Our Mishna on Amud Beis describes The scope of activities that one would be forbidden to engage in with a person he made a vow to not have any benefit from. Two different words are used to describe the activity of lending. In Hebrew שאלה she’elah is used for borrowing objects, while halva’ah הלוא ‏ is used for borrowing money. This distinction exists in Hebrew but not in English. In English we use the word lend and borrow equally for money as for objects. Interestingly, Latin has a similar distinction as Hebrew. The word “nexus” means an intersection or connection and also means a legal obligation or commitment. This is similar to the Hebrew root of lend which means to be attached or connected, like the Hebrew word levaya, to accompany the deceased. Or Leah called her third son Levi in the hopes that this would finally cause her husband to become more attached to her. 

וַתַּ֣הַר עוֹד֮ וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּן֒ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר עַתָּ֤ה הַפַּ֙עַם֙ יִלָּוֶ֤ה אִישִׁי֙ אֵלַ֔י כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי ל֖וֹ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה בָנִ֑ים עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמ֖וֹ לֵוִֽי׃

Again she conceived and bore a son and declared, “This time my husband will become attached to me, for I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi.

However, the Hebrew word for borrowing objects comes from a different root. She’elah שאלה means to ask, but probably its root is from the word end or edge, such as Hebrew for שולים which is a hem, or של which means to remove as when God asked Moshe to remove his shoes:

Shemos (3:5)

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃

And [God] said, “Do not come closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground!”

I’ll go out on a limb and say that the Hebrew word for mine שלי has the same roots. It means the boundary between what is mine and yours, that is the edge.

Similarly this distinction is represented in Halakha. On Shabbos one must use a language of She’elah and not Halva’ah, since the latter represents a longer-term business endeavor, and one might come to write it down on Shabbos. In English and other languages where there is no distinction between borrowing money and borrowing objects, one must be careful to use a language that has no mercantile valence, such as “give this to me” as opposed to “lend this to me”. (See Shulkhan Arukh OC 307:11 Mishna Berura loc. cit.)

So, if we were trying to understand the psychological intent of these two word forms, we can say that lending an object שאלה is more boundaried. You are saying that you’re allowing this person to somewhat enter into your domain by borrowing your object. However, הלואה lending money is actually intersecting and accompanying your possession into the other person’s domain. This is why there is a Talmudic principle מלוה להוצאה ניתנה which means that once money is loaned, it is no longer in the possession of the lender as it is expected to be spent. The borrower pays back with different coinage but not the same exact money which is now in the possession of the borrower. This can affect whether or not money given over and alone can then be used to marry somebody. 

Extending from the linguistics to the metaphysics, Likkutei Halachos (Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Geviyyas Chov 3:5) explains that when you lend a person money, you are also giving them a part of your financial mazal, because at that moment, when they keep the money they now are financially solvent. As we have discussed in prior psychology of the Daf’s (see Rosh Hashana 29), symbolic Action is a form of prayer. Thus, when you lend a person money and you give it fully to him, you’re actually activating their ability to be wealthy.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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