Ultra-orthodox student returns 150,000 shekels he discovered after buying apartment

A woman sold the property to the student, unaware that her brother had hidden money inside the home.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A resident of Bnei Brak returned a large sum of cash discovered inside the walls of an apartment he had recently purchased, concluding a weeks-long dilemma that drew in senior rabbis and left the former owner visibly emotional.

The buyer, a student at the Slabodka yeshiva, uncovered 150,000 shekels during renovation work and immediately reported the find.

The apartment had belonged to a woman from Hod Hasharon, who had used it to care for her brother until his passing.

She later sold the property to the student, unaware that her brother had hidden money inside the home.

Because the cash was not mentioned in the brother’s will and was unknown to the seller, the discovery raised the question of ownership: Did the money transfer to the buyer with the property, or did it remain the seller’s despite her not knowing it existed?

To resolve the issue, the student turned to Rabbi Yehuda Silman, a leading rabbinic authority in Bnei Brak.

After reviewing the details, the rabbi ruled that ethical and legal principles require the money to be returned to the woman who had owned the apartment, since she had never intentionally given up claim to it.

The student accepted the ruling and arranged to hand the money back.

On Thursday, the rabbi invited both sides to his home, where the cash was formally returned in the presence of the student’s family and fellow students.

The seller, who does not identify as religious, was deeply moved by the gesture. “Why don’t they report such good things in the media?” she asked, fighting back tears.

Rabbi Silman praised the student’s integrity and offered a blessing that his act of honesty would bring “abundant blessings in his home and sons and daughters who follow in the path of Torah and mitzvot.”

The unusual case has circulated widely in Bnei Brak, where community members described the student’s decision to come forward as a model of personal responsibility and moral conduct.