Question:
When I was younger I used to do graffiti on the property of the public school I attended. It cost money to repair the damage. Who do I have to repay or ask mehila from? Considering the fact that the principal has changed.
Answer:
Thank you for your question.
The fact that the principle changed isn’t really going to change things here, because he is only a hired worker and it is not damaging him, rather the cost is to the public-school system. Assuming that you were under bar mitzva at the time, the halacha is that you don’t have to pay for it. Although there are opinions that a child that damaged something should give a compensation when he gets older, in this instance there isn’t really any way for you to give the school system a donation that will make up for the extra expense. Therefore, it would suffice to do a regular teshuva bein adom l’makom.
Best wishes
Sources:
חו”מ ס’ תכ”ד סע’ ח’ וז”ל “הַחוֹבֵל בְּחֵרֵשׁ שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן, חַיָּב; וְהֵם שֶׁחָבְלוּ בַּאֲחֵרִים, פְּטוּרִים; אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁנִּתְפַּקַּח הַחֵרֵשׁ וְנִשְׁתַּפֶּה הַשּׁוֹטֶה וְהִגְדִּיל הַקָּטָן, אֵינָם חַיָּבִים לְשַׁלֵּם, שֶׁבַּשָׁעָה שֶׁחָבְלוּ בָּהֶם לֹא הָיוּ בְּנֵי דַעַת: וע’ ברמ”א או”ח ס’ שמג סימן שמ”ג שאע”פ שא”צ תשובה לכשיגדיל מ”מ טוב לו שיקבל עליו תשובה וכפרה. וע’ מ”ב שם סק”ט שהוא לפנים משורת הדין לשלם ע”ז.
