep with his clothing and he will bless you.” The pasuk is clearly stating that the borrower will bless the lender when he temporarily returns the security. Tosefos says Rebbi Yitzchak was wondering: how is it permitted for the borrower to bless the lender? It’s ribbis!

The halachah is that a borrower may not even greet his lender if he was not accustomed to doing so prior to the loan. It is considered a violation of the laws against usury. He may certainly not offer the lender a gratuitous blessing. It must be, concludes Rebbi Yitzchak, that the lender becomes the owner of the collateral for the duration of the loan and the blessing is tantamount to a rental payment for the object.

There were some authorities that ruled that a borrower should not even say “thank you” to the lender, as that may qualify as forbidden interest. After the loan is repaid, the borrower may then certainly thank his lender. Although interest may not be offered even after the loan is repaid, this form of interest, ribbis devarim, is an exception.

Some individuals thought it would be better for the borrower to say “tizkeh l’mitzvos” to the lender rather than “thank you.” However, based on the above, Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach, zt’l, strongly disagreed. “Tizkeh l’mitzvos” is a blessing that the lender should merit performing more mitzvos. As we saw above, a borrower may not bless his lender (except in return for a separate favor). Rav Shlomo Zalman felt that a mere “thank you” would be permitted, because it is the appropriate polite thing to say and not something out of the ordinary.

Would a borrower be permitted to say “shkoyach” to his lender? It is supposed to be berachah, but it has really lost its meaning. Perhaps Rav Shlomo Zalman would still say that it is forbidden. The Nesivos Shalom, however, rules that if one says shkoyach or tizkeh l’mitzvos without being cognizant of its meaning, then it is a mere of expression of thanks and it would indeed be permitted.

Did you like this article? Shkoyach!