“You shall not see your brother’s ox, etc. and hide yourself from them.” The Sages taught (Berakhot 19b) that sometimes you should hide yourself, such as if you are an elder and it is beneath your dignity. This can be interpreted in the way the Sages said (Avot 4:23), “Do not strive to see him in his time of disgrace.” There is no difference between disgrace of his body or his property — it is all the same if it is in a situation where it is impossible to save him and return what is lost. Regarding this it says, You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep driven away, when they are completely driven away, such as drowning in a river or similar situations, and hide yourself from them — you need to act as if you do not see them. However, you shall return means if there is a possibility of return, where they are not completely lost but it is possible for you to return what is driven away, then you shall return them to your brother — you are obligated to strive to see them in order to save them.

“And if your brother is not near, etc., and it shall be with you until your brother inquires for it.” The Rabbis said (Bava Metzia 27b) “inquire about him if he is a deceiver,” and nevertheless, it refers to the ox or sheep. [The Rabbis said this] because otherwise it should have said “until your brother seeks it.” Rather, your brother will come and inquire with examination and investigation, that is, through identifying marks, until it is clear to you that they are truly seeking that specific ox and not another. From this we automatically learn that one must inquire whether they are a deceiver or not. But the verse does not depart from its simple meaning [even according to the Rabbis], as explained by the Re’em, that it refers to your brother. And what is meant by You cannot ignore it after saying and you find it, which implies that it has come into your possession (ibid. 27a), is that because the matter is entrusted to the heart, for if your brother comes and inquires, saying “an ox with such and such markings was lost to me,” and your inclination persuades you to ignore it and to justify yourself that perhaps they saw it with someone else, or you wish to cast doubt on their identifying marks in order to exempt yourself from obligation in human law, nevertheless, You cannot ignore it because of the Eye above that sees and recognizes your schemes.

“So that it will be good for you and you will have long life.” This language is also said regarding honoring father and mother in the second set of Commandments, and the phrase so that it will be good for you implies that good will automatically flow to you from this. Now, with honoring father and mother, the matter is simple: if you honor your father and mother, then your children will see you and do likewise when they grow up. Similarly, when your children see you sending away the mother bird, they will learn a kal vachomer that if you show respect to those who give birth even among animals, how much more so should they respect their own parents. The reward for both these commandments is long life because these two commandments strengthen faith in the creation of the world. Just as there is a cause for every cause, and things are linked back to the First Cause, blessed be He, so too every born being has a progenitor, going back to the First Creator, blessed be He. It is fitting to show honor to Him, and from His honor, He has shared honor with all progenitors who descend from Him, blessed be He, from cause to cause. Therefore, the Torah mentions the observance of Shabbat alongside the commandment to honor father and mother everywhere, because Shabbat, which comes to commemorate the creation of the world, causes one to fulfill the commandment of honoring parents. This counters the belief of those who believe in the eternity of the universe, who say that the world has no beginning and that everything necessarily exists. According to their ignorant reasoning, there is no advantage of the progenitor over the progeny. We, however, believe that the First Creator, blessed be He, shared His honor with all progenitors who are influenced by Him, blessed be He, and this is the reason for honoring father and mother and for sending away the mother bird. For this reason, the Torah placed this commandment next to the commandment when you build a new house, and our Sages said (Tanchuma Teitzei 1): “If you fulfill the commandment of sending away the mother bird, you will merit building a new house.” What is the connection between these two? Because the commandment of sending away the mother bird brings you to believe in the creation of the world, which the Holy One, blessed be He, built and created. Therefore, measure for measure, you will also merit to build a new house. This is the foundation of faith, and it is written And the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). For through faith, one cleaves to the source of life; therefore, the reward is long life. This is why they interpreted (Bereishit Rabbah 6:2) the verse Lest you should ponder the path of life (Proverbs 5:6) regarding the sending away of the mother bird.

When you build a new house, etc., for the one who falls will fall from it. From the language of our Sages (Shabbat 32): “Leave the drunkard alone, for he falls by himself.” Thus, the word “from it [mimenu, which is also from him]” refers back to “the one who falls,” and this is said so you should not claim, “Does the parapet nullify the decree when someone is destined to fall?” Therefore, the text says this is not the case, for “you shall not bring blood-guilt upon your house” — for why should someone whose blood is within him [destined to die] fall in your house? Nevertheless, one who is destined to fall will not be saved by the parapet, for “the one who falls will fall from [because of] him[self]” — he falls from himself even on flat ground. But if you do not make a parapet, then he will fall from [because of] you and not from himself, and God wanted him to cause his own fall, for it was from His hand that this happened to him. Some say “from it” refers to the parapet, because one who is destined to fall will fall even from the parapet, and the parapet only saves those who are not destined to fall.

And our Sages said (Tanchuma Teitzei 1) if you fulfill the commandment of making a parapet [for your roof], you will merit a vineyard. What is the connection between a parapet and a vineyard? It is because wine causes the drunk to fall, as derived in Yalkut: Just as the vine is harvested and remains silent, and afterward they give it to a person and it makes him fall, etc. — see the end of Parashat Vayeshev (40:146). Therefore, specifically after making the parapet which protects from falling, you will merit a vineyard, and not before then, “lest the faller fall from it.” A hint to this matter: the final letters of “ki yipol hanofeil” [lest the faller fall] add up numerically to “yayin” [wine]. And know that the section of sending away the mother bird begins with the letter ‘kaf’ and ends with ‘mem’, which together form the word “samech” [meaning support], and similarly the sections about the parapet and vineyard begin with ‘kaf’ and end with ‘mem’, referencing the verse God supports all who fall (Psalms 145:14). For regarding sending away the mother bird, the Sages discuss a case where a father tells his son to climb up to a building and bring bird chicks, and the son climbs, falls, and dies — where is the long life promised to this person? God supported him by giving him long life in the world that is entirely long [the World to Come] (Chullin 142a). And in making a parapet, God supports all who are liable to fall. And regarding “do not sow your vineyard with diverse seeds,” one is not liable until he sows wheat, barley, and grape seeds with one throw of the hand (Berachot 22a), which would cause one kindling of fire [punishment] (Kiddushin 56b). However, when one does not sow in this manner, “God supports all who fall” with the throw of the hand. The Rivah explained something similar to this, and from his explanation you can see what I have added of my own.