Bava Metzia 36 - Custodian Finds another Custodian in his Stead (Finds)

Suppose a custodian transferred a deposit to another custodian without obtaining permission from the owner. In that case, Rav says it is NOT an act of negligence, and the first custodian doesn't acquire any additional liability for losses since he still guarantees the deposit.

Rabbi Yochanan says that it IS an act of negligence and that the first custodian is now liable even for unavoidable accidents, for which he was not liable before because the owner can say to the first custodian, "You are credible to me with an oath, and that second custodian is not."

The final law agrees with Rabbi Yochanan.

Art: A Joint Investment by John George Brown

Bava Metzia 35 - A Deposit that was Stolen (Finds)

If one deposits an animal or utensils with another for safekeeping and they were stolen or lost, the custodian can take an oath that he was not negligent and free himself from payment. If he did not desire to swear and paid, and then the thief is found, the thief pays the double amount to the custodian.

If one rented a cow and then lent it to another, and it subsequently died a natural death, then the renter is not liable for that, but the borrower is liable to pay the renter. Rabbi Yossi says that the renter needs to return the value of the cow to the owner.

Art: Cottage with a Still-Life of Kitchen Utensils by Egbert van der Poel

Bava Metzia 34 - The Four custodians (Finds)

The four types of custodians are an unpaid custodian, a paid custodian, a renter, and a borrower.

• The unpaid custodian must safeguard the object but not use it and is liable for any loss caused by his negligence;
• The paid custodian also may not use the object, but because he is being paid, he is liable even for theft or loss not due to his negligence;
• The renter pays for the right to use another's property, and his liability is identical to that of the paid custodian;
• Borrower bears the highest degree of responsibility – he is liable even for mishaps beyond his control, with the exception of work-related damages.

Art: Protecting The School Children by Andre-Henri-Dargelas

Bava Metzia 33 - Suffering of Sentient Beings (Finds)

One should protect living beings from suffering, as evidenced by the angel rebuking Balaam for striking his she-ass.

But consider this ruling: if one has a choice whether to unload his friend's animal, which is suffering under a load or to load his enemy's – he should load his enemy's in order to subdue his own evil inclination. What about the animal suffering? - Subduing one's evil inclination is more important.

Retrieving his lost article takes precedence over the lost article of his father or his teacher. A lost article of his teacher takes precedence over that of his father unless his father is also a Sage.

Art: Balaam by Rembrandt

Bava Metzia 32 - Unloading and Loading (Finds)

If one saw another person's animal lying under its burden, and he unloaded it, allowing it to get up, and then reloaded the load upon it, and then shortly after that, the animal lay down again, he is still obligated to unload or reload as necessary, for it is stated: "...help, you shall help..."

If the owner impudently walked away and sat down, saying to the bystander, - "Since the commandment to unload my animal is incumbent upon you, if you wish to unload, then unload, but I shall not help you," - the bystander is exempt, for it is stated "...you shall help with him..."

Art: Bearing a Burden by Mortimer Ludington Menpes

Bava Metzia 31 - What is Considered a Lost Object (Finds)

How is a finder to determine whether the objects he has found are truly lost? If he found a donkey or a cow grazing by the road, this is not considered a lost object. This is a lost object if he found a donkey with its gear overturned or a cow running through the vineyards.

If one returned an animal and it ran away, and this happened four or five times, he is still obligated to return it yet again because it is stated, "...return, you shall return them..." For missed work, he gets compensation only as a laborer. But if he stipulates his wage in court, he can get it.

Art: Sand Asses by Henry Weekes

Bava Metzia 30 - When One is not Required to Return a Lost Object (Finds)

In the verse "You shall not see the ox of your brother or his sheep wandering and hide from them, rather, you shall return them to your brother," the words "...and hide from them..." can be understood to mean that sometimes you do hide from them. For example, an elderly person is not required to pick up an object beneath his dignity.

Concerning the areas in which Moses should instruct the Jews, the words "...that they shall do..." refer to maintaining a standard of conduct that goes beyond the letter of the law. Said Rabbi Yochanan: "Jerusalem was destroyed only because Jews didn't go beyond the letter of the law."

Art: Old man walking in a rye field by Lauritz Andersen Ring

Bava Metzia 29 - How to Take Care of Found Objects (Finds)

One who finds a lost object is not required to bear the expense of maintaining it until the owner reclaims it. For example, a rooster or calf needs to be fed but can not do anything to earn their keep. They should be sold, and the money should be held for the owner. If an animal works and eats, such as an ox or donkey, it should be put to work for twelve months and sold. One may use that money, so if it is lost, he is responsible.

If one found books (scrolls), he should read from them once in thirty days to air them out and prevent their decay.

