As we get closer and closer to Lag bOmer, we are going to be hearing more and more complaints and grumbling about the kids (usually) who are collecting wood for the bonfires. The complaints are generally about the kids "stealing" wood - whether from construction sites or from people's property or from other kids who collected wood.

(note: I put the word "stealing" in quotation marks not because it is not really theft, in many of the cases, as it very well might be... but because they usually aren't intentionally stealing, while technically they sometimes (or oftentimes) are.)

So, while some of the wood is just taken from private property or whatnot, some of it is kids taking wood from other kids. Those situations lead to disputes - who had the wood first? did the first kids keep it in a safe place showing "ownership" or did they leave it out in public and possibly "hefker"? etc.

Every year you'll see groups of kids arguing over piles of wood.

I read something really cool yesterday going on in the community of Psagot to resolve such disputes, while also being an educational tool.

It seems that in Psagot the rav of the yishuv, Rav Yosef Veitzen (sp?), has established a special beis din to resolve the disputes among kids over wood. The local kids hae accepted the new beis din as the arbitor of their disputes and agreed to follow any decisions rendered.

The article (offline) described some of the cases already adjudicated:
 in one case, 4th grade boys and 4th grade girls were arguing about some wood. The boys took the wood from the girls pile, and they admitted to that, but they claimed that the wood was originally theirs. The boys representatives argued that:
a. the girls did not protest when the boys took the wood, ostensibly admitting it belonged to the boys
b. this wood was not in or near the girls pile of wood, but was in another place.
c. the wood was not kept in the marked area, meaning it was not under the official designation as being prepared for the girls bonfire.

The girls representative admitted to the above but claimed that the girl shlepping the wood had hurt her hand and put the wood down in a different place, with the intention to move it later to the official pile.

The rav, after weighing the issues, reportedly decided that he would go with the kids to the disputed wood, and if the girls could positively identify the wood as being theirs, he would award it to them. The girls were unable to decisively identify any of the wood, except for one large branch. The rav awarded that one branch to the girls.

The story was not over there.

The girls returned later that day to the rav claiming that the boys had again taken the wood, that one piece, from them.

The rav threatened that he takes it very seriously that the psak is not being respected, and if the wood would not be returned within a certain time frame, he would consider fining the boys.

What a great idea! educational, peaceful, and effective.

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