Commentary for Bava Metzia 42:3
בזוטו של ים ובשלוליתו של נהר אע"ג דאית ביה סימן רחמנא שרייה כדבעינן למימר לקמן
we hear him [express regret at his loss in a way that makes it clear] that he has abandoned it, it is not [deemed to be an] abandonment, for when [the finder] took possession<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Before the owner has been heard to despair of it. ');"><sup>5</sup></span> of it he had no right to it<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As the article can be identified the finder cannot legally acquire it. ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
Rashi on Bava Metzia
By the tide (zuto) of the sea - Places on the seashore, where it is the way of the sea to return [to the shore] ten or fifteen parsa twice a day, so it sweeps away that which it finds there and goes. Zuto is an expression of largeness and expansion in the Greek language; like the sages wrote [in their Greek translation] to King Ptolemy, "and upon the exalted ones" (Exodus 24:11), [as] "and upon the zatuti" (Megillah 9a).
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Rashi on Bava Metzia
Or by the flooding (sheluliyato) of a river - when it expanded and overflows its banks and takes booty (sholel shelal) and sweeps away that which is found.
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Rashi on Bava Metzia
The Merciful One permits it - and even when it comes to the finder before abandonment [by its original owner].
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Rashi on Bava Metzia
Below - in our discussion, "From where do we know that a lost object swept away by a river, etc."
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