A Tzadik Doesn’t Forget the Lost Neshamos:
The Sar Shalom of Belz zy”a states that this pasuk contains a hint that the tzadikim of the generation should not give up on any Jew, even if he has fallen to a lowly level. Some people fall to such a low level that they lose their “tzelem Elokim”. They are akin to a lost ox or sheep that is straying in the field.
The pasuk is hinting that a tzadik should not “see the lost sheep straying.” He should not think of these souls as lost and beyond hope. Rather, he should uplift them and “return them to your brother.” They still can be returned to the proper path of being our Jewish brothers, and the tzadik should accept the responsibility to make this happen.
Hashem Does the Mitzvah of “Hashavas Aveidah”:
His son, Rav Yissochor Dov of Belz zy”a, quotes the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh as saying that the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah is a hint that Hashem returns our lost brothers to the proper path and assists them in purifying themselves.
He adds Chazal say (Bava Metziah 30A) that “an old man for whom it is not according to do his dignity is exempt from hashavas aveidah.” When a Jew sins, his soul becomes filthy from the aveiros. It is not fitting for Hashem’s dignity, so to speak, to touch such a dirty aveidah. It would thus seem that He is exempt from the mitzvah.
However, the Rambam (Hilchos Aveidah 11:7) says that a person who wants to do the right thing will go beyond the letter of the law and will return a lost object even if it is not dignified for him to do so. Hashem leads the world with “chassidus”, extra kindness, as we recite in Selichos: “He sits on His throne of mercy and leads the world with chassidus.” Therefore, he goes above and beyond the letter of the law to return our kedushah to us even when it is beneath His dignity to do so.
We know that Hashem keeps every mitzvah in the Torah. How does he fulfill the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah? Hashem fulfills this mitzvah by returning our lost kedushah to us. When we fall and become impure, He helps us find our purity again. Even though He is not obligated to do so because it is not in accordance with his honor, he goes beyond the letter of the law to help us.
