Teshuvah for a Seven-Year-Old Robin Hood

Question

My son is seven years old and is highly active. We were a little surprised on Purim when he decided to dress up like Robin Hood, who was famous for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When he started stealing candies from the local grocery store and distributing them to his friends, we retroactively understood why he had chosen that particular costume.

We are doing everything possible to direct our son on the right path and to channel his energy into more kosher endeavors. Meanwhile, I have a number of questions regarding how to proceed in the interim:

1. I know that a koton is generally not obligated to pay for damages. Is this the case regarding my son? 

2. If he is exempt now, will the din change when he gets older? 

3. What should we do with the remaining candies? 
   

Thank you.

Moshe

Rav Zafrani 

First of all, I want to encourage you not to give up on your son. Many great talmidei chachomim, including the Rambam, the Netziv, and the Brisker Rov, were shovev, mischievous, in their younger years. Often, the greater the yeitzer hora a person has, the more potential he has for kedusha. At times, these mischievous children later became great talmidei chachomim.

Chazal (Bava Kama 87a) teach us that cheireish shoteh v’koton pigiasan ra’ah. When these three individuals cause damage, the victims lose out. Since the damagers do not have da’as, they cannot be held accountable for their actions.

In this vein, the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpot 349:3) rules: “If a koton steals, the keren—that is, whatever remains of the items he stole—should be returned. If there is nothing left over, then the koton is exempt from payment, even after he becomes a gadol.”

The Piskei Teshuvos (329:1), in the name of the Shevus Yaakov (1:177), qualifies that this exemption does not apply in every case. The Shevus Yaakov cites the case of a child who drank and damaged a large amount of wine. He ruled that since the child benefited from the stolen item, he is required to pay for it when he becomes a gadol.

If minors are exempt from mitzvos, how can we obligate them to return stolen property? The Shevus Yaakov explains that this ruling is not based on the halacha of returning stolen property, but rather on a principle called mishtarshei lei, that a person is obligated to pay for the hana’ah he receives. Since he benefited from the geneivah, when he becomes a gadol, he must pay the value of the hana’ah that he received.

There is a difference between an obligation to return a stolen item and the halachos of mishtarshei lei. The din of mishtarshei lei applies only when a person directly benefits from what he took. In your case, where your son gave the candies to his friends, this would not be considered mishtarshei lei, and he would not have to pay for those candies when he gets older.

As far as the leftover candies that he did not distribute to his friends, you should definitely try to get them back to the store. It might be embarrassing for you to return half a bag of candies, so what you can do is keep that bag of candies, purchase a new bag from that store, and then put it back on the shelf.

May Hashem give you the energy and guidance to properly raise your son to be a talmid chochom. Do not underestimate the power of prayer, for it can have a very great impact on your situation.