(א) לֹֽא־תִרְאֶה֩ אֶת־שׁ֨וֹר אָחִ֜יךָ א֤וֹ אֶת־שֵׂיוֹ֙ נִדָּחִ֔ים וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ֖ מֵהֶ֑ם הָשֵׁ֥ב תְּשִׁיבֵ֖ם לְאָחִֽיךָ׃ (ב) וְאִם־לֹ֨א קָר֥וֹב אָחִ֛יךָ אֵלֶ֖יךָ וְלֹ֣א יְדַעְתּ֑וֹ וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ֙ אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ בֵּיתֶ֔ךָ וְהָיָ֣ה עִמְּךָ֗ עַ֣ד דְּרֹ֤שׁ אָחִ֙יךָ֙ אֹת֔וֹ וַהֲשֵׁבֹת֖וֹ לֽוֹ׃ (ג) וְכֵ֧ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַחֲמֹר֗וֹ וְכֵ֣ן תַּעֲשֶׂה֮ לְשִׂמְלָתוֹ֒ וְכֵ֣ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֜ה לְכָל־אֲבֵדַ֥ת אָחִ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאבַ֥ד מִמֶּ֖נּוּ וּמְצָאתָ֑הּ לֹ֥א תוּכַ֖ל לְהִתְעַלֵּֽם׃
(1) You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep wander away, and hide yourself from them [ignore them}; you shall surely bring them back to your brother. (2) And if your brother is not near you, and you don't know him, then you must bring it [the lost animal] home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother claims it, and you shall restore it to him. (3) And so shall you do with his ass; and so shall you do with his garment; and so shall thou do with every lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found; you may not hide yourself [from this responsibility].
Let's say you regularly commute to the city on Metro North. You seldom pay much attention to the other passengers. One day, on the way home, someone sits next to you with a lot of packages including several shopping bags from high-end Manhattan stores. The train makes its usual stops and at the stop before yours, when the train slows to stop, the person next to you quickly gathers up her things and leaves. As the train pulls away, you notice some tissue paper left behind. You lift it up and see a gold necklace, a pretty heart, wrapped in the paper. The necklace is probably worth about $100. What should you do?
Tiffany is just finished shopping at the mall. Macy's was having its big semi-annual sale, and Tiffany was able to find a lot of bargains. As she heads toward her car in the parking lot, she notices a Macy's bag on the ground between two parked cars. Inside the bag is a lovely sweater, sized medium, just the size Tiffany wears. Tiffany looks around. There's no one in the parking lot. She opens the bag and finds a sales receipt. It is from Macy's, dated today, and it says "1 cashmere sweater, sized medium, $150, cash sale." What should Tiffany do? In what ways are this case the same as the case of the forgotten necklace? In what ways are the two cases different?
(ד) ראה את המציאה ונפל עליה, ובא אחר והחזיק בה– זה שהחזיק בה זכה בה.
(4) If a person saw an object and fell on it, and another came and took possession of it, the one who took possession of it acquired it.
Does this mean "finders keepers"?
(א) אלו מציאות שלו, ואלו חיב להכריז. אלו מציאות שלו, מצא פרות מפזרין, מעות מפזרות, כריכות ברשות הרבים, ועגולי דבלה, ככרות שלנחתום, מחרוזות שלדגים, וחתיכות שלבשר, וגזי צמר הבאות ממדינתן, ואניצי פשתן, ולשונות שלארגמן, הרי אלו שלו, דברי רבי מאיר. רבי יהודה אומר, כל שיש בו שנוי, חיב להכריז. כיצד. מצא עגול ובתוכו חרס, ככר ובתוכו מעות. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר, כל כלי אנפוריא אינו חיב להכריז.
(1) Which are the found items that belong to him [the finder], and which ones must he announce [in order to locate the owner]? These are the found items which belong to him [the finder]: if one found scattered fruit, scattered money, sheaves of grain in the public domain, fig-cakes, baker's bread, strings of fish, cuts of meat, wool as it is from the country [wool shearings], bundles of flax and purple wool - these belong to him [the finder]. These are the words of Rabbi Meir.
Rabbi Yehuda says, anything which has on it a change, one must announce. How so? If one found a cake with a clay shard in it, or a sheaf with money within it.
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says, any [new] merchandise, one does not need to announce.
Are the views of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Shimon contradictory or complementary?
Does this mishnah help you decide the right course of action in either of the two cases?
(ב) ואלו חיב להכריז, מצא פרות בכלי או כלי כמות שהוא, מעות בכיס או כיס כמות שהוא, צבורי פרות, צבורי מעות, שלשה מטבעות זה על גב זה, כריכות ברשות היחיד, וככרות שלבעל הבית, וגזי צמר הלקוחות מבית האמן, כדי יין וכדי שמן, הרי אלו חיב להכריז.
(2) And these [objects] one is required to announce: if one found fruit in a vessel or a vessel as is, money in a purse or any purse as is, heaps of fruit or heaps of money, three coins stacked one on top of another, sheaves [of grain] in private property, or home-baked bread, shearings of wool bought from the artisan, jugs of wine or oil - these one must announce.