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[Some of Rav Breish’s most interesting responsa are related, directly or indirectly, to the Holocaust. One critical question he deals with in simanim 16-20 is what to do with deposits of those who could not be found after the war. However, that issue is too long and involved to present in this forum. This week’s topic below is fascinating, and the responsum is short.]
Case: During the war years, in the "Land of Blood," Slovakia, the evil government stole the property of Jews whom they sent away to distant places, many of them to their deaths. They now have many thousands of sifrei kodesh, which they want to sell. Is it permitted to buy seforimfrom them?
P'ninat Mishpat (831)
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit
324 - P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
325 - P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
326 - Regulation of Land Rights in a Settlement Extension – part V
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Ruling: One has to assume that most owners of such seforim hadyeiush (gave up hope of receiving the property back, in which case, ownership is lost from stolen objects). One important rabbi claimed that in regard to Torah seforim, yeiush should not apply because only a Jew would buy them (based on Rama, CM 236:8). However, that claim come from a different context, that a buyer has to return the specific property to the original owner. Even so, the original owner must reimburse the buyer for the money he paid the thief. In that case, the buyer may use the property until the owner is ready to reimburse him, in cases where the buyer had intention to recover the object from the thief.
The Hagahot Harosh discusses the concept of redeeming stolensifrei kodesh along the lines of the laws for redeeming kidnapped people, i.e., one should do so without exceeding the reasonable price for the seforim. In that context, as well, the redeemer may read the seforimuntil and unless someone reimburses him. The K’tzot Hachoshen (356:3) explains that there is a special arrangement to allow people to buy the seforim in order to save them from being disgraced.
In this case, it is possible that a buyer may keep the seforim even if the original owners later want to reimburse him and receive theseforim. This is based on the regular rule that one who buys from a thief after the owner had yeiush can keep them, due to an assumption that the aforementioned Rama’s logic does not apply. The Rama is working with the understanding that if no Jew buys the seforim from the thief, he will have to return them to the owner with some monetary arrangement. In our heartbreaking situation, the original owners were sent far away, and, in similar situations in Europe, the looters eventually burnt theseforim in a very disgraceful manner. Therefore, the owners certainly had yeiush. It is like a situation where one’s wares were washed away by an overflowing river, in which case anyone who found them downstream can acquire them from hefker (a state of non-ownership) (see Bava Kama 115b, the Ran, Shabbat 120, and Shulchan Aruch, CM 259:7). The Rama just adds that it is proper to return such objects beyond the letter of the law.
I believe that the rabbis of Poland came out in the past with a pronouncement or a ban against buying such seforim from the authorities under similar circumstances. It must be deliberated whether that ban applies here as well. However, according to the basic law, there are no qualms about buying these seforim.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: A Contractor’s Leaving the Job in the Middle – part II
based on ruling 84013 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: A Seller with Questionable Rights to the Property – part II
based on ruling 84062 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Dividing Parents’ Resources when Mother Still Alive
based on ruling 82017 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Rabbis in Midrash
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
