Parshas Bahaloscha 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (71)
Laws of Loans. If one borrows money and cannot remember who it was from, must he give that amount to public needs?
Background of Question. The Mechaber rules (1) that if one stole from people and doesn’t know or remember from whom he stole in order to return the money, he should donate the money for public needs. This, of course, goes along with doing other steps of teshuva which are regret, accepting not to do it again, confession and asking Hashem for mechilah. חובות הלבבות (2) writes that once the thief does this act of doing the best he can, Hashem will make sure that the victim will be mochel him. The Aruch Hashulchan (3) says a little differently. Hashem will cause it to happen that the victim, or those who inherit him, will get benefit from his money to the value of what was stolen. This is not an absolute obligation but rather a highly preferable thing to do (4). The type of public need and its location should be such that it is probable that the victims will benefit from his donation. Igros Moshe (5) suggests giving to a mikvah. Others suggest donating to a community eruv, hospital, public bathrooms, handwashing stations in shuls and public places, organizations that help people and the sick and elderly with medical needs, or places where people can drink, which is the exact suggestion of the Gemara. R’ Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l (6) says that donating to a yeshivah also accomplishes this because it is fit to benefit everyone and the public has an obligation to financially support the yeshivos; thus, it is like giving the money to the victim. One who lent money with Torah prohibited interest [ribbis], and doesn’t remember to whom he lent the money, should do the same (7).
Answer. Is not remembering the borrower the same as the above cases? Rav Elyashiv (8) and Shut Vayaan Dovid (9) say that all of the above is only when the money came to his hand wrongly, such as stealing or interest, but if it came to his hands correctly such as a loan, the concept of doing public needs does not apply. Accordingly, the same will apply if he bought on credit, hired a worker, borrowed an item, watched a pikadon, damaged unintentionally, and the like, and doesn’t know whom to repay.
(1) חושן משפט שסו:ב (2) שער התשובה (3) חו"מ שסו (4) שו"ת מנחת שלמה תנינא קל"ה (5) חו"מ א:פח (6) מובא בשו"ת ישא יוסף ו' חו"מ ס"ח (7) שו"ע חו"מ לד:כט (8) מובא במשפט כהלכה ב' עמ' ס"ג (9) ב:רמה:ג