[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":78},["ShallowReactive",2],{"topic-theftgentiles":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":70,"extension":71,"meta":72,"navigation":73,"path":74,"seo":75,"stem":76,"__hash__":77},"topics\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Ftheftgentiles.md","Can Jews Steal From Gentiles?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":66},"minimark",[9,29,36,43,46],[10,11,12,13,17,18,21,22,17,25,28],"p",{},"No. Jewish law unequivocally forbids theft from anyone — Jew or gentile. The ",[14,15,16],"em",{},"Shulchan Aruch"," (",[14,19,20],{},"Choshen Mishpat"," 348:2) and Maimonides' ",[14,23,24],{},"Mishneh Torah",[14,26,27],{},"Hilchot Gezeilah"," 1:2) both state explicitly that it is biblically forbidden to steal even a minor amount from a gentile, and anything stolen must be returned.",[10,30,31,32,35],{},"The accusation usually points to Bava Metzia 24a or Bava Kamma 113b. But Bava Metzia 24a is not about theft at all — it deals with the laws of returning lost objects. Bava Kamma 113a–b actually states the ",[14,33,34],{},"opposite"," of the accusation: it derives from Leviticus 25:48–50 that theft from a gentile is forbidden, with Rava clarifying that the earlier passage referred to annulling an undocumented loan, not stealing.",[10,37,38,39,42],{},"Far from permitting theft, the rabbis treated stealing from a gentile as ",[14,40,41],{},"more"," serious than stealing from a Jew, because it desecrates G-d's name in the eyes of the nations (Tosefta Bava Kamma 10:8). Rabbinic literature preserves several stories of rabbis going out of their way to return found money or valuables to gentiles, with the gentiles responding, \"Blessed is the G-d of the Jews.\"",[10,44,45],{},"Sources:",[47,48,49,59],"ul",{},[50,51,52],"li",{},[53,54,58],"a",{"href":55,"rel":56},"https:\u002F\u002Fhalachayomit.co.il\u002Fen\u002Fdefault.aspx?HalachaID=3359",[57],"nofollow","Halacha Yomit",[50,60,61],{},[53,62,65],{"href":63,"rel":64},"http:\u002F\u002Ftalmud.faithweb.com\u002Farticles\u002Ftheft.html",[57],"Rabbi Gil Student",{"title":67,"searchDepth":68,"depth":68,"links":69},"",2,[],"Examining what Jewish law actually says about theft, and the misreading of Bava Metzia 24a and Bava Kamma 113b.","md",{},true,"\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Ftheftgentiles",{"title":5,"description":70},"talmudic-topics\u002Ftheftgentiles","FtiOxJdhQGhtlhB5zY5P2vcwiAQ9-bCMtiEGWIyyVK8",1778048375531]