The Covet Culprit: Parshat Yitro

Many people don't understand why "You shall not covet" became one of the Ten Commandments. The Torah specifically says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife… nor anything that is your neighbor's" (Exodus 20:13). A person shrugs his shoulders in innocence and protests, "What did I do wrong? Did I steal? Did I kill? Did I commit adultery? So what if I found that other woman attractive? I didn't touch her! I didn't even speak to her!" That's where the evil inclination, dressed up as the covet culprit, gets gullible people to jump in a boiling pot of troubled waters...