18. Identifying Features (Siman) - Part 1

Dedicated by Fran Broder as a zechus for the hostages to be released safely to their families and may everlasting peace come to Eretz Yisrael in the merit of learning Hilchot Bein Adam L’Chaveiro

1.   The mitzvah to return a lost item found in an unprotected area applies primarily to items that have a clear, specific feature that the owner can use to identify it and prove his or her ownership (items that do not have such a feature will be discussed in upcoming posts). For this reason, the owner never gives up ownership of the item and it still belongs to him or her halachically (Bava Metzia 28b and Shulchan Aruch, C.M. 262:3).

2.   A brand, color, or other similar feature is not usually considered a sufficiently strong siman, as there may be many of the same product around. For example, a type of pen, purse, or piece of clothing may not be considered to have a siman since there are other similar ones (Sma, C.M. 267:7 and Halachos of Other People’s Money, p.161). However, a feature specific to that particular item, such as a tear, particular mark, or name tag would count as a siman, as no other of the same item would have that particular mark (Shulchan Aruch, C.M. 262:3 and Rema 262:13).