Unbecoming for an Old Man:
Chazal say (Bava Metziah 30A) that from the words “and ignore them” we see that some people are supposed to ignore a lost object. Those who are exempt from the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah are a kohen when the lost item is in a cemetery, an old man for whom it is not according to his dignity, or a case where one has his own work to do that is more valuable than the lost object.
It is related that Rav Akiva Eiger zt”l once visited a certain city and the first thing he did upon arrival was to go visit a relative who lived there.
When he was asked why he had to go to his relative, rather than having him come to the place where he was staying, he answered: “The pasuk states: ‘You shall not your brothers’ ox...and ignore them.’ Chazal learn from this that there are times when you should ignore the lost animal, such as when one is elderly and is not befitting for him to tend to it. However, the verse also states (Yeshaya 37:7): ‘You should not ignore your flesh and blood.’ For this commandment, there is no exemption for an elderly man. This teaches us that everyone must make the effort to draw his relatives close, even if it is unbecoming for him.”
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