Art: Take Your Choice by John Frederick Peto

Bava Metzia 28 - How Lost Objects are Announced (Finds)

Where in the Torah do we find the idea of returning lost objects by identifying marks? From: "...and it (the lost object) will remain with you until your brother seeks it out...". Since you can't return it before he asks (seeks) for it, the word "seek" must mean something else – that you must seek out whether he is a liar by using identifying marks.

Thus, a lost Get can be returned if the owner names a sign, such as a hole next to a specific letter.

During the Temple times, the finder would announce his find three times, on Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, but now it is announced in the neighborhood.

Art: Thoughts Far Away by Walter Langley

Bava Metzia 27 - Are Identifying Marks Torah Law? (Finds)

The commandment to return lost objects states, "...and so shall you do with his garment...and with any lost article..."

The garment is already included in "any lost article," so what does it teach? - Just as a garment is unique in that it has identifying marks and claimants (owners), so too, anything that has identifying marks must be announced. However, one is not obligated to return a lost object that the owner has despaired of recovering. 

Do we see from this ruling that identifying marks are from the Torah? No. The ruling might be primarily interested in the second part, the owner's despair, and mention the marks only incidentally.

Art: The Poet's Garden by Vincent Van Gogh

Bava Metzia 26 - Objects Lost in a Rental House (Finds)

If one is in the habit of renting his house to others and finds lost objects there, they belong to him.  

Typically, they should be returned to the last renter, but here we are dealing with a case of three people renting together. If one of them lost coins and can't find them, he despairs of getting them back. He thinks of the other two: "They probably took the coins and intend to keep them. But if I confront one, he can tell me it was the other, and I can't make him take an oath." Thus, the finder can keep them.

Art: A Chelsea Interior by Robert Scott Tait

Bava Metzia 25 - Found Items One has to Announce (Finds)

If one finds items with an identifying mark, he can presume that the owner has not despaired of recovering them; hence, he has to announce the find and return it to the owner. Examples include produce in a container or a container as is, homemade loaves of bread, jugs of wine, and jugs of oil – these used to have individual seals. 

If one found young pigeons tied with a rope behind a wall – which provides partial protection - he should not touch them. Perhaps a person put them there, and if the finder takes them and announces them, the owner may not have signs to claim them.

Art: Harem Women Feeding Pigeons in a Courtyard by Jean-Leon Gerome

Bava Metzia 24 - Going Beyond the Letter of the Law (Finds)

Rav Yehudah followed behind the master, Shmuel, in the cereal store market. He asked Shmuel, "If one found a purse here, what is the law?" Shmuel said, "It belongs to the finder." Many people pass by here, and one is likely to take it. Thus, the owner despairs. 

Rav Yehudah continued, "If a Jew comes and gives an identifying mark for it, what is the law?" Shmuel said, "He is obligated to return it." How can both rulings be true? The second statement reflects a moral obligation to go beyond the letter of the law.

John Opie - A gentleman and a miner with a specimen of copper ore

Bava Metzia 23 - Basic Rules of Lost Objects (Finds)

Once the owner has said, "Woe to me for the monetary loss I have sustained," or expressed his belief in the hopelessness of recovering the lost object in any manner, he has given up hope of ever recovering it, and whoever finds it now may keep it. 

If one finds objects with an identifying mark or sign (siman), the finder must announce his find. This sign can be weight, bundle count, or location where it was lost. 

If objects without a sign look like they have been left by the owner, the finder announces them, lest the people who don't observe this law will take them.

Art: Faaturuma-Aka-Melancholy by Paul Gauguin

Bava Metzia 22 - Despair without being Aware (Finds)

Consider the ruling: "If a thief, who takes in secret, stole from one and gave to the other, the recipient may keep the goods." Similarly, if a robber who robs openly takes from one and delivers to the other, the recipient may keep it again.

The robber case is understandable - the owner despairs getting his things back, and the recipient thus acquires them. But in the case of a thief, the owner is unaware of his loss! It must be that the despair that will come later is already effective, just like Rava and not Abaye? No! The "thief" is an armed robber who is like a thief in that he hides – so here, too, the owner despairs.

Art: Stealing the Key by Marcus Stone

Bava Metzia 21 - Lost Objects that the Finder May Keep (Finds)

When an object without an identifying mark is lost, the owner despairs recovering it because he knows that even if it is found, he will be unable to prove it is his. Therefore, the following objects belong to the finder: scattered produce, scattered coins, small sheaves in the public domain, round cakes of pressed figs, and baker's loaves.

When someone loses such an object, but before he discovers his loss - Rava says that the thing is already abandoned, but Abaye disagrees. The law in this case follows Abaye: until the owner has consciously despaired of recovering the lost object, the finder is not permitted to keep it.

