There is a verse in this week’s Parasha that says “You shall not see the donkey of your brother or his ox falling on the way and not pay attention to them. Rather you shall lift them up with him” (22:4).
Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm wrote that the Torah prohibits us from causing any unnecessary pain to animals. We have an even greater obligation to be careful to not cause any pain to people. What this verse also is hinting to is that when we see someone in distress we should stop to help. The word “brother” doesn’t mean someone who is close to you, it implies to any person that you know or don’t know because we all come from the same Father in heaven and that makes him/her your brother. The Torah expects us to concern ourselves with our fellows possessions, not out of sense of idle desire, which is a precursor of envy, but out of love and caring for someone else and the desire to walk in G-d’s ways. The Torah commands us to return lost objects if we can know who the owner is out of concern of taking away suffering from someone else. This Mitzvahs bring out the best in people, it makes them holier and helps them live a little higher
