Our Gemara on Amud Beis rules that the oath and various other obligations of a watchman are not applicable when it is an item that belongs to the Temple treasury. The verse states, “His peer” (Shemos 22:6) , which excludes something belonging to the sacred coffers. 

Ohr Hachaim (ibid) offers a metaphysical-legal explanation. There is a well known exemption from obligations of the watchmen or borrower when we consider the owner as “with him” in the usage or endeavor (ibid 22:13). The simple logic is that if the owner is somehow working alongside you (various halachic technicalities apply), the object is not fully entrusted to the watchman, and there is less liability. Ohr Hachaim cleverly argues that since God is everywhere, he is always present alongside His objects (the Temple treasury), and so the typical obligations of a watchman are not incurred.

The idea that God is sovereign and intimately involved in our actions is a fundamental religious principle. The Gemara (Berachos 35a) formulates this idea in the practice of reciting blessings before eating or enjoying pleasures of the world:

Rabbi Levi raised a contradiction: It is written: “The earth and all it contains is the Lord’s,” and it is written elsewhere: “The heavens are the Lord’s and the earth He has given over to mankind” (Psalms 115:16). There is clearly a contradiction with regard to whom the earth belongs. He himself resolves the contradiction: This is not difficult. Here, the verse that says that the earth is the Lord’s refers to the situation before a blessing is recited,

The idea is paradoxical but true. We have no right to anything. Once we humbly accept this fact, God grants us the right and permission to enjoy.

We also can use this idea to understand the text of the blessing on bread, “He who takes bread out of the ground.” Really? I have not seen bread grow on trees! Bread is made through complex human engineering. Threshing the grain, grinding it, kneading the dough, letting it rise, and baking it. Yet, the blessing is thanking God for bringing bread out of the ground! This is precisely the point. Even though you have to work hard for it, never forget that God is the one who really gives it to you.

I’ve noticed though that the blessing on wine is crafted in the opposite manner. Here we recite, “He who creates the fruit of the vine.” The blessing references the fruit, not the actual wine, yet ironically the blessing on grapes is not “He who creates the fruit of the vine”, but rather “He who creates the fruit of the tree.” (See Shulchan Aruch OC 202:1). How do we account for this difference between wine and bread? I am wondering whether there is a subtle message here about wine. Human industry and ingenuity can be harnessed for lofty or sinful pursuits, and the choice is solely ours. God says to those who abuse wine, “Don’t blame me, I did not make the wine. YOU made the wine, I just made grapes.”