This is the "Y" in the six cases abbreviated Y A L K G M, where the law follows Abaye against Rava.

Art: Jean-Francois-Raffaelli - Lhomme Aux Deux Pains

Bava Metzia 20 - The Found Documents That Are Returned (Finds)

Suppose one found letters of assignment (an official letter stating that property was assessed and confiscated to satisfy a debt), notes of sustenance (certifying that a husband has agreed to provide for his stepdaughter's support), certificates of Halitza or any act of the court. In that case, he should return these to the party named in them to receive the document.

There is no concern here that the documents were written in advance because the courts do not draw documents in advance. 

If one found a loan document belonging to others among his papers, it should be set aside until Elijah the Prophet comes and resolves its ownership.

Art: A Difficult Letter by James de Vine Aylward

Bava Metzia 19 - How to Write a Will under the Torah Law (Finds)

Under Torah law, wills are invalid because all property passes to a person's natural heirs upon his or her death. One possible correct way is to stipulate that the gift takes effect "from today and after death."

Under this clause, the gift is granted to its beneficiary in two stages: the property itself is given immediately, and the benefactor relinquishes his right to transfer it to anyone else. However, the right to the property's yield (i.e., including such things as produce and rental income) is not granted to the beneficiary until the benefactor's death. Thus, the benefactor continues to use his property for the remainder of his life.

Art: A Bloomsbury Family by Sir William Orpen

Bava Metzia 18 - One Found Bills of Divorce, Sickbed Will, Etc. (Finds)

If one found bills of divorce, bills of emancipation of slaves, sickbed wills, gift documents, or receipts – he should not return them to the recipients named on them. It is possible that they were written with the intent to give them, but the author reconsidered and decided not to give them, and it was he who lost them. The above documents effect the transaction; thus, if the writer lost them, they don't take effect.

Wills are generally not effective in Torah law; unless a formal gift has been made before death, the property passes automatically to the rightful heirs defined by the Torah. Sickbed will is an exception.

Art: Asleep by Carl Wilhelm Holsoe

Bava Metzia 17 - One is not Believed About his Debt (Finds)

If a creditor tells his debtor, "You owe me a maneh (100 zuz, $5000), and the debtor says, "I owe you nothing because I never borrowed," and witnesses testify against the debtor that he did borrow, and subsequently the debtor said, "I paid this debt" - he is presumed a liar about that money, and without providing witnesses he is not believed that he repaid.

A monetary obligation imposed by the court, such as Ketubah, has the strength of a document, and without witnesses, one is not believed to claim that he repaid it.

Art: Double Portrait of the d'Assy Brothers by Jean Hippolyte Flandrin

Bava Metzia 16 - When the Found Loan Document IS Returned (Finds)

If one finds a certified loan document in court, he should return it to the creditor. Usually, it is the creditor who certifies the note. If the borrower had repaid the money, he should have ripped the document right there, and if he didn't, he brought undue loss to himself.

According to the letter of the law, the land, once repossessed, need not be returned to the debtor when he wants to repay his loan. And it is only because of "You shall do that which is fair and good in the eyes of God" that the Sages said the land must be returned.

Art: Letter rack with documents and miniature of Charles I -Edward Collier

Bava Metzia 15 - Repossession of a Stolen Field (Finds)

If one sells a field to his fellow and it is discovered that the field was not his to sell – that the seller had stolen the field – and the rightful owner repossesses the field, the defrauded seller has the right to obtain compensation for his money by suing the seller.

However, he has no right to the value of the improvement to the land, such as a crop or a house. Since the field was never his, the purchase money is considered a loan. The payment for improvement looks like interest, which is forbidden – so says Shmuel. The accepted ruling is that the purchaser has the right to improvements.

Art: Wheatfield with Crows by Van Gogh

Bava Metzia 14 - Power of Attorney (Finds)

Suppose Reuven sold a field to Shimon with a guarantee (Reuven agreed to refund Shimon's money if the field is collected by Reuven's creditors). Reuven's creditor comes and attempts to collect the field from Shimon in payment of Reuven's obligation. In that case, the law is that Reuven may go and argue the case with the creditor to prevent him from collecting the field. And the creditor may not tell Reuven, "You have no standing in the matter."

But otherwise, anyone who has no standing cannot argue the case in court, and attorney representation is disallowed, and so decides Shulchan Aruch. Other opinions, however, allow power of attorney.

Art: Good News by Hubert Salentin

Bava Metzia 13 - Loans and Real Estate (Finds)

If one found notes of indebtedness, he should not return them neither to the creditor nor to the borrower.

