At the end of the seventh year of the Sh’mitah cycle in the current cycle, prior to Rosh Hashana 5783, (which will occur at sundown on September 25, 2022), all loans are automatically nullified.
If you wish to collect loans after the Sh’mitah year, you must make a Pruzbul before the new year. Otherwise, your loans are nullified.
There are two pruzbul forms. The one in Hebrew and the one in English from the Beth Din of America.
Here are the directions:
You need to make a list of all of your loans that are due to you.
In addition to promissory notes, credit agreements, and wage agreements that have been converted to loan agreements that are subject to cancellation in the upcoming Shmita year, the rules for rental agreements that have been converted to loan agreements are complex, so it is best to make a pruzbul in such cases.
You need only one pruzbul for all of your loans. Therefore, you don’t need to list them on the pruzbul itself.
The borrower must have ownership of some amount of property on which the pruzbul can attached to as a lien.
If a you as the lender suspect that the borrower has no property, you may sell a small stake in some property to the borrower. This is accomplished by one of the judges (or witnesses) handing a handkerchief to you by which all of the borrowers acquire a small amount of property from you.
The pruzbul must be dated. The date on the pruzbul is for all loans owned before that date. If someone makes a loan to someone after the date on the pruzbul, they need to make another pruzbul for that other loan.
Women also need to make a pruzbul for any loans they made on any assets that they own separately from their spouse.
If a pruzbul is lost, there is no need to make another one.
If you use the Hebrew form:
You must ask three other Shabbat and Torah observing Jews must form a Bet Din.
None of the three people can have anything to do with the loans you have taken out. Nor, can they be related to each other.
You as the lender say to the assembled Bet DIn:
I submit to you judges in this place all of the loans that I have outstanding, and I therefore may collect these loans at any time that I desire.
You fill out the pruzbel, and have the three members of the Bet Din sign it.
You as the lender keep this form.
If you use the English form:
You must ask two other Shabbat and Torah observing Jews to be witnesses.
Neither of the fwo people can have anything to do with the loans you have taken out. Nor, can they be related to each other.
You as the lender say:
You are my witnesses that I am submitting all of the loans that I have outstanding to the Beth Din of America in New York, comprised of Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Rabbi Yona Reiss and Rabbi Shlomo Weissmann, and I therefore may collect these loans at any time that I desire.
You as the lender, fill in the pruzbul, have the witnesses sign it, then send it to Beth Din of America, 305 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, New York 10001 or e-mailing it to info@bethdin.org.
If you have any questions, please contact Rabbi Tal via text message at (860) 978-4511 or call him/