Bava Metzia 25 - Purim - March 24, 14 Adar 2

Today’s daf is dedicated in memory of Ilai David Garfinkel of the Duvdevan commando unit who was killed on Friday.

The Mishna lists various items that if found, one should announce in order to return to its owner. The Gemara explains in more detail some of the cases and how the item needs to be found, i.e. fruits in a basket but not next to the basket, money in a particular formation. Contradictory sources are brought and resolved. The next Mishna describes various items that if found in a particular location, the item would not be considered lost, but perhaps placed there by the owner. Therefore, one is not allowed to take the item, even to try to return it.  These are items without identifiable signs that are left in a semi-protected area. Since the items have no identifiable signs, the owner will have no way to retrieve his/her item. One of the semi-protected areas is a garbage dump. After bringing a contradictory braita, Rav Zevid and Rav Papa offer different resolutions - either to distinguish between items that were likely placed there or likely fell there by accident, or between garbage dumps that are cleared/not cleared. If an item is found inside a wall, what guidelines are given to know whether or not it belongs to the owner or is ownerless, as they were left by some previous owner or by someone on the street who forgot about it?