Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (15)
Laws of Vehicles. Last week, we began to discuss the laws regarding vehicle damage and that it is similar to the halachos of “Adam Hamazik.” We now continue with more relevant laws. Stolen Cars. Any time a person buys anything, he must be careful to determine that he is not buying stolen items. If he is not careful about this he is considered aiding and encouraging the thief to keep on stealing, and he has transgressed the aveirah of “lifnei iver” causing someone to sin. This issue is documented in the Shulchan Aruch (1). This even applies to buying from a gentile because they too are commanded not to steal, as one of the seven mitzvos of Bnei Noach, and we are not allowed to cause even a gentile to sin. Pischei Teshuva (2) in the name of the Tzemach Tzedek adds that for the above reason, one may not buy from one who already bought from a thief.
Buying a Stolen Item: Normally, if a person bought a stolen item, not knowing it was stolen, and later the original owner tracks down his stolen item and wants it back, the buyer must return the item. However, he is entitled to ask from the owner to pay him back all the expenses he incurred while buying the item. The Chachamim created this entitlement called “takanas hashuk,” a remedy for commerce, because if not, people will be afraid to buy anything that might be stolen, even in a far-fetched scenario, and this will affect commerce. Therefore, they said that the innocent buyer can get his money back from the owner, and now buyers will not be too afraid to buy. [The original owner can, if possible and practical, reclaim his money from the thief.] By a car, “takanas hashuk” does not apply, and he cannot claim his expenses from the owner, because every car is registered with a VIN number and owner, and the buyer has ways to verify who the real owner is and he should have done so before buying it. This is similar to a case in SM’A 37 (3). It is good to know that there is one exception to the issur of buying stolen goods. If one estimates that the only way to get the item back to the owner is by buying it from the thief, and the owner will be willing to reimburse him for his
buying expenses, he should do so for the good of the owner and by doing so he is fulfilling the mitzvah of “hashavas aveida” returning a lost item. This seems clear from the Shulchan Aruch Harav (4).
(1) שו"ע חו"מ שנו, שסט (2) שנו"א (3) עיין פסקי משפט שנו:ג א:א (4) שו"ע הרב גזילה וגניבה ט'