Refusing To Ignore Loss

בפסוק לא תראה כו' והתעלמת כו' השב תשיבם כו' הקם תקים

On the verse, "You shall not see [your brother's ox or sheep going astray] and hide yourself [from them]; you shall surely return them [to your brother]... you shall surely lift it up [with him]" (Devarim 22:1-4).

The Sfas Emes opens with the Torah's command not to ignore a brother's lost or fallen animal, but to actively return it and help raise it up.

יש לפרש כשאדם מרגיל עצמו כך שלא יוכל להתעלם מהפסד של חבירו

It can be explained that this refers to when a person trains himself in such a way that he is incapable of hiding himself from his fellow's loss.

He reads the mitzvah on a deeper level: it speaks to a person who has trained himself so thoroughly in caring that he simply cannot turn a blind eye to his fellow's loss.

הן בגשמיות הן בתיקון הנפש

Whether in physical matters or in the rectification of the soul.

This sensitivity is not limited to material loss; it extends equally to a fellow's spiritual loss and the repair of his neshamah.

אז בכחו להשיב אליו אבידתו ולהקימו

Then it is within his power to return to his fellow that which he lost and to lift him up.

Precisely because he refuses to look away, Hashem grants him the ability to restore what his fellow lost and to lift him back up.

ומכ"ש באדם עצמו שענין זה נוהג כשא"י לסבול את הפחיתות שבו אז הוא נושע:

And how much more so does this apply within a person himself, for this principle operates when he cannot tolerate the lowliness within himself—then he is saved.

All the more so, this same principle works within a person's own avodah: when he can no longer bear the lowliness inside himself, that very refusal to ignore it is what brings him his salvation.

Summary: The Sfas Emes takes the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah—not hiding from a brother's stray or fallen animal but returning it and lifting it up—and turns it into a lesson in spiritual sensitivity. He explains that a person who trains himself never to be able to ignore his fellow's loss, whether physical or in the rectification of the neshamah, is thereby empowered by Hashem to actually restore that loss and raise his fellow up. The very capacity to feel another's lack is what grants one the strength to repair it. And this works all the more powerfully within a person himself: when he can no longer tolerate the lowliness within him, that refusal to look away is precisely what brings about his own salvation.