Q&A: Ownership of a Letter That Was Sent
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Ownership of a Letter That Was Sent
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Recently an article was published about a letter from a girl from the Holocaust that was bought by Dudi Zilbershlag (a member of the Yad Vashem Council) at the Tel Aviv flea market, and afterward he tried to sell it at an auction house. The girl's relatives tried to prevent the sale.
Are the girl's heirs considered the owners of this letter? Or is Dudi the legal owner?
Best regards,
Answer
I don't know the details of the case. Where did the letter come from? Was it sent and did it reach its destination? What happened to it after she was murdered?
Discussion on Answer
So I don't know how to answer. A court or a religious court would need to track down the seller and investigate how it got to him.
Apparently there is no clear answer to those questions either, and it's also hard to prove. The reality is that it is currently in the hands of Dudi Zilbershlag, who bought it from a seller in the Tel Aviv flea market. Beyond that there is no additional information.