Mrs. Barzilai came with me to Rami Levy last week, since I have a car and she doesn't. Being talented, I lost my wallet between getting gas and arriving at the grocery store (though Husbinator masterfully located my wallet under the passenger seat later that day). Being nice, Mrs. Barzilai paid for my 153.20₪ worth of groceries with her card, and I paid her back in cash later that day.
Honestly, counting out 153.20₪ is a little silly. It would have been easier to just give her 155₪ and be done with it, and I certainly wouldn't mind losing the extra 1.80₪. It's the least I can do for her to pay her back for lending me money when I had none and needed some. And that, my friends, is the exact definition of ribbis (Biblical prohibition against charging interest). It was interesting (ha ha ha) learning about that experientially.
Oh, and it's a good thing I realized what was happening before I tried to give the Barzilais 155₪ even. Sure enough, when I handed Rabbi Barzilai the plastic baggie with cash, he checked with me that I was giving him exactly what they lent me. Oddly enough, he also didn't want to get involved with ribbis.
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