In this week's parsha, the Torah records a dialogue between Moshe and Yitro. Moshe invites Yitro to join the Jewish people on their journey to Israel. He assures him that only good will come of it. However, Yitro categorically rejects the offer. Moshe implores him again, "If you will accompany us, you too will receive the good that Hashem has promised for us." The Torah does not tell us Yitro's second response. There is a disagreement among the sages whether he acquiesced or not. Assuming he did, which is the position of the Rambam and other commentaries, why was offer one summarily dismissed and offer number two accepted?

The Rambam notes that the first time Moshe promised Yitro material possessions: gold, silver, and cattle, but he rejected them. The second time he offered him a portion in Eretz Yisrael. The Rambam derives this from the additional language the Torah uses, "Vayaha hatov hahu asher heitiv Hashem." Moshe assures Yitro that he too will acquire a portion in Israel. Yitro fully understood the value of the holy land. Moshe wasn't offering him something transient but ultimate eternity.

This should be our perspective too. Undoubtedly all of us have a need for sustenance, but that shouldn't be our focus. Our goal should be to tap into spirituality and infinity that the land of Israel represents.

We live within the realm of cause and effect. Our choices affect us both in this world and the next. To what degree should we see ourselves as part of nature and to what degree should we see ourselves as something separate? Are we natural beings or are we on a different higher plane?

Man always wants more than he already has. This subtle longing existed before the sin in Gan Eden in the form of Adam's deep desire for attachment to Hashem. Hashem placed Adam with all his yearnings into a physical body, which he was meant to express through his deeds and creativity.

Hashem looked in the Torah and created the world. When He began the creative process he fashioned an idyllic environment in Gan Eden which reflected His will and wisdom. It was designed to be a place in which His sanctity and exaltedness would come forth. But Hashem made the possibility of not seeing his unity an inherent part of the plan too.

It is possible to see Hashem's wisdom even without his involvement. By choosing not to see the fragmented picture, but to view Him as one and every creation and event that takes place as stemming from that one source, we draw closer to Him.

Before the sin, everything in the world was there as it should be. Man's role was l'avdah ul'shomrah, to work and guard the world. The Ohr Hachaim says l'avdah means to uplift things, to make everything into an avoda (service).You can admire a beautiful orange, gaze up at the blue sky, inhale the fresh air, and turn it all into avodat Hashem (service of Hashem). Adam's physical body found expression in the performance of the will of Hashem through the positive mitzvot. L'shomra was later manifested in the negative mitzvot.

Hashem responded to the sin of the tree of knowledge by bringing curses upon the world. Adam was cursed, "By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread." Only after the sin were we forced to become physically involved in the earth's actual bounty and physical productivity. We moved from being on a level that was more spiritual to a level that was more physical.

The Mesilat Yesharim says bitachon means relying on Hashem completely. David Hamelech wrote, "Hashlech Al Hashem Yehavcha V'hu Yechalkeleka. Throw your burden upon Hashem and He will provide for you." The Gra says yahav means feeling an absolute emotional reliance on Hashem. We're supposed to invest our physical effort but we are not supposed to rely on the consequences of it.

What is hishtadlut (effort) about? The Leshem says the only way something can become your identity is through choice and action. Adam was created with absolute knowledge. He was able to see from one end of the world to the other. However, none of his wisdom was integrated through choice. Therefore, Hashem presented him with a test. If he would have done more of l'avdah ul'shomra, his ability to deal with the fruit of goodness and evil would've been different. Therefore, the consequence of the sin had to be consciousness, so that he would now make better choices.

He was cursed with the sweat of his brow. When you work, there's a conflict to view what you have produced as yours or to recognize that these are your actions and choices, but the consequences belong to Hashem. Sometimes we outright sin, sometimes we decentralize Hashem.

How much effort do we really have to put in? The Maharal's view was that you have to maximize your hishtadlut because it is the catalyst through which a person utilizes his talents for tikun olam and tikun atzmi (rectifying the world and himself). But the results are always dependent on Hashem.

Rav Zundel Salanter held that the necessity to expend effort is because we are not worthy of revealed wonders. Any minute level of hishtadlut, as long as it conceals the miracle of our sustenance, is enough. The Michtav M'Eliyahu maintained that one should do whatever the natural cause and effect demands of us.

Some people investigate all possibilities, commit themselves emotionally, and do everything they can. They wage war against their competitors and drive themselves to achieve to the max. This is a whole other level. These people feel vulnerable, they compete, they are scared. If you ask this kind of believer why are you doing this? He'll answer with religious clichés such as, The Torah says, "Sheshet yamim ta'avod" (work six days) and the Gemara says that one who supports his family is continually involved in charity. In reality, hishtadlut is not a mitzvah but a consequence of bad choice. Although the Gemara says that supporting your family is charity it doesn't say going to the extreme will earn you more money. Your responsibility is to do the hishtadlut but Hashem's responsibility is to support your family. There are people who expend enormous effort and fail and there are people who make little effort and succeed. It's not in our hands completely.

