Q&A: Returning Lost Property
Returning Lost Property
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I found a 200-shekel bill last week in a busy city center full of people and foot traffic, a place packed with restaurants and other shops. I found it at 1:30 PM, right in the middle of the sidewalk (impossible to miss).
I know that I am not obligated to return lost property in this case (there are no identifying marks, etc.), but I still left a notice at the place where I found it saying that money had been found, thinking that I would be able to verify anyone claiming ownership of the money: how much it was, the condition of the bill (folded in half or crumpled), and especially—because the place is so crowded—when he had lost the money.
A week passed, and only one person contacted me. He knew the amount of money and was also able to estimate correctly the area where it was found, and that the bill was crumpled. However, he claimed that he had definitely lost the money already at 9 in the morning (he said he came to pay a taxi and suddenly saw that the money was gone from his pocket, and this was a little before 9), and I am wondering whether he is really the owner of the money. I think it is almost impossible that he is the one who lost it, since from good familiarity with the place (I have worked in the area for several years) I know that from 9 until 1:30 dozens and dozens of people passed by. But on the other hand, he did answer the rest of the details correctly, and in general he sounded and seemed like a decent, honest person—and if I believe him that he lost money:
So what is more likely—that two people lost money during the same period and in the same place, or that one person lost it and for several hours the money was lying in the middle of the sidewalk and dozens of people did not notice it?
In any case, the question is no longer relevant. I saw that it mattered to him, so I returned/brought him the money (at worst, charity), but I am interested in your opinion.
Answer
It is hard to determine, and it seems this is a case of doubt. Strictly speaking, there is no obligation to return it, but beyond the letter of the law it seems to me that it makes no difference. After all, you were convinced that he really did lose 200 shekels, and the only question is whether this was that particular bill or another one. What practical difference is there? Money by its nature is symbolic, so there is no significance to ownership of a particular banknote. In my series of columns I explained that it is only a symbol of ownership over a certain amount of value. Therefore, in my opinion, the value of returning it beyond the letter of the law exists even in this case: at the end of the day, he really is missing it, and it is not yours. True, one could say that his luck and your luck caused it—that he lost one bill but you found another bill. But those are not arguments on the moral plane.
So in my opinion, you did well.
I think that in any case this is returning lost property and not charity, but it is morally returning lost property, as I explained (even if this particular bill was not originally his).