TT #286 · Parashas Shoftim · Seventh Aliyah · Passuk 20:05
And the officers shall speak to the people, saying: Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.
Torah Temimah points to Sifrei Devarim 193.
TT lemma: פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יַחְנְכֶנּוּ.
English: ‘Lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it’ – a matter of distress.
Derash on the motive (Sifrei) — the exemption protects against a specific emotional harm.
The Torah spares a man the pain of dying in battle and having another dedicate the house he never lived in.