The days leading up to Succos through Hoshana Raba are still an opportune time to do teshuvah, so we will continue the halachos of teshuva on ribbis. Ribbis that is assur min haTorah must be returned to the borrower. According to many opinions, this undoes the ribbis, rectifying the actual aveirah. This mitzvah does not apply to ribbis m’drabanon, namely ribbis that was not stipulated at the time of the loan. Therefore, monetary additions or gifts that were given during the duration of the loan or at the time of payment are not included in this mitzvah.

However, there is a lower-level obligation to return ribbis received during the duration of the loan or at time of payment, according to most poskim. The beis din will not force the return of these gifts, but to guarantee a clean slate they must be returned as well.

There is another consideration that requires returning ribbis d’rabanon. The poskim posit that since these gifts are assur m’drabanon, had the borrower known that it was assur, he never would have gifted these items. Therefore, it is deemed as a mistaken transaction that is not valid. The lender now has items that still belong to the borrower, which naturally must be returned. (This obviously depends on the type of people involved.)

The halachah is that although the lender has to return the ribbis, the borrower may absolve the lender of his obligation by forgiving the debt. As mentioned, the returning of the ribbis is part of the process of undoing the original ribbis, and it is questionable if standard mechilah will suffice for this aspect of the atonement. Therefore, it is best for the borrower to state the mechilah as follows: “It is unnecessary for you to pay me; it is as if I have already received the money from you.” This is considered like a payment and therefore satisfies the obligation of undoing the ribbis.

However, before forgiving the lender, the borrower must be honest with himself as to why he isn’t demanding a refund of the ribbis he paid. If he feels indebted to the lender, the mechilah itself is usually a form of ribbis, because he’s gifting his lender as payment for the loan. However, if he is forgiving due to other reasons (e.g. it’s a small amount) then he may absolve the lender.