If the creditor has the note, he can use the note as evidence that the debt has not yet been paid. If the debtor has the note, he can produce it to prove the debt has been repaid. Thus, if the debtor does not admit to the loan, the note can't be returned.

Furthermore, a loan creates a lien on the properties the debtor sells after the loan has been made. Even if the debtor admits to the loan, it can't be returned because the creditor and the debtor may have colluded to defraud the buyers of these properties.

Art: The Letter-Writer Surprised by Gabriel Metsu

Bava Metzia 12 - To Whom the Finds Belong (Finds)

If an owner of a purse declared it ownerless and then threw it through someone's house so that it entered one door and exited through another, does the homeowner acquire the purse with the "courtyard" acquisition? - This still needs to be answered.

The find of one's dependent son or daughter, of one's Canaanite slave, male or female, and of one's wife belong to him, some from the Torah, and some by Rabbinical enactment. The find of one's independent son or daughter, of one's Hebrew servant or maidservant, and of one's wife whom he divorced, although he has not yet paid her Ketubah, belong to them.

Art: A Silent Greeting by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Bava Metzia 11 - Acquisition with the Help of a Field (Finds)

If one saw people running after a find, after a lame deer, or after young pigeons that cannot yet fly, and said, "My field has acquired it for me," - it has indeed acquired it for him. If the deer was running normally, or if the pigeons were flying, and he said, "My field has acquired it for me," - he has said nothing.

This method of acquisition is called "courtyard." The owner doesn't have to declare his intention – it is only stated to emphasize the second case in the ruling. He does have to stand next to his field, making it comparable to a courtyard.

Art: Little Deer by Frida Kahlo

Bava Metzia 10 - How to Get Things (Finds)

If someone saw a find, an ownerless article, and fell upon it  - and another came and seized it, the one who seized it has acquired it. Formal methods of acquisition, or coming into legal possession of a movable object, include lifting it, but they do not include falling on it.

Later, Rabbis instituted another method of acquisition, where four cubits (about 6 feet) would acquire ownerless objects for the person so that people would not come to quarrel with one another. Then why, in the case above, he didn't acquire through the four cubits rule? Because it works only in the public area, but he was in someone's field.

Art: Fallen by the Wayside by Edgar Bundy

Bava Metzia 9 - Rider Sees a Find (Finds)

If someone was riding on an animal and he sighted a find, an ownerless article, and he said to his fellow, who was standing nearby, "Give it to me," and that other person took it and then said, "I have acquired it for myself," - he has indeed acquired it for himself. It is implied that he had it in mind when he picked it up, not that he changed his mind later.

If, however, after he had given it to the rider, he said, "I acquired it first," he has said nothing; that is, his claim is dismissed, and the rider may keep it.

Art: Carte Blanche by Renee Magritte

Bava Metzia 8 - One Lifts a Found Object, Intending to Acquire it for his Fellow (Finds)

If one lifts up an object he found, intending to acquire it entirely for his fellow, then his fellow acquires it. This is true even though he deprives other potential finders of the object. It can be proved from the case of two people who have found a garment.

There, each one is holding his end of the garment, and should his fellow drop it, the garment would partially rest on the floor, which would mean that our claimant has yet to acquire it since complete lifting is required. We must conclude that when they lift the garment, both intend to help the other acquire it.

Art: Maidens Picking Flowers by a Stream [Study] by John William Waterhouse

Bava Metzia 7 - Two People Found a Document (Finds)

If two persons, a creditor and a debtor, appear in court holding on to a note of indebtedness. The creditor says, "It is mine: it fell from me, and I subsequently found it," but the debtor says, "It was indeed yours. However, I repaid the debt to you," the witnesses who appear on the document must certify that the document is indeed authentic, and they divide it with an oath, just like in the case of a garment.

Why is the certification needed if the debtor admits the document is valid? Because if we believe him on that, we should also believe that he repaid, or else we need to confirm the document independently.

Art: Convention signed in London by Paul Cambon 1843-1924 the French Ambassador and Lord Salisbury 1830-1904 the British Prime Minister from Le Petit Journal 9th April 1899, by Tofani, Oswaldo Meaulle, F.L. & - Anglo French 

Bava Metzia 6 - Why Accept An Oath? (Finds)

Why does the litigant accept the oath of his opponent in lieu of payment? Doesn't he himself claim that his opponent is a thief, such as in the case of two people with a garment, and just as he claims that his opponent lied about money, he can suspect that his opponent will take a false oath?

That argument, however, is false. Some people will withdraw from taking a doubtful oath but will not withdraw from taking uncertain money. And what is the reason for this difference in attitude? Money taken improperly can be returned, but an oath, once uttered, cannot be recalled.

Art: The Payment of Dues by Georges de La Tour