That Found Penny...can I Keep It?
The Obligation to protect other people's belongings
The prohibition of theft
When you find something that belongs to someone else, even a penny, you should give it back. This way you show that you have respect for someone else's stuff, you would want that too. If someone's name is on it, or if it has recognizable features, it's easy to return it. If you don't know who it belongs to, it's best to leave it alone. If it has value to the owner, he will certainly look for it.
You can keep a found object if you are sure it no longer belongs to someone. That means you know for sure that the owner won't look for it again. This is not about the value of an object. After all, a pen that is not valuable to you can be very valuable to someone else because it has an emotional charge.
So try to track down the owner or leave it and only take it with you if you're sure no one is looking for it anymore. In this way we create a just society without theft.
Brought By Angelique Sijbolts
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the Noahide Academy. She has been an observant Noahide for many years. She studies Torah with Rabbi Perets every week. Angelique invests much of her time in editing video-lectures for the Rabbis of the Academy and contributes in administrating the Academy's website in English and Dutch. She lives in the north of the Netherlands. Married and mother of two sons. She works as a teacher in a school with students with special needs. And is a Hebrew Teacher for the levels beginners and intermediate. She likes to walk, to read and play the piano.
Sources
The Divine Code by rabbi Moshe Weiner 4e edition
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