“Thou shalt not steal.”
We do not like that any one should take a part of our property without
our knowledge or consent. An old saying of the Rabbis teaches: “Let the
property of thy neighbour be as dear in thy eyes as thine own” (Aboth
ii. 12); that is to say, as you do not wish a diminution or destruction
of what is yours, so you must not cause a diminution or destruction of
what belongs to your neighbour.
By secretly taking anything for ourselves that does not belong to us,
we steal, and break the eighth commandment.
This commandment has also a wider sense, and forbids every illegal
acquisition of property, whether it be directly by theft or robbery, or
by cheating, by embezzlement or forgery. Property acquired by any of
these or similar means may be considered as stolen property, and is by
no means a blessing to him who possesses it. Even if human justice does
not reach the evil-doer, he is watched by an All-seeing Eye, and will
in due time receive his full punishment.