Replacement of loss
I left my blue Pilot pen at the Beit Midrash. The next day I found a Pilot pen in the same place that was identical on the outside but its refill had been changed to black ink.
I assume someone sat down to study in the same place, used their pen, and ended up swapping their pen, with the black refill, for my pen with the blue refill. Since outwardly they are identical.
Can I trust that there will be mutual forgiveness (it’s been a few days), or am I obligated to compensate for the loss?
Thank you very much!
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If the exchange was made in good faith, then there is no obligation here, but only the Sabbath is lost, as we see in the case of the exchange of utensils in the bathhouse, and therefore it is forbidden to use them.
Not true. See Arukh Shulchan Kalu, 2. In a place where there is mutual taking and there is no possibility of finding the other and exchanging back (and there is also no need because it is clear that both agree to exchange), of course it is permissible.
Incidentally, in the case there it is not about abid inish dina for one's own sake but about permission to use another's tools. But in a place where I have no other way to gain my property, one must also include the consideration of abid inish dina for one's own sake.
There is no best way, but you should first try to observe the lost Sabbath. You should instruct the questioner to first publish and see if it is possible to answer.
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