“But they answered, “Should our sister be treated like a harlot?” (Bereishis 34:31)

Hishtadlus is one of the most important things in all the activities that Jews do, whether it is getting a good chavrusa, finding a wife, or getting a job. We have an obligation to make the best effort we can. However, it is unclear when hishtadlus is appropriate and even when it is, what is the correct amount?

For example, if Reuven needs a job, and he can make the manager of a company feel uncomfortable with Shimon, causing the manager to fire Shimon, which would allow Reuven to take over Shimon’s job – that kind of effort is forbidden. Or, if Reuven wants to grow in learning, and he therefore decides to go to a class which is far above his level, his efforts will not succeed. Our job is, in all areas, to find the proper balance as to how much effort one needs to invest.

In some situations, it seems that making any effort will be unproductive. Yet we feel that we not only need to do something, but we have to do something that is very drastic in order to have a chance at producing results. The Chazon Ish says that in those situations, we probably have no obligation of hishtadlus. His proof of this is from next week’s parsha when Yosef asked the chief bartender to “put in a good word for him.” Yosef knew full well that this Egyptian was an anti-Semite and would not willingly help him, and therefore this request was not hishtadlus, but an act of desperation which should not have been done at all. We therefore must know when we are going beyond our range of normal for who we are and what our situation is.

In this week’s parsha, Shimon and Levi take action against the citizens of Shechem because of what Shechem did to their sister Dina. Yaakov tells his sons that this was improper behavior, which could only bring about negative results. The sons responded that they could not let such a thing happen to their sister with no consequences. The Meforshim comment that the son’s response doesn’t really address Yaakov’s concerns.

It seems to me that the explanation is that sometimes one must respond to an issue even if it is not the proper hishtadlus, as there needs to be some response to show that we cannot allow this issue to continue to exist. The brothers’ answer was not an explanation of how what they did will rectify the situation. Rather, it was a response of pain and a supplication to Hashem, showing that the issue had to be taken care of. They were really saying, “We cannot allow this issue to go unanswered.”

So too us, in our lives, we often find ourselves in a predicament to which we must respond. Yet, we just do not seem to have the right response. At that time, whether one is conducting himself according to the Chazon Ish who says that we have no obligation for hishtadlus, or whether one is reacting according to this other explanation (that some situations warrant a reaction), we need to just throw up our hands to Hashem and say, “Help!”

But doing a feeble hishtadlus will only bring us to a similar situation to that which Yosef found himself in, where his efforts were detrimental to him and not a merit. Feeling helpless should instead spur us on to connect with Hashem in a greater way.