[00:00.30]
[00:01.00]Jews, too, weren't supposed to lend at interest
[00:03.90]But there was a convenient get-out clause in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, chapter 23
[00:10.44]you aren't supposed to lend to your brother at interest
[00:13.40]But to a stranger? Well, that was a different matter
[00:16.30]In other words, a Jew couldn't lend to a Jew, but he could lend to a Christian
[00:25.28]The price the Jews paid for performing this service was social exclusion
[00:30.67]Hence the ghetto. And hence the centuries - long association between Jews and finance
[00:38.30]one of the few forms of economic activity from which Jews were not once excluded
[00:46.33]In the end, of course, Shylock is thwarted
[00:49.37]For although the court recognises his right to a pound of flesh
[00:52.84]the law also prohibits him from shedding Antonio's blood
[00:57.31]And, because he's a Jew
[00:58.83]the law also requires the loss of his goods and life for so much as plotting the death of a Christian
[01:04.69]He only escapes by submitting to baptism
[01:08.97]It turns out to be a risky business to be a moneylender
[01:14.83]The Merchant of Venice raises profound questions about both economics and anti-Semitism
[01:20.59]Why don't debtors always default on their debts?
[01:24.15]Especially when the creditors belong to unpopular ethnic minorities
[01:28.41]Why don't the Shylocks always lose out?
[01:33.59]