בס"ד
Brother! Don’t get lost!
The commandment to return a lost item involves assisting a fellow Jew who has lost his way.Even more deeply it obligates us to assista fellow Jew in finding himself and returning to his soul and his Creator.
The Torah commands us to return a lost item to its rightful owner. Simple, no!? You would think that there is nothing especially innovative about such a commandment. But, after more in-depth learning, a rich and complex commandment surfaces, both from the perspective of the revealed Torah—in the discussion of the Talmud and Halachah—as well as in the mystical dimension of Torah. As by all the other 613 commandments we are exposed to how “Your commandments are increasingly wide.” Let us analyze the details of the commandment to return a lost item, who has lost an item? And what have they lost?
You are here instead of your brother
Let us begin by asking, Is the obligation to return a lost iteman unconditional responsibility between all humans, no matter who? The answer is no. Upon examining the halachic authorities who deal with this matter, it is clearly apparent that the commandment is linked to the concept of brotherhood: “You shall not see you the ox of your brother, or his sheep, wandering, and look the other way;return them, you shall return them to your brother.” In total, the word “brother”appears five times in the three verses that speak of returning a lost item. Thus,the sages teach us that the obligation to return a lost item is mainly applicable only between Jews, because of their brotherhood.
Seemingly, this statement runs contradictory to a clear ruling, that we are forbidden to steal from any human—Jew or non-Jew alike. Why then should there be a difference between the lost item of a Jew and one of a non-Jew? The difference lies in the defining aspects of a “lost item.” There is an essential difference between an item that is in its owner’s possession and an item which is lost. According to Torah, an individual’s ownership of an item that he has lost is weak. This weakness has consequences. For example, the moment he despairs of finding the lost item, his last link of ownership is severed, and anyone can claim possession of the now ownerless item.
To properly understand how the commandment to return a lost item is special, we must first reason that by nature, lost items do not return to their rightful owner, and therefore legally their connection with the original owner is weakened. The loser says to himself, “My bad luck caused me to lose the item, and the finder’s good luck caused him to find it.” Yet then comes the commandment to return a lost item and introduces a unique responsibility of brotherhood amongst Jews: Just as if the original owner himself would have chanced upon this location and spotted his lost item it would have been immediately returned to his possession, so too, you—his brother—cannot look the other way! In other words, the moment you see an item lost by another Jew, you become his messengerto ensure that the item does not remain lost and returns safely to his possession. This responsibility is similar to the commandment to do good deeds (גמילות חסדים), and love your fellow Jew (אהבת ישראל), which only apply between Jews, who are all like brothers in one large family. (It is appropriate to mention that at the end of the day, for other reasons, halachah obliges us to return even the lost items of a non-Jew, but the commandment to return a lost item as is, is only applicable amongst Jews).
Can you give me directions?
After having identified which individuals who lost something the Torah is talking about, let us see which items the Torah considers returnable.The explicit examples that the Torah gives are all possessions: anox, a sheep, a donkey, and a shirt. But, what if the person himself is lost?
The Talmud brings a case of “one who sees his friend wandering through the vineyards,” and explains that there is a Biblical obligation to assist him in finding his way again. This law is learned from the verb used to indicate the obligation to return a lost object. This verb can be understood as either, “you shall return it,” or “you shall return him.” From this double meaning Rashi gleans that, “…if your friend errs, you must return him to the proper path.”
From here our sages also learn the obligation to try and save and heal another from any danger he may face (aside from the prohibitive commandment “You shall not stand on your friends blood,” i.e., to sit idly by while they are dying). Because there is no greater thing a person can lose than his healthor his life, there is no greater act of return than returning the individual’s health and life. Going back to the example of a person wandering in the vineyards: there is a profound novelty to this commandment, for in this case, no actual possession is missing from the owner, not his money nor his health or life. The person, in hisentirety, is wandering through the vineyards and is seeking the right path—to help the person find his way also falls under our obligation to return a lost item.
Returning wandering Jews
Can we learn from this a lesson regarding somebody who is not just lost physically but spiritually as well? Might the commandment to return a lost item also require us to help a Jew who has wandered from the path of Torah?
On this topic the Rabbi Chaim ben Atar, the holy Or Hachaimshares profound insight.He explains that the examples of lost items the Torah mentions, “Your brother’s ox or his sheep wandering,” symbolize the Jewish people who are termed “[God’s] holy flock.” The brother to whom they must be returned isGod. Thus, the inner meaning of the commandment to return a lost item is an obligation to bringthe Jewish people back to Hashem. The double imperative form, “Return them, you shall surely return them” (השב תשיבם) means, that if we act to bring Jews back to acts of goodness and loving-kindness, then they themselves will find their way back to our Father in heaven.
Jews who have veered from the path are misplaced and forlorn, as described in the verse “and the misplaced will come from Assyria and the forlorn from Egypt.” As a result of their present situation, they are like flock lost on its way and it is incumbent upon us to care for them. Therefore, those of us—who for no merit of our own—have been given the privilege of knowing Torah and following it are commanded not to ignore the plight of our people, but instead to bring them back to a good and just path.
Of course, the Or Hachaim’s insight should not be understood as an outright obligation. But, it is interesting that a work dedicated solely to halachic ruling, the Minchat Chinuchreached the same conclusion, from a legal stance. About the words, “And you shall return it, to him” (והשבותו לו), he writes, “These words also include an obligation to save [return] an individual’s physical health. All the more so that we are obligated to save an individual from sinning, since the sin damages both the spirit and the body. Certainly, we are obligated to assist in returning an individual to the good path and save him by doing so.”
The Minchat Chinuch’slogic is simple and powerful.If there is a legal responsibility to return a “lost person,” how much the more so is there a legal responsibility to save someone from committing a sin, which is harmful to both the spirit and the body (the spirit is hurt by the sin itself, the body because of the sin’s repercussions).
It is possible to argue against the analogy being drawn between the individual lost in the vineyards and the individual who wishes to commit a sin intentionally. The first is lost in spite of himself and wants people to help him “find himself,” while the second desires his actions and is not interested in being “saved.” But the plain truth is that the latter individual is truly lost and our obligation to him is only greater. Would this individual know the true privilege and responsibilities of being a Jew, or if he could see the damage that sin does to the spirit, he would run from sin as one runs from a raging fire. But, because he is so lost, he cannot fathom the true nature of his plight and we are doubly obligated to try and help him find his way.In truth, deep down inside, every Jew wishes to follow the Torah and the commandments. Maimonides writes, “Because a Jew wishes to be part of the Jewish people, he also wishes do perform all the commandments and distance himself from transgressions. [If he does not act this way,] it is only that his evil inclination has gotten the better of him.” All that needs to be done to change the situation is to reveal this deep desire which at time can be “lost.”
Once again, the emphasis is on “your brother.” As Jews, we share a deep connection with one another—a connection that entails responsibility and commitment to every Jew. Therefore, even when our fellow brother loses his connection with himself, with his being part of our people, we are responsible and should return them to themselves: Brother! Don’t get lost!