“C’mon Dovi,” Yoni Balsam said to his twin brother. “The sun’s out! Let’s play catch.”

The two eleven-year olds grabbed their gloves and a softball. “We’re going outside to play ball,” Yoni called to his mother.

“Please be careful,” Mrs. Balsam said, “and keep the ball away from other people’s property, especially the Glazers’.”

Last year, the boys had broken their neighbor’s window and the Balsams had paid to replace it. 

After tossing the ball back and forth a few times, Dovi suggested, “How about a high fly?” Yoni threw the ball wildly in the air.

The ball soared up, slanting to the side. Dovi chased after the ball, running through the Glazers’ bushes into their yard. As he reached up to catch the ball, he heard a loud, “Crash!” Dovi looked down. He had knocked over a large, artistic planter in the Glazers’ garden and smashed it.

Mr. Glazer came outside. “What’s going on here?” he yelled.

“We were playing catch, and I knocked over this planter,” Dovi said apologetically.

“I warned you many times not to play ball near our house,” said Mr. Glazer sternly. “I’m going to speak with your parents.”

He walked the boys home. “Your boys damaged our property again,” Mr. Glazer told the Balsams. “They’re going to have to pay.”

“I’m sorry about the damage,” said Mrs. Balsam. “We’ll talk to them.”

“Last year we paid for the window,” Mr. Balsam said to the twins. “This time, you’re going to have to pay from your allowance money, as a lesson to be more careful. We’ll drive to the gardening shop now and you’ll buy the Glazers another planter, similar to the one you broke.”

The Balsams chose a nice ceramic planter and the boys brought it over to the Glazers. “We brought this to replace the planter we broke,” Dovi said.

Mrs. Glazer looked at the planter. “Thank you,” she said, “but this will not suffice! The planter you broke was artistic and more expensive than this.”

Dovi and Yoni looked at each other, flustered. “We thought this planter looked almost the same,” Yoni said.

“I’m sorry,” said Mrs. Glazer, “but the other planter was worth more. I expect you or your parents to fill in the full value of the damage.”

The boys returned home dejected. “What should we do now?” they asked. “We spent almost all of our saved allowance!”

“Let this be a lesson about how careful you have to be with other people’s property,” said their father. “But we’ll talk the issue over with Rabbi Tzedek.”

After Ma’ariv, Mr. Balsam, the twins, and Mr. Glazer sat down with Rabbi Tzedek. “It’s already the second time the boys damaged our property with their ball-playing,” said Mr. Glazer. “Isn’t it my right to demand full compensation for the damage?”

Rabbi Tzedek said, “A child who damages is legally exempt from paying, even when he grows up, but it is proper for him or his parents to pay nonetheless.”

Rabbi Tzedek then explained: “The Mishna (B.K. 87a) teaches that a child under bar-mitzvah who damages is legally exempt, since he has no legal culpability. Even when he matures, he is not accountable for the damages of his childhood (C.M. 424:8).

“Similarly, a child who stole must return whatever he still has, but is legally exempt from returning what was lost, even after he matures. However, Beis Din or his parents should discipline the child for having stolen or damaged, so that he should not continue doing so (C.M. 349:3,5).”

“Are you saying they don’t have to pay at all?” asked Mr. Glazer incredulously.

“No. The Gemara (B.K. 98b) relates that Rav Ashi was made to pay for a loan document that he destroyed,” said Rabbi Tzedek. “Rashi explains that he burned it when he was a child. Many authorities derive from this that although the child is legally exempt, there is a moral responsibility for him to pay when he matures. Nowadays, the parents usually pay instead, to relieve him of that responsibility.

“Rama (O.C. 343:1) also writes that if a child sinned, it is proper that he do something for atonement when he matures. Thus, if he stole or damaged, it is proper to pay (Mishna Berura 343:9). Some infer from the Rama’s language, ‘do something,’ that it is not necessary to pay the full amount, but Sefer Chasidim advocates paying fully to achieve complete atonement (Pischei Teshuva 349:2; Yechaveh Da’as 8:6). It is especially advisable to properly compensate and appease neighbors, to preserve good relations with them.”