Question:
If someone takes a person to a civil court, against their wish, and obtains an award of property again that person. When that award is discretionary on the part of the judge, and also not in accordance with halachic guidelines, can the awardee keep the property in the spirit of ‘what was done was done’. More significantly to me, is a third party allowed to benefit from that property? Can I live or rent there?
Answer:
One is not allowed to keep something which is not his according to Jewish law. There is no concept of what was done was done. One should not rent freom the illegal person since it is called a choleik im haganov whose halachos are discussed in siman 358. It also constitutes chanufo-one of the four classes that will not be accepted in the presence of the shecheno-see sha’ar three of the Sha’arei Teshuvo-and a very serious aveiro-encouraging people to sin
Yosef Fleischman
