Musar su Deuteronomio 22:3

“You may not be indifferent” (Deuteronomy 22:3). We were warned with this not to be negligent from saving the wealth of our fellows - whether movable property or lands - as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Metzia 31a), “‘And so too shall you do with anything that your brother loses’ - to include the loss of land.” For example, if there was water streaming and coming there, he is obligated to block it. And also were we warned [with this verse] to make efforts to rescue our neighbors, and to save our fellows at the time of their troubles. And it is likewise written (Leviticus 19:16), “you may not stand over your neighbor’s blood.” And Solomon said (Proverbs 24:10), “If you showed yourself slack in time of trouble; and wanting in strength.” Its explanation is [that] if you have the ability to save with counsel or with effort, but you show yourself [as if] you do not have the strength, your strength will be reduced - measure for measure. And it is stated afterwards (Proverbs 24:12), “If you say, ‘We knew nothing of it,’ surely He who fathoms hearts will discern [the truth], He who watches over your life will know it, and He will pay each man as he deserves.” Behold one who prevents himself from the salvation [of others] and from giving counsel to help, the Holy One, blessed be He, will consider it like his act. (It appears to me that his intention in explaining the verse is that even though the iniquity of preventing himself is passive, nevertheless it will be counted for him as if he had actively done evil to his fellow. For that evil that came to his fellow in a place where he could have been saved through [the sinner], is considered for the one that prevented himself from saving [the other] as if he was active and did [it]. And this is [the understanding of] its being considered like his act.)

לא תוכל להתעלם . One is forbidden to ignore lost objects, but has to pick them up and make every effort to locate the owner for a simple reason. If the Torah already displays such concern about the restoring of mere property to its owner, how much more concern does it feel about saving the soul of a person from becoming "lost." In this respect everyone of us is a guarantor. G–d reserves the option to exact payment from anyone of us just as the lender has the option to be repaid by the guarantor of the loan or by the debtor himself. This is the reason why the Torah selected the term השבת אבדה rather than החזרת אבדה. The term is to remind us of our obligation to do everything in our power to see that a Jew who has strayed from the path of Torah should do תשובה. We cannot ignore this obligation. The commandment is considered so important that public announcementts about the lost object may even be made on the Sabbath. There is an additional aspect to the negative part of this commandment. Failure to return found objects to their owners impedes the arrival of the Redemption. Thus far the comment of Rabbi Menachem Habavli on this מצוה.

There is one commandment in particular that people consider of minor significance but which carries a very severe penalty. That is the one regarding the returning of lost objects to the owners. If a person sees a lost item belonging to his colleague and fails to retrieve it in order to return it he is compelled to undergo reincarnation in a newly conceived fetus, after which he must endure many years of affliction and suffering. For this offense it is not sufficient for him to undergo the less severe method of rectification, the “gestation” procedure in which a new soul is covered over by and concealed within his original soul. The Ari, z”l, explains in Sefer HaGilgulim that this is because he violated the verse, “And so shall you do to all the lost objects of your brother … you may not conceal your eyes” (Devarim 22:3). For the Holy One Blessed is He always judges a person “measure for measure.” Therefore whoever fears Hashem and trembles before Him should pray to be spared from reincarnation. The masses may consider it a minor punishment but the wise will contemplate the matter and realize that even if he is reincarnated in the body of an upright individual it would have been better had he already reached his resting place. For the Sages tell us that a single moment of the satisfaction one experiences in the next world is better that all the pleasures that this world has to offer (Avos 4:17). Now consider the fact that he may very well be reborn into more oppressive circumstances such as the body of an animal or a bird or even an inanimate object! For example, one who habitually engages in derogatory speech is reincarnated in a rock lying in a field where he remains in darkness with no illumination. Similarly, a person who is careless about consuming food of doubtful permissibility is reborn in the leaves of a tree so that every time the wind blows he is tossed about, causing him indescribable agony.