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Restoring Stolen Money or Goods
#1
Let's say you suddenly remember committing an act of theft from years ago. The victim of the theft has died or simply gone away, or it's a big business and it's a small amount of a few euros. I have donated charity a number of times, and I always keep in mind while doing so the people I have wronged in whatever way, and that the merit of the charity should go to them to make amends. Does this suffice?
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#2
If the victim of the theft is known, the money must be given back to that person. [Saying that you wish the victim some intangible spiritual benefit does not suffice as a repayment of the physical damage.] If the victim has passed away, the money should be given to his inheritors.

It can be given back in a way that doesn't explicitly reveal that it was stolen. For example, the thief can say, "This is money that I owed to your deceased relative," etc.

As long as the victim is unknown, then it is acceptable to give the stolen amount as proper charity for the benefit of people at large.

You also wrote, "or it's a big business, and it's a small amount of a few euros." Those details are irrelevant to the thief's obligation to return the amount that was stolen. If he knows who it was that he wronged, he must pay back the theft to that person or business.

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#3
BS"D


(09-18-2011, 12:13 PM)Rabbi Moshe Weiner Wrote: As long as the victim is unknown, then it is acceptable to give the stolen amount as proper charity for the benefit of people at large.

What if the amount is unknown? Perhaps it was so long ago that the thief can't recall how much was stolen. Perhaps it was an object whose value is undetermined and no longer in the thiefs possession. Perhaps there were multiple occassions where the thief stole small amounts over a long period of time and the sum is undetermined.

Thank you in advance for your response. May all of you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good & sweet year.

Many blessings,
Donny
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#4
In general, a person has some baseline knowledge in regard to what he took - at least he will know that it is between a minimum and a maximum amount.

For example: he will know that he took at least $100, and not more than $200. The same applies in regard to not knowing the exact value of the stolen items. But it is obvious that he knows what general type of items were stolen, and an upper limit on how many of these things he could have stolen, so it is not more than a maximum amount.

If the victim of the theft is known, the thief must compensate him for at least the definite minimum amount.
If the repentant person wants to be straight with G-d, it is advisable to compensate the victim up to the maximum amount if this is possible.

If the victim of the theft is unknown, the same should be done in regard to donating money for purposes of helping the community or for aid to poor people.
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