Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, observes that, when Klal Yisrael is in exile, they are compared to a lost article. As long as a lost item has a siman, recognizable sign, which the owner can use to identify it, then a din ha’shavah applies, an obligation for the finder to return it. He may not keep something for which the owner has not yet given up hope. If an item does not have a recognizable feature by which the owner can identify it, he will be me’yaeish, despair of getting it back.
We derive an important lesson from here. The Jew must preserve and retain any identifying features which mark him as a Jew. These signs indicate that we belong to Hashem. His imprint is on us. As long as we show signs of belonging to an Owner, we may aspire that one day – soon – we will be returned to Him, and our long exile will finally come to its conclusion.
