[Avodah] hashavat aveida?

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 06:24:50AM +0200, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> If you are walking down the street in Jerusalem, passing by a construction
> site where an arab worker is speaking on the telephone facing you and 3
> feet past him you see two 100 shekel bills on the street. You can pick them
> up and continue walking and no one will never notice....

First, I wonder whether if the halakhah in question were chameitz on
Pesach, would one be willing to rely on "no one will ever notice". Or,
would we worry about how reliable that prediction is before relying on
it lehaqeil.

In any case, about the subject line: This isn't a hashavas aveidah
question, it's a qiddush hasheim one.

Hashvas Aveidah is limited -- "... hasheiv tashiveim le'akhikha. Ve'im
lo qarov akhikha eilekha... lekhein ta'aseh lekhol aveidas akhikha..."
(Devarim 22:1-3)

It would seem that in terms of general morality, the Torah considers the
floor to be "finders keepers". Hashavas aveidah is obligatory because
of the kinship of Jews.

That said, if one can create a qiddush hasheim, one is obligated to do
so. The Smag on Hashavas Aveidah (asei #74) even blames our continued
exile on our not impressing other nations with our fiscal ethics. I
translated it at
<https://aspaqlaria.aishdas.org/2011/04/20/semag-why-were-still-in-galus>.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 You will never "find" time for anything.
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   If you want time, you must make it.
Author: Widen Your Tent                        - Charles Buxton
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF