You were dragged into secular court, and you won… now what? By Dayan Shlomo Cohen, Badatz Ahavat Shalom, Yerushalayim In two previous articles on the proposed law to make the recovery of Nazi bounty easier, (The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act) it was explained that there is a contradiction in the way Bet Din will rule and the ruling in a secular court. In the case … [Read more...]

Reclaiming real estate left in the old country By Dayan Shlomo Cohen, Badatz Ahavat Shalom, Yerushalayim As mentioned in our previous article, a proposed Senate bill to make the recovery of property plundered by the Nazis easier presents a special challenge to the Jewish legal system. Previously, we spoke about plundered moveable property. In this article, I would like to … [Read more...]

By Dayan Shlomo Cohen, Badatz Ahavat Shalom, Yerushalayim A newly proposed Senate bill, aimed at making it easier for the victims of plundering by the Nazis to regain their stolen property, raises a fundamental question for Batey Din across America. Fixing the Markets In Jewish law, the buyer of moveable property, be it a painting, a car or a Kiddush cup, that turns out to … [Read more...]

A watchman’s rights to a returned stolen item / By Rabbi Ariel Ovadia Last week, we learned that one who borrows an item solely for the purpose of fulfilling a Mitzvah, may not be considered a “Sho’el” – a borrower – with the strictest level of liability, but rather a “Shomer Sachar” (a paid watchman), which is not liable in an event of an unforeseeable circumstance[1], or … [Read more...]

Liability for Borrowed Mitzvah Items / By Rabbi Ariel Ovadia As Simhat Torah was nearing by, Reuven – the devoted Gabbai of the small Sephardic Minyan in his town – scrambled to find a third Sefer, so that they would be able to conduct the readings in the proper fashion. He finally convinced one of his cousins, Jack Levy, who had donated a Sefer Torah to an established … [Read more...]