Obligation to Return Lost Object?
Question
I found inside my purse an expensive necklace that doesn’t belong to me. I don’t know how it got there, but I think it dropped there accidentally. And I have no idea where it came from and no way of locating the owner.
The purse I found it in is one I take to nice occasions. I last cleaned it out before Passover, and since then, I’ve been with it to two weddings, four graduations, a bat mitzvah, an award ceremony, plays, concerts, restaurants, on the subway, and a lot more places. I have probably been around thousands of people with it, mostly strangers I paid no attention to were there. This could belong to literally anyone.
I found out this necklace is mass produced and sold at a major jewelry chain for around $300. My Facebook post failed to find an owner, but yielded a link to buy one just like it. The one in my possession has no markings to hint at its owner.
While going through my purse, I found an expensive necklace that doesn’t belong to me. I don’t know how it got there. And I have no way of locating the owner. I think it must have fallen in by accident and someone is missing it, but I have no idea who or from where.
The purse I found it in is one I take to nice occasions. I last cleaned it out before Passover, and since then, I’ve been with it to two weddings, four graduations, a bat mitzvah, an award ceremony, plays, concerts, restaurants, on the subway, and a lot more. In all those places, I have probably been around thousands of people, mostly strangers
I paid no attention to were there. This could belong to literally anyone.
I found out this necklace is mass produced and sold at a major jewelry chain for around $300. My Facebook post failed to find an owner, but yielded a link to buy one just like it. The one in my possession has no markings to hint at its owner.
It is actually a necklace I very much like and wish I could have. But I wouldn’t want to obtain it in a manner that is unethical or that violates the Torah. It would really mean a lot to me if I could return it to its rightful owner, but that seems like a long-shot. What should I do about this?
Answers
How bizarre that the necklace seems to have “landed” in your purse! In any event, if you are pretty sure that the necklace could not have belonged to a Jew, then it is permissible for you to claim it as your own. If that is not the case (as seems to be from your description of where you have been), then you cannot claim it as your own and you should put it away in a safe place indefinitely for a possible, even if very unlikely, return to the true owner.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team
Most of the places where this could have happened had a majority of Jews present. The two weddings I went to were Jewish with mostly Jews in attendance. I was at two plays at Jewish day schools. The graduations I was at were at Jewish schools too. And I only eat at kosher restaurants. I was at one secular concert where a lot of Jews were present, but a majority were not. The award ceremony was not Jewish and very few Jews were there, but most of the people sitting near me were men. Most of the people who ride the subway aren’t Jews, but I keep my purse closed when I’m on the subway. Considering all this, the necklace probably belongs to a Jew. One of the millions of Jews in the New York area.
It dopes sound as if that is the case. If so, it means that you cannot claim the necklace as your own and you need to keep it in a safe place just in case anyone comes looking for it. If I might make a suggestion, I think that it might be correct to let the places that you were in know that you found a necklace and anyone who thinks that it might be theirs should contact you and you will be happy to return to it anyone who can give you identifying signs to prove that it is theirs.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team