Q&A: Returning Lost Property
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Returning Lost Property
Question
Hello Rabbi!
I have 2 questions about returning lost property.
1. Can an amount of money serve as an identifying mark? For example, a 200-shekel bill.
2. In the case of a lost item that has no identifying mark, and the owner has not given up hope, or I know that they are looking for the lost item—what is the law? Am I obligated to return it?
Answer
- In the Talmud and among the halakhic decisors, the view is that it cannot. But when that comes together with a location, it is already a different matter.
- Strictly speaking, in my opinion, no. Their view is disregarded. This can be compared to something swept away by the sea, where even if the owner cries out, there is no obligation to return it. Morally, however, beyond the letter of the law, all the halakhic decisors wrote (and already in the Talmud itself) that it is certainly proper to return it.