Another interpretation, “you shall surely send away” – Rabbi Elazar said: It should not have said this;8The Torah should not have concerned itself with the feelings of a bird. however, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Since it participated in the glory of the world and in improving the world, it is worthy to be rescued.’9By having produced eggs or hatchlings, it has contributed to the continuing functioning of the world.
Another interpretation, Rabbi Ḥiyya said: If a bird, which does not possess the merit of illustrious ancestors, nor covenants, nor oaths, its offspring atone for it,10It is to be set free as a reward for its merely producing offspring, as in the previous paragraph. then the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have the merit of illustrious ancestors, all the more so, that if one of them sinned, that He will grant atonement for them in the future.