Q&A: Theft
Theft
Question
I unintentionally stole not long ago, and indeed, thank God, I lost the same amount of money that I stole. But I don’t know what to do about how to make amends with the person I stole from. He is a non-Jew, and it was online, and I have no connection to him at all.
Answer
One who stole and does not know from whom he stole should give to public needs (Choshen Mishpat, sec. 366, and elsewhere). Usually this refers to the public at large, where the person robbed is one of them, and then the assumption is that the restitution will indirectly benefit him as well. But here that probably is not possible.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know what prayer has to do with this. You need to repent (stopping the sin, regret, resolving for the future, and verbal confession), and in my opinion also give that amount to public needs.
So is there anything that can be done, or should I just pray?