Bava Metzia 63: Delayed Payment and Interest

People might get sneaky with attempts to charge interest, which is forbidden according to that halachot of ribit.  Or perhaps people want to be generous, and it is not at all a question of charging interest.  In today's daf, the rabbis walk us through a number of scenarios that cause a delay in payment of a loan.  The delay might be caused by a comparatively better price elsewhere, or an error in pricing, or perhaps an act of kindness. But the rabbis are quick to note that any of these interactions could fall under the category of 'interest'.

The rabbis teach us that the general rule of ribit is that we are not allowed to pay any amount to allow someone to borrow money for a period of time.  An example is given involving a sale of four blocks of wax, where the buyer was offered an extra block if he paid for all of them now.  But this is just too close to ribit for the rabbis.  Perhaps, if all of the blocks of wax are available immediately, this would be permitted.  Any other delay in receiving one's purchase falls under the transgressions of ribit.

Our daf ends with questions about whether this transaction might have been made in error, and whether or not such a payment might be called a 'gift'.