Undignified Retrieval

Hi,

One is not obligated to retrieve and return an object to its owner if retrieval of that sort of item is beneath his dignity. The barometer is this: "Would I retrieve this item for myself?"

In other words: If one is getting into his car and he notices a dirty tennis ball in the gutter, then if he would stoop into the gutter to pick up his own dirty tennis ball, he must do so for someone else. If he wouldn't do it for himself, he need not do it for another (although, obviously, he may not then take it for himself).

More on this tomorrow...

(Code of Jewish Law Choshen Mishpat 263:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai