A non Jew repenting and returning a stolen object

Hello and welcome,

Regarding the main doubt about the fact that the warning for Noah’s children is death. Although yes, in the current permissive situation, this is irrelevant and does not fit human behavior. But this is precisely the result of corruption, because if the law were that in cases like idolatry, eating a part of a living being, theft, or relations with one’s neighbor’s wife, among others, there were the death penalty, people would grow up and live with it as something natural, there would be an innate aversion in the human soul to these things, and no one would dare to sin. And whoever, even so, broke the barrier and sinned, would truly deserve death. Nowadays, we cannot understand this, for the orders of the world have been distorted and anarchy has prevailed. And we pray that we may soon witness the repair of the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty.

And I am truly perplexed, can we nowadays kill a gentile for any theft, or perhaps, since the situation and attitude towards this have changed, there is no longer a reason to kill for it? And apparently, since in enlightened countries there are different laws and punishment rules for all types of offenses included in the seven laws of Noah, the death penalty is automatically abolished and the existing penalty in the law must be imposed on the offender. In fact, in a previous response, I wrote that the simplicity is that, with regard to all the commandments of the children of Noah, they cannot change the law that their warning is death, and only with regard to the commandment of the courts, the judges of the children of Noah can establish the laws and rules in it, which is the essence of the commandment, that they will legislate rules and norms in the conduct of monetary affairs and in the punishment of those who transgress the laws. However, with regard to someone who steals their friend’s money, although this is also considered a monetary matter, since it was defined as a separate commandment and not included in the commandment of the courts, it seems like the other commandments, that no other punishment can be imposed and the obligation of death annulled, but always the punishment for this is death. And, according to this, if a son of Noah stole, he is subject to death and this punishment has no substitute or ransom. In fact, it is not necessary, but it is possible that, although they have not established another punishment, the ‘default option’ is that the offender is sentenced to death. However, they have the power to establish by law another punishment for theft, which would serve as a substitute for the obligation of death. But the main point, as we wrote at the beginning, is that even today the law remains the same: a son of Noah who steals is subject to the death penalty.

And regarding what you wrote about your friends asking if they should worry about returning everything they stole or took during their lives, it seems that, although the issue is not clearly resolved in terms of the legal validity of returning the theft, it is certainly worth it for them, both for the correction of the situation itself and for the improvement of their general condition, because when they dedicate themselves to correcting and nullifying their bad actions, they elevate themselves, and they will certainly only gain from it.

And behold, many times it is not known to whom to return, because one does not exactly remember who or because one cannot find the person in question. And in this we find in the Baraíta (Betsa 29). And “Baba Kamma” 90:) “If someone steals and does not know from whom he stole – he must use it (return the money) for the needs of the community.” And indeed, this applies to a Jew, but this solution should also be applied to a Gentile. And, of course, it is necessary to pay attention to ensure that he gives his money to something that is for the public good, and does not contribute to various “humanitarian associations” that proclaim peace and compassion with their mouths, but have the sword of war and hatred in their hands, like the UNRWA organization, whose members from the Gaza Strip participated in the Hamas massacre in Israel, and that is enough of an observation.

Wishing you success,

Rabbi Elyahu Bracha

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