Yisroel, Shlomi, and some teenage friends swam at the local pool during men’s hours. They all brought locks to secure their clothes lockers, except Shlomi.

“Shlomi, you shouldn’t leave your stuff there unlocked,” Yisroel reproached him. “There have been thefts here.”

“I’m not worried,” replied Shlomi. “It’s not likely that anything will happen.”

Yisroel decided to teach Shlomi a lesson. He called over two friends. “When swim is over, keep Shlomi occupied for a few minutes,” Yisroel said to them. “I’m going to take his wallet. I’ll return it to him tomorrow in school.”

When the swim was over, Yisroel headed promptly for the locker room and took Shlomi’s wallet. By the time Shlomi returned to the locker room, Yisroel was heading home.

Shlomi checked his pocket and saw that his wallet was missing. “I don’t believe it!” he said. “Someone stole my wallet.”

“We warned you that this could happen,” said his other friends. “Next time, bring a lock!”

Yisroel put the wallet in his desk at home.

During the night, he was awakened by the blaring of the fire alarm. He woke abruptly and, smelling smoke, cried out, “Fire!!” to awaken the rest of his family.

The fire department arrived within seven minutes, but Shlomi’s wallet got burned.

The following morning, Yisroel met Shlomi in school.

“Guess what happened yesterday at the pool,” Shlomi said. “My wallet was stolen!”

“We had a fire in our house last night!” replied Yisroel. “Actually, I was the one that took your wallet yesterday... and it got burned.”

“So you stole it,” said Shlomi.

“I didn’t ‘steal’ it,” protested Yisroel. “I did it for your good, to teach you to be more careful.”

“Well, you had no right to touch my wallet,” argued Shlomi. “You’re responsible for it!”

“I put away the wallet safely in my desk,” said Yisroel. “The fire was an oness (uncontrollable circumstance).”

“What’s the difference?” replied Shlomi. “A thief is responsible even for oness!”

“I don’t think I qualify as a ‘thief,’ though,” insisted Yisroel. “I never took it for myself!”

“To me it’s all the same,” responded Shlomi. “You had no right to touch my wallet.”

The two went to Rabbi Dayan. “Was I allowed to take Shlomi’s wallet in order to teach him to be more careful?” asked Yisroel. “Am I liable for it?”

“You were wrong to take the wallet; it is a form of stealing,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “However, since the wallet was destroyed through uncontrollable circumstances, you are not liable for it.”

“Really?” exclaimed Shlomi.

“The Gemara (B.M. 61b) extends the prohibition ‘Do not steal’ to one who steals l’meikat,” explained Rabbi Dayan. “Rashi explains this to mean wanting to cause his fellow temporary anguish but intending to return the item. But a number of Rishonim explain this to mean ‘in order to teach the owner a lesson,’ such as what will happen if he is not careful with his property (Rabbeinu Yonah, Shaarei Teshuvah 3:85; She’iltos, Noach #4).”

“Is this really the same as actual stealing?” asked Yisroel.

“Most authorities understand that stealing l’meikat is also prohibited in the Torah,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Some, though,  interpret the Rambam’s position that the prohibition is Rabbinic, ‘so that one should not accustom himself to stealing’ (Hil. Geneivah 1:2; Minchas Chinuch 224:1).”

“So why is Yisroel not liable for the wallet?” asked Shlomi.

“Ketzos (348:1) questions whether there is full liability of a thief in a case of l’meikat,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “He brings proof that one is not liable for oness, since he did not take it with the intention of keeping the wallet or benefitting from it. Aruch Hashulchan (348:4) also rules this way. (See, however, Chazon Ish, B.K. 20:5, ‘nireh.’) You would be liable, though, if the wallet were lost or stolen from you.”

“But every thief could excuse himself in this manner,” objected Yisroel. “He’ll say he did it with good intentions!”

“You are only exempt in such a case if you clarified your intention to two witnesses before taking the item,” concluded Rabbi Dayan. “Otherwise, you are presumed to have stolen for your benefit and are not believed (Yad Hamelech, Geneivah 1:2).”