Halachot and Customs
How long must lost-and-found notices be posted?
Question
Hello, Rabbi,
I keep finding things in the street all the time
clothes, toys, wallets, etc.
without any identifying details.....
I post notices, and it is rare that anyone gets back to me
In the meantime, I have accumulated a lot of things....
a. How long do I need to keep posting notices?
b. Do I need to keep all these things until the coming of Mashiach? Like Rabbi Meir and the hens
That would certainly not make my wife happy, or can I throw them out? Donate them? Give them to the poor? After some period of time?
I would appreciate an answer
Thank you very much!
Answer
Greetings,
a. If the lost items do not have a distinctive identifying mark, you are not obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of returning a lost item. And if they do have a distinctive identifying mark, you must post notices for a period of time that is reasonable to assume they have been seen by everyone (see Hashavat Aveidah Kehilchatah, chapter 3, section 3).
b. If you posted notices and no one came to claim the lost items, you may use them/throw them out/donate them (when the object is not especially cherished by its owner), provided that you write in a ledger their estimated value, as well as the identifying marks they have, so that if one day the owners of the lost items come - they will be able to give identifying marks and receive their value.
Sources: Similarly to what is ruled in Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat (siman 267, seif 21), one who finds tefillin may immediately assess their value and keep them if he wishes, since it is something that can readily be purchased at any time. The same applies to any object that is not especially cherished by its owner as this particular item, as written in Teshuvot VeHanhagot, part 3 (siman 464). And in Igrot Moshe, Choshen Mishpat, part 2 (siman 45, ot 4), it is written that the identifying marks of the lost item should also be recorded in a ledger.
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
