Q&A: 50 NIS
50 NIS
Question
Several non-Jews work with me. I saw 50 NIS rolling along, picked it up, looked this way and that, and saw there was no one around. There was no identifying mark. A few hours later, one of the workers came over to me (apparently not only to me) and pointed to the place in the yard where the loss had occurred and asked whether I had seen 50 NIS. I motioned that I had not and ignored him. He seemed upset. On the face of it, this is a non-Jew’s lost property, plus money that has no identifying mark, plus a place that is not considered an identifying mark, so at first I said no. But when I saw that he was upset, and there is reasonable cause to assume that he is the one who lost it—should I go and give it to him?
Now I’ll also come out looking like a liar and a cheat. As a Jew I want to return it to him, but on the other hand, it seems that technically I’m exempt, and there would also be a desecration of God’s name. What should I do?
Answer
In our times, in my opinion, there is a full obligation to return lost property to a non-Jew, exactly as to a Jew. This follows the view of the Meiri (and in my opinion also Maimonides, who makes the permission not to return lost property to non-Jews dependent on the fact that they themselves do not return lost property). As for money that has no identifying mark, the Sages approve of one who returns it; that is, there is a moral obligation even if not a halakhic one. Therefore, in my opinion, you should return it to him, at least to satisfy your obligation in the eyes of Heaven.
You can return it through someone else. Let that person announce that money was found and ask the loser to come and receive it. Or you can tell him that you found it only after he spoke with you.