Question:
I was packing up to go home from camp and was going through my closet that I shared with two counselors and found a skirt. The skirt did not have a label on it and it was not my size, but it fit me. I asked everyone in the room assuming it was not the counselor if they were missing a skirt, but nobody claimed it. So one of my counselors said to just keep it. I took it home but then realized it most probably wasn’t mine. So what should I do with the skirt?
Answer:
Hello,
At this point it doesn’t look like there is much that you can do to return it to its owner. Most people at this point will have forgotten about it and will not come to claim it, even if they find out that a skirt was found. On the other hand, the skirt did come to you before the owner found out that it was missing and before they gave up on finding it. This makes you a shomer, a person who is obligated to watch the item. Since we are pretty certain that the owner is not going to come to claim the skirt, can either keep the skirt in your house. Another option would be to write down on a piece of paper or a document on your computer that you found a skirt, with a brief description of it, and where it was found, and keep this document. This way when Moshiach comes, if someone comes to claim it, you will pay them for it then, but in the mean time you can use the skirt.
Best wishes
