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_(english).jpg "The Jewish Ethicist: Seeking Lost Owner")
Q. Many unmarked articles of clothing were left in a local hall after an event. How much effort do I need to exert to find the owners?
A. Returning lost objects is an important commandment. It is mentioned twice in the Torah, and is also the topic of an entire chapter of the Talmud.
The Torah writes (Exodus 23:4): "When you encounter your enemy's ox or his ass wandering, surely return it to him."
What happens if the owner is not at hand? Later on we read (Deuteronomy 22:1-3):
If you see your brother's ox or his sheep straying, don't ignore them; surely return them to your brother. And if your brother is not close by, or you don't know who it is, gather it into your house and it shall be with you until your brother demands it; then return it to him. So shall you do to his ass, and so shall you do for his garment, and so shall you do for any lost object of your brother which becomes lost and you find it; you may not ignore it.
These verses tell us a number of things:
- Returning lost objects is a very important obligation, as shown by the emphatic expression "surely return".
- Lost objects have to be returned even if you don't know who the owner is: "if your brother is close by, or you don't know who it is".
- If you don't know who the owner is, you need to store the object on his or her behalf: "gather it into your house".
But the plain sense of the verses also leaves much unanswered, including your question: how much effort?
This question is however dealt with by the Talmud.
Originally, anyone who found a lost object was required to announce it three [successive] holidays . . . Since the Temple was destroyed (may it be speedily rebuilt), they instituted that a person should announce in the synagogues and the study halls. (1)
The significance of synagogues and study halls is that they are public places where it is most likely that the original owner, or someone he knows, will hear of the find. In your case, you would have to judge what forum is likely to be familiar to the people who were at your event or are one "degree of separation" away. A good place to start is the forum where the event was originally announced. In this day and age, it is quite likely that this will be a virtual venue and not a physical one, for example the Facebook page of someone known to most people at the event.
The continuation of the above Talmudic passage explains that anyone announcing a lost object should give only a general description, and surrender the article only if the claimed owner provides unique identifying characteristics. The concern was that someone who is not really the owner could be merely pretending in order to obtain a valuable object. It then goes on to say that if the suspicion is great, the claimant should be carefully interrogated.
Nowadays the deviation from the "default" standard would be in the opposite direction. Today it is quite unusual for people to fake a claim for a lost piece of clothing; anyone who wants to steal a garment will find it quite easy. Furthermore, the people answering your ad will likely be trustworthy individuals. Therefore, in my opinion if someone responds to your announcement and asks what was lost, it is not improper to give them a fairly specific idea in order to help them along.
SOURCES: (1) Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 28b
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Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir is Research Director at the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem (www.besr.org). He studied at Harvard, received a PhD in Economics from MIT, and rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Prior to moving to Israel, he worked at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration. Rabbi Dr. Meir is also a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Jerusalem College of Technology and has published several articles on business, economics and Jewish law. He is the author of the two-volume, "Meaning in Mitzvot (Feldheim), and his Aish.com columns form the basis of the "Jewish Ethicist" book (ktav.com)._(english).gif "The Jewish Ethicist: Overtime for Lost Time")
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(2) Dvirah, November 29, 2008 12:00 PM
Practical Suggestion
In this particular case, if there exists a list of the people who attended, I would compose a letter listing the found items, with descriptions of the items, and including an address for collection or a number (phone or web, or e-mail address) for making collection arrangements. I would send this letter to all the attendees and then wait for results. If no one pick up an item after, say, 6 months, I would then donate the item to charity.
(1) Jack Goldfarb, November 25, 2008 2:07 PM
Try, Try Again
On a busy sidewalk I found what looked like an important set of keys with hardly a clue on them. I followed up the scant clues, put an ad in the local paper, made phone calls - to no avail. After three weeks of "efforts" I took the keys to a local police station where I was told it was virtually impossible to restore the keys to their owner. I had a feeling the keys were tossed away after I left. Will I ever search for the owner of any keys I might find again ? I believe I would. Simply because -- wouldn't I want some "finder" to do the same for me ?