Hashavat Aveida Study Session #2
As I previously wrote, there are 4 main sources of oral tradition: Mishna, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud (Palestinian Talmud) and Babylonian Talmud
Additionally, we have the Midrash sources, both Halacha and Aggada (philosophical stories).
As it happens, the Midrash on this week’s parsha (Metzora), leads to a Halachik discussion about returning lost items.
Let’s start with the Torah, Vaykira 14:34:
When ye are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy [Tzaraat] in a house of the land of your possession
Vaykira Rabba is one of the most ancient midrash books, and on this verse it says (Vayikra Rabba 17):
It is written: "and I gave the plague of Tzaraat” (Vayikra 14:34).
Rabbi Hiya learned - and is this [good] news for them that a plague will come upon them?
Rabbi Shimon son of Yohai learned - since the Canaanites heard that Yisrael were coming upon them, they got up and they hid their money in their houses and in their fields . The Holy One Blessed Be He [Hash-m] said "I promised to your forefathers that I would enter their children to a land full of good" as it is said (Devarim 6:11) “ and houses full of good.” What did Hash-m do? He sent plagues in their houses [of Jews who settled in Israel] - and he [the owner of the house] would break it down and he would find there a treasure.
Indeed, the Mishna (Bava Metzia 2:3) says:
If one found [an object] in a stone-pile or in an old wall, these belong to him [the finder].
The Tosefta (Bava Metzia 2:4) explains further:
If one found [an object] in a stone-pile or in an old wall, these belong to him [the finder], since he can say that they belong to the Amorites [ie, the nations who lived in Israel before the Jews]
The Talmud raises a question on that (Bava Metzia 25b-26a):
The Gemara asks: Is that to say that Amorites conceal items but Jews do not conceal items? Perhaps it was the homeowner who placed the item in the wall or the heap. The Gemara answers: No, the baraita [ie, Tosefta] is necessary only in the specific case where the item is extremely rusted, indicating that it had been left there for a long time.
Later commentators continued to debate whether such a find belongs to the finder, how can we know who the original owner was, and at what point can we say that the original owner has ‘given up’ on finding it.
The Shulchan Aruch, for example, says (Choshen Mishpat 260) that it must be rusty and buried deep down. If there’s any sign or doubt that this is a ‘new’ treasure, one should assume it was left there on purpose and leave it untouched.
Of course, nowadays, you might be obligated by law to report ancient treasures you happen to find in ancient places.
