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her. See also Bava Metzia (12a):“Items found by a person’s young son
or young daughter belong to him [i.e. their father].”

In the Shulchan Aruch (Even Ha’ezer, 82,7), rules are set out gov-
erning whom the children of divorced parents should live with: Until
the age of six they are supposed to live with their mother and from
age six and older, a daughter stays with her mother and a son comes
under his father’s authority. Even while the children live with their
mother she is not allowed to move far away with them, so as not to
encroach upon the father’s right to see his children from time to time
[as explained in the Maharshdam (123, cited in Ba’er Heiteiv, 82,5)].
Parents’ rights over their children can therefore not be usurped, even
when our objective is the good of the children.

Consider the case of a young child, a son in a large, impoverished
family, whose parents are weak minded and sickly and it is generally
apparent that the child’s best interests would be served by removing
him from his parents charge. Would it occur to anyone to take him
away from his parents and put him up for adoption, even to a wealthy
patrician who will raise him to prominence, teach him, broaden his
mind and bestow abundance on him? Anyone who connives to take
him away from his parents and give him to such a family commits a
crime which possibly infringes the prohibition of “stealing a person
and selling him.”

Let us devote some study to this topic of kidnapping, which is
repeated in several places in the Torah. One of the Aseres Hadibros
(the Ten Utterances) is“Lo tignov, do not steal” (Shemos, 20,13) [which
refers not to stealing property but to kidnapping]. In parshas Mish-
patim it says, “And a person who steals a man and sells him and he is
found in his possession shall surely die” (ibid. 21,15). And in parshas
Ki Seitzei it says, “If a man is found stealing a soul from among his
brethren…that thief shall die” (Devarim 24,7).

The Rambam writes (Hilchos Geneivah 9,1-2), “Anyone who steals
a Jewish soul violates a negative commandment for it says, ‘Do not
steal.’ This passuk, which is one of the Ten Utterances, refers to
stealing people. So too, the person who sells him violates a negative
precept for this is included in ‘They shall not be sold in the manner

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