For the source text click/tap here: Bava Metzia 31
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How is a finder to determine whether the objects he has found are truly lost? If he found a donkey or a cow grazing by the road, this is not considered a lost object.
This is a lost object: if he found a donkey with its gear overturned or a cow running through the vineyards.
We explore the biblical command in Ex and Deut regarding helping another
And the parameters of this Good Samaritan act. The Sefer HaChinuch says that we learn from this mitzvah to have compassion on others and try to help those who are suffering. When we have mercy on others, Hashem will have mercy on us.
The Aruch HaShulchan (siman 272) says the mitzvah applies also to a vehicle such as a wagon. In our days, we can extend this to a car or any other motorized vehicle.