“Happy birthday, Yosef!” said Uncle Shlomo. “I want to buy you a new bike as a present.”

“Oh, thank you!” exclaimed Yosef. “The chain on my old bike keeps slipping, and the brakes are going.”

Yosef and his uncle went to the bike store and chose a Schwinn 21-speed hybrid bike.

“You also need a lock,” said Uncle Shlomo. “Get a Kryptonite U-lock.”

Yosef brought the bike home and showed it to his parents.

“That was very generous of Uncle Shlomo,” said his mother. “You should write him a nice thank you note.”

The following day, Yosef arranged with his friend Dovid to go bike riding together. He stood his bike at the entrance to Dovid’s house and rang the bell.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” said Dovid. “Come in and close the door while I put on my coat.”

Three minutes later, the two boys walked out. Yosef stopped in his tracks, pale.

“What’s the matter?” Dovid asked with alarm.

“I left my bike outside your door!” exclaimed Yosef. “It’s gone! Someone stole it!”

“You didn’t lock it?” asked Dovid.

“I always do,” Yosef replied. “But I didn’t think I needed to for just the three minutes.”

“I feel really bad,” said Dovid. “We’ll post ‘Missing’ signs around the neighborhood. Maybe the bike will turn up. Meanwhile, I have an extra bike you can borrow. “

A week later, Dovid and another friend spotted Yosef’s bike locked outside a store. They waited a few minutes until they saw Avromi come out and unlock the bike.

Dovid walked over and grabbed the handle bar. “Hi Avromi, where’d you get this new bike?” he asked with a suspecting look.

“I…. I… I got it two weeks ago,” Avromi stammered. “Why do you ask?”

“This looks like Yosef’s new bike,” Dovid said. “Someone stole it from my house a week ago.” He glared at Avromi piercingly.

Avromi looked down uncomfortably. “I took it from there,” he admitted quietly. “I’ll return it now. Please don’t tell Yosef.”

Dovid walked with Avromi back to Yosef’s house. Avromi put the bike quietly in the backyard.

A half hour later, Yosef heard a sharp “Crash!” from outside. He looked out his window and saw that their tree had fallen down. Underneath, he spotted his new bike… mangled beyond repair. “How did the bike get here?!” he cried out.

Yosef called Dovid immediately. “Someone returned the bike to my backyard,” he said excitedly, “but our tree broke and fell on it. It’s ruined now! I wonder who took it?”

“I have a clue,” said Dovid, “but I have to speak with Rabbi Dayan first.”

“All right,” said Yosef with a puzzled tone. “But let me know ASAP!”

Dovid went to Rabbi Dayan’s beis midrash. “Someone stole my friend’s bike,” he said to Rabbi Dayan. “The bike was returned to the owner’s backyard, but a tree fell down and broke it. Is there a point in telling him who the thief was?”

“A person who steals something becomes fully responsible for it,” said Rabbi Dayan, “even if it is lost due to uncontrollable circumstances (oness). The thief continues to be responsible until the item is safely returned to its owner (C.M. 355:1).”

“Does the owner have to know that it was returned?” asked Dovid.

“That depends on whether the owner knew that the item was stolen,” answered Rabbi Dayan. “If the owner did not know that the item was stolen, the thief is exempt once he returns the item to its place. However, if the owner knew that the item was stolen, the thief remains responsible until the owner knows that the item was returned.”

“Why is there this difference?” Dovid wondered.

“The primary reason,” explained Rabbi Dayan, “is that the owner has to know to look after his item. If the owner was not aware of the theft, he will watch it now just as he did before the item was stolen. If he knew that it was stolen, though, he has to be made aware that the item was returned, so that he will resume looking after it (SM”A 354:1). For example, had your friend known that the bike was returned, he might have brought it inside his house.”

“So the thief remains obligated to pay for the bike?” asked Dovid.

“Yes,” said Rabbi Dayan. “If the thief doesn’t pay willingly, you should inform your friend, so that he can demand payment. Either way, it is proper that the thief also apologize to the owner (Rambam Hil. Teshuva 2:5).”