Question:
I live on the bottom floor of an apartment building, and my yard collects many random items from neighbors—laundry falling off clotheslines, balls kicked into my yard, and toys dropped out of windows.
I'm trying to figure out exactly what my obligation is regarding returning lost objects, and what suggestions can help reduce the stress of doing so.
- Do I need to identify whose item it is and return it to them?
- Even if I don't, do I need to allow them to come into my yard to retrieve their items? It's sometimes really annoying, especially when items fall into my bushes and are difficult to retrieve. Sometimes people ruin my plants while retrieving their items.
- Also, some of my neighbors are very mean, and we try to avoid interacting with them as much as possible. Knocking on their door, even to return their items, can be very unpleasant (they have yelled at us in the past when we returned their laundry that had fallen into mud in our yard).
- Can I put a box by the front door of the building and put everything I find into that box?
Can I put a sign on the noticeboard saying "any item that isn't collected within a week is assumed to be hefker and will be dealt with as we please," like they do in shuls?
Also, is there a difference whether the items clearly fell from my neighbors vs. a chance they fell from passing strangers (i.e., if the yard is lower than street level)? And is there a difference whether all of my neighbors are religious Jews, irreligious Jews, non-Jews, or a mixture (I live in a mixed neighborhood with a bunch of rentals, so the specific demographics change every so often)?
Thank you very much for your help!
Answer:
Hello,
Putting all the lost items in a box outside your door seems like a good idea, unless you're worried about theft (which is unlikely). You could write that the box will be emptied once a month, on Rosh Chodesh, and the items disposed of then.
While retrieving lost items can be a hassle, it's part of your mitzva of hashovas aveida, and Hashem will reward you generously for any inconvenience you endure in doing His mitzvos.
However, you are not required to suffer a financial loss, such as harm to your plants, for others to retrieve their belongings. If collecting the items would damage your plants, it's okay to leave them there.
Best wishes
