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...]

By Dayan Shlomo Cohen, Badatz Ahavat Shalom, Yerushalayim The Case In search of a special Etrog for Sukkot, Mr. Cohen visited the famous Arba’at HaMinim market in Jerusalem's Me’ah She’arim district. At one of the stalls he found two beautiful looking candidates between which he could not decide. He asked for permission to show the two Etrogim to his rabbi and the stall owner … [Read more...]