“…he shall pay it with its principal, adding its fifths to it…”
Vayikra (Leviticus) – Chapter 5, Verse 24
According to Torah law, a thief who voluntarily returns what he has stolen is not subject to any legal penalty. If, however, he was caught by witnesses and found guilty in a Beit Din, a Jewish court of law, he is required to pay back double. If a person successfully deceives the court and denies a debt under oath, and then repents and confesses to his crime, he is required to pay back his debt with an additional 20%.
The underlying idea here seems simple. On the one hand, theft is a serious crime and a ubiquitous temptation and society therefore needs to institute strong disincentives to discourage it. On the other hand, severely punishing someone for a voluntarily confessed crime has the negative effect of discouraging such confessions. Thus, a thief who confesses on his own initiative is not punished at all, outside of having to return his ill-gotten gains. Even in this much more severe case, involving a false oath in court, the punishment is less severe than a normal case of theft because he ultimately confessed voluntarily.
This reflects the general principle that God is always open to self-confession and compassionate towards those who wish to improve themselves.
Parshas Vayikra: Self-confession – The Torah’s View | Rabbi Eli Reit