The real test is to ask yourself when you are doing hishtadlut, "Are my intentions to fulfill a mitzvah? Am I making myself into a vessel to draw down Hashem's bounty or am I just thinking business deals and office politics when I should be talking directly to Hashem?" Taking Hashem out of the picture means worshiping ourselves. The popular mantra is, "I must be realistic and competitive, I can't be a fool and leave it all to chance." The Torah way is, "I've done what I can. Now I let it go. It is in Hashem's hands."

Besides being control freaks, some people hide under the guise of laziness. They don't have the courage or the will to make the necessary effort or sufficient control of their body to get themselves going. It's easy to call that bitachon. Hashem is not in the picture any more for a person who's not actively involved because of laziness than in the heart of someone trying to control everything.

Sometimes the evil inclination will tell us to overdo hishtadlut and sometimes he will tell us not to. How do we know what the truth is? One approach is to learn to see Hashem in the world. Ask yourself, "What am I learning about myself and Hashem as I walk through life?" The more aware you are of Hashem, the more honest you can be. The more you see yourself as a creation of Hashem, the more you can see the events in your life as being arranged.

The Midrash describes how Hashem assigned Adam to give names to all of creation. When he was finished he asked Adam, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am Adam." I am earthly and even my spiritual essence is meant to be expressed through physical reality." And then Hashem asked, "Who am I?" And he said, "You are Adon, the master." Hashem is absolutely involved. Everything is a consequence of His providence. When a person learns to think this way, to walk through the world with open eyes, then all worries about earthly matters will fall away.                                                              

The basis for the many of the laws related to property damages is found in Parshat Mishpatim.

The Mishna lists four categories of damages: damages caused by an ox, a pit, mav'eh, (either damage caused by a person or that caused by an animal), and fire. The common denominator is that damages are likely to occur and a person is responsible to try to prevent them happening. If they cause a loss then the owner must pay for it.  

In Hilchot Nezikin, the Rambam discusses many cases of damages. The Shulchan Aruch does too. They both write that a person is required to make restitution if he causes monetary loss to someone else.

Conspicuously missing from all these sources is any statement of prohibition against causing damages in the Torah. Can you purposely damage someone's property and then just repay him? Is this a civil obligation or is there also a criminal component involved?

The Mabit holds that there is no Torah prohibition, but a rabbinic law. The Gra maintains that it is a Torah law. The Tur writes that it seems to fall within the category of stealing. Just as it is prohibited to steal another person's property, one may not damage another's property.

The Bach says that it is included in the prohibition of ba'al tashchit. The Mishna teaches that one may not chop down a tree in one's own yard. Rashi explains this is because one may not wantonly destroy something for no purpose. How much more so is it prohibited to damage someone else's property.

The Torah says you may not plant a tree too close to your neighbor's yard because the roots may spread to his yard and cause damage. The Rosh explains this law using the concept of deracha darchei noam, the Torah's ways are pleasant and lead to peace. It is not within the spirit of the law to cause damage to others. In a similar sense the Yad Ramah mentions that causing a loss to someone is a violation of v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha (loving a fellow Jew as yourself). Just as you would want someone to treat your property with respect and dignity, so you should be careful with your friend's property. It may also fall under the prohibition of Lifnei iver lo titen michshol (do not place a stumbling block before a blind person).

Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz notes the ruling of the Gemara, "Grama b'nezikin assur." Causing indirect damage is prohibited. One may not leave a ladder close to a tree so an animal can climb up and take your neighbor's eggs. Rashi says that unrecognizable damage is not a Torah prohibition. This implies that actual damage is. Rav Chaim says there is a special prohibition of causing damage. This is derived from the verse "V'lo yishmerenu." You have to prevent your wild ox from causing damage. Certainly you can't allow it to cause a loss.

The Steipler maintained that causing damage falls under the law of hashavat aveida. The Torah says, "Lo tuchal l'hit'alem." You can't just pretend not to see a lost object. You are obligated to pick it up and try to return it. If the law demands you to return a lost item, certainly you can't cause someone to lose something.

Rav Soloveitchik takes another approach. The Rambam learns from the Torah law of "Lo ta'amod al dam reicha," that if one is capable of saving someone in a time of danger he is obligated to do so. Dam can also be translated as damim (money). Rav Soloveitchik notes that we learn from this Rambam that not standing idly by the blood of someone means not allowing him to sustain a monetary loss. Certainly one may not cause the loss.