“You should not see the ox of your brother or his sheep wandering about and you ignore them…” (Devarim 22:1)
H
ow exactly does one avoid noticing an animal roaming in the middle of the street? Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman suggests that the person may actually see the ox, but since he has no interest in getting involved, he can walk by oblivious, and not even realize that he saw it.
This explanation is implicit in the pasuk as it says, “You don’t see, and you ignore them,” while in pasuk gimmel, the commandment says, “you shouldn’t be able to ignore it.” The first pasuk instructs us not to be oblivious, but the later pasuk commands us not to be capable of ignoring it. If one truly cares about his Jewish brother and his belongings, he’ll notice and take action. (Rabbi Shlomo Caplan, Mishulchan Shlomo)
I’m the lone female in a male-dominated home. I don’t know about all males, but those in my family bear the dominant ICFI gene (for those not genetically predisposed to this, the ICFI gene is responsible for the I Can’t Find It behavior in males), which leads to some challenging moments.
“Where’s the milk?” In the fridge where it always is.
“Where are my shoes?” Smack in the middle of the living room floor where I almost tripped on them.
“Where’s the salt?” Right in front of you; you’re staring at it.
