Q&A: Laws of Theft
Laws of Theft
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Two pens came into my possession that were definitely stolen from a military base, meaning they are IDF property. I have no way of knowing from whom they were stolen. What should I do with them?
Answer
Negligible. If you want to be extremely righteous, return them to the IDF somewhere, and that’s it.
Discussion on Answer
Negligible means that the loser does not expect to get it back and waives it. In such a case, even if it came into your possession before despair, there is no obligation to return it. It is as though the loser waives it to you and says, “consider it received.” Waiver is not the same as despair.
In the Talmud, the criterion for an object that people waive is a value lower than a “perutah.” Does the Rabbi think this is rabbinic? Is “perutah” not meant literally, but rather dependent on the practical estimation of each person?
Obviously. After all, the measure of a perutah is determined by the practical estimation of what people waive; it was not given at Sinai. So if nowadays it is clear that people waive more than that, the same rule applies. And if you like, you can say that this itself is the measure of a perutah in our time.
With God’s help, 22 Iyar 5781
To Tom — hello,
Apparently there is an indication that the army is not strict about its pens, since the army has its soldiers sign for the equipment they receive, and upon discharge the soldiers pass one by one before the quartermaster and are cleared on the equipment they signed for; and if, God forbid, something is missing, the soldier is fined and pays for it in full. More severe still is what is called “serialized combat equipment,” such as a weapon and the like, for whose loss there is also criminal liability.
That is not the case with pens: one does not “sign” for them and is not “cleared” for them. Pens by their nature are “consumable equipment” that runs out after some time through normal use, and it is also common for them to get lost, so nobody expects them to be returned if they are lost. And there is no warning of “beware, lest you pen” 🙂
Best regards, A.P. Sinai, Technology and Logistics Directorate
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Apparently there is an indication…
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Therefore the situation regarding…
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What does “negligible” mean?!
The law of a perutah is the same as the law of a hundred, of course assuming each pen is indeed worth a perutah.