To Return or not to Return a Perutah?
Daily Study of the Noahide Code of Laws
The Divine Code for Februari 20, 2023
Today: Page 497 - 498
Topic Chapter 2:1
A Noahide who steals money or an object from another person is obligated to return it*, even if the stolen money is less than the worth of a perutah. Today, a perutah is equivalent to about two cents.
When deciding whether something has the value of a perutah, we calculate based on how much the owner would value it. Therefore, if something is worthless by itself (like a single shoe or glove) but has significant value for the owner who has the other half of the pair, one would be obligated to return it
If the stolen object is not intact, the court should force the thief to pay for the value of the object he stole.
Reading schedule of the Divine Code
Yesterday's Study Topic: 1:16 -- 1:19
Tomorrow's Study Topic: 2:2 - 2:4
Curious about the whole page? You can read it in The Divine Code.
Sources: The Divine Code (4th edition) by Rabbi Moshe Weiner, Chabad Article: How Far Do I Need to Go to Return a Lost Object? * If a Noahide steals from a Jew there is an other rule, for that see the Divine Code on p.499
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the NoahideAcademy.org website. She contributes for the admin of the website in English and Dutch. She teaches Hebrew to beginners and intermediate students at the Academy.
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