Honorable Rabbi,
I bought an ancient book at auction and found inside it a letter from a famous person. On the reverse were handwritten Torah insights on tractate Berachot, apparently by a prominent rabbi. This was not mentioned in the sale; otherwise the auction house would presumably have advertised the letter. Must I return it?
One might discuss whether a person’s domain acquires property for him without his knowledge, the Tosafot’s view that a courtyard acquires only when its owner knows, the ruling concerning an item that would never otherwise be found, the case of tin that turned out to contain gold, or the argument that the seller should have known what he was selling and caused his own loss.
I ask to know how one should act. Thank you in advance.
Hello and blessings,
A wise question contains half its answer.
In my humble opinion, however, this case should not be analyzed through the rule that a person’s courtyard acquires for him without his knowledge or through the Mordechai’s case you cited. The auction house does not buy the book; it merely acts as an intermediary in the sale and receives a commission. The issue is therefore not whether the auction house acquired the manuscript inside the book.
As long as the letter is connected to the book’s author and there is no concern that it entered the book accidentally, you may assume that the book’s owner knew what he possessed and what he was selling. He surely leafed through the book, and if he nevertheless chose to sell it at the stated price, the sale is valid and the buyer acquired the entire purchase.
This is particularly true in the Judaica market, where dealers often do not know the full nature of a book or manuscript in their possession. It is a market filled with discoveries and surprises, and the book is sold as it stands.
With blessings for success,
Rabbi David Ohayon
This response was translated automatically from Hebrew and has not yet been reviewed by a person. It may therefore contain inaccuracies and should not be considered a definitive reference.
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