Chavarah- Jewish Community Learning

A blog of Jewish study and traditions. Notes from classes: Torah Study with Rabbi Marder, Toledot and Shabbaton as well as other details found of interest.

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

The Mitzvot of "Lost and Found"

Deuteronomy 22:1-3

It seemed so simple when we first read it: If you find something that belongs to 'your fellow' - return it.

But all that happened was it brought up more questions:
Who is your fellow? (was this rule just for the fellow Israelites or was it for the fellow humans?)
What if the cost of keeping the item until you find the owner is expensive?
What if you can't find the owner?
How long do you have to keep the item when you can't find the owner?
What if the owner is your enemy?
How hard to you have to work to find who the owner is?
Can you profit from the item found while you wait to return it?
What if the item is perishable?
What if the item is illegal or dangerous?

There are examples all the time of finding things and not knowing how to find the owner, OR when things are found and the ownership is unclear, OR how to know if the item is really lost.

If grain falls off a cart and the owner is not aware of this, how do you know the owner wants it returned?

A mitzvot that seems simple at first is complicated by circumstances.

One suggestion is to try to put yourself in the position of the person who has lost the item and try to decide from that vantage point.

And then at the end of the study class there was another ethical dilemma thrown in: What if it is a slave that is found and the finder believes that slavery is wrong....

And reading other commentary on this brought up yet another interesting connection:

In chapter 22 of our parashah, the mitzvah of returning lost property is also repeated from Exodus. Exodus 23:4 states that an ox gone astray, even the enemy's ox, must be returned. Deuteronomy 22:1 again commands that the ox be returned, but this time uses the word "fellow." Rabbi Bachya ben Asher, a 13th century commentator, teaches that this difference in the wording between the two parashiyot tells us that returning an animal to our enemy has the potential to eliminate our hatred. In other words, we always have the opportunity to turn an enemy into a fellow, or friend. This characteristic is labeled as heroic in the Talmud, and it presents a challenge to each of us in our efforts to turn adversaries into advocates.
from http://www.tmt.urj.net/archives/1torahstudy/082304.htm

More links:
Lost & Found - Hide & Seek

Laws in Deuteronomy this is a more general link but it is very interesting summary of Deuteronomy mitzvot.

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