Rabbi Returns $96K Found In Desk He Bought On Craigslist [Video]

A Connecticut rabbi who bought a desk for $150 on Craigslist found $96,000 in cash inside his newly acquired piece of furniture. He and his wife promptly notified the seller and returned the money the following day.

Rabbi Noah Muroff only found the cash because he had to take the desk apart to get it through a narrow doorway when it got it home. The desk didn’t fit by a fraction of an inch, he said.

The incident happened on September 2, but it has just hit the media.

“Without detaching the desk, this money, which was behind the drawers, was totally inaccessible.” He and his wife “were looking at each other and laughing. This kind of thing only happens in the movies,” CNN reported.

Muroff called the seller about 20 minutes later — which was about 11:30 in the evening — and arranged to return the cash to her the next day. The woman, who was nearly speechless upon learning of the find, claimed that the cash was an inheritance that she had misplaced.

The rabbi, who teaches at a Yeshiva in New Haven, Conn., said that “The Jewish law requires one, in general, to return found objects to the rightful owner. This is what is expected of a Jew. Throughout Jewish law, tremendous concern is shown for the feelings of other people. We’re here to serve God and to be kind to other people. It should be a lesson for people on how we need to act, what we need to do in life, what our priorities are.”

The Craigslist seller reportedly thanked the rabbi for his honesty in a note that read that “I do like to believe that there are still good people left in this crazy world we live in. You certainly are one of them.”

There’s no word if the seller offered him a finder’s fee or even refunded the cost of the desk.

What would you do if you found $96,000 in a desk that you bought on Craigslist?