Administrator, Baltimore Bais Din

Reviewed by Rabbi Mordechai Schuchatowitz, Head of the Baltimore Bais Din

In last month’s issue of Where What When, Mrs. Schor wrote an article about situations in which someone went above and beyond to return a lost object to its owner and thereby do the mitzva of hashavas aveida. Mrs. Schor had communicated with me and wondered whether these people actually had a halachic obligation to return the lost objects. The question is an important one since many of us, as Torah-observant Jews, often encounter an object and wonder whether we should bother ourselves to bring it home and attempt to find the owner. This article will explore the parameters of this mitzva, with the hope that it will give some practical guidance.

We will start by depicting two scenarios. In each scenario, we will give an A and B version in which one detail is changed. That detail will change the halacha. Let’s begin:

I’m looking online for vitamins. Who wants to pay 12 dollars when I can get them for seven? But in order to get them for that lower price, I’ll need to spend at least 35 dollars on other merchandise to get the free shipping. I rack my brain as I think, now what do I need? How about tights? No. What about my husband’s favorite snack bars? No, he just ordered a box of them recently. Toothpaste? Shampoo? Nope, I’m well stocked.

The birth of grandchildren is a much-celebrated event. The adoring grandparents indulge in many delightful moments contemplating the terms of endearment they will eventually be called by their adorable grandchildren. Some of the more mainstream choices are grandma and grandpa, bubby and zaidy, or saba and savta. Of course, there are multiple variations on these themes, depending on tradition or personal preference. Despite the planning and possible friendly debate that goes into making these decisions, the people whose opinions are not taken into account are the grandchildren themselves. This is unfortunate since they ultimately make the decision.

“Lo tachmod – do not covet.” Oh, but I do covet, I do. Whenever someone mentioned they were making aliyah, my heart did a little flutter. I began to yearn for it. It meant that we would give up all that we have and know here in Baltimore. And man, it is a comfortable life.

I believe everyone has had The Conversation – the do-you-want-to-live-in-Eretz-Yisrael? convo. Maybe you even went as far as to ask your Rav if it was the right move for you. Everyone has their reasons for going. Or not going. What makes someone decide to give up everything and go? I will share my journey with you. Life is like a book. I will begin with my chapter of coming back to America after living in Israel.

Since the Cross Country Elementary Middle School (#247) building has been demolished, many neighborhood residents have been asking “Why?” As the Secretary of the Cross Country Improvement Association, I have been involved in the meetings about the rebuilding of the Cross Country Elementary Middle School building since 2016. I have been following the letters to the editor to the Where What When about the new school. After reading the letters and speaking with neighbors who are impacted by the changes, I found that many neighbors were not aware of the process that took place that brought about the changes to the school site. Let’s look at the history of the school as well as plans for its future.

During my lengthy career I have been privileged to become friends with some very special and interesting people. One of those individuals is Professor Gerald Schroeder. Dr. Schroeder holds graduate degrees in nuclear (and astro) physics from MIT, where he served as a faculty member prior to his appointment to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Dr. Schroeder became a baal teshuva during his tenure at MIT. While in Boston, he studied with the Bostoner Rebbe, Rav Levi Horowitz, zt”l. Later, in Israel, he learned with two roshei yeshiva: with Rav Noach Weinberg, zt”l, with whom he had a regular chavrusa for many years, and with Rav Chaim Brovender, may he be blessed. Dr. Schroeder and his wife Barbara, who is a journalist and author, made aliyah with their children in the seventies. Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Dr. Schroeder was appointed to the faculty of the Weizmann Institute and Yeshiva Aish HaTorah, while Barbara became a columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

In my last article, “The Making of a Chocolate Monster” (Purim issue), I briefly described my friend, 89-year-old Zechariah Nahari, and I was asked if I was willing to write a series of articles about interesting Chevron characters, beginning with Zechariah. Tentatively I agreed, and whatever else happens, here is my article about Zechariah.

   I came as a  bachur to the Mir Yeshivah, and then got married here in Eretz Yisrael.

I continued learning in the Mir, while my wife worked for Otzar HaChochma, the world’s largest digital sefarim library, in its beginning stages of amassing and scanning thousands of sefarim.

We then moved to Modi’in Illit, where, with the help of our parents for the down payment, we purchased our first apartment. As is common in this country, we bought “on paper,” paying the contractor in installments as the apartment was built. Meanwhile, we rented down the block. It was an interesting experience watching the progress of the construction of our apartment.

Ahhh, the scent of spring. The weather is getting warmer with plenty of sunshine while the flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping. Pesach is now just a sweet memory, right? Or are you faced with unaffordable credit card bills from all of your Pesach expenses? Did your never-ending expenses include meat, chicken, wine, shmurah matzah, disposable goods, snacks, extra cleaning help, clothing, shoes, and accessories? And don’t forget the afikomen presents and Chol Hamoed outings. Have you thought about how you will pay for the credit card bill that you’ve just recently received?

Is this a yearly occurrence, a continuous cycle you’ve grown accustomed to, where you overspend over a short period of time and then don’t have enough money to pay your bills? Is there a different way to cover your Pesach expenses or, for that matter, any predictable recurrent expense? A sinking fund may be the answer for you.

I love these stories about how people went out of their way to do the mitzvah of returning lost things:

Temima got a phone call about a year after she returned from a trip to Gibraltar. “A stranger called me and said he was in Gibraltar and had found a siddur with my name in it. He wanted my address in order to return it to me. It turns out that the siddur was a small one that I had gotten from someone’s bar mitzvah. I told the man that he needn’t bother, but he insisted that he would not give up the opportunity to do the mitzvah. A few weeks later, the small siddur arrived at my house.”