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Adapted from B'nei Yissaschar 4:8 by Binyamin Adilman
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you
came out of Egypt; how he met you on the way and cut down all the weak ones who
straggled behind you when you were weary and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d.
Therefore, when the L-rd your G-d will relieve you of all your enemies around
you, in the land which the L-rd your G-d is giving you as an inheritance, you
shall obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the Heavens. Don't forget!
(Deut. 25:17-19)
The commentators ask the question, if Amalek is our
eternal arch enemy, a rogue nation interested only in death and destruction, and
representing the Evil Inclination itself, then why was the commandment of
obliterating Amalek left for ". . .when the L-rd your G-d will relieve you of
all your enemies around you, in the land which the L-rd your G-d is giving you
as an inheritance"? Why is wiping out Amalek charged with this unusual
condition? Why, considering its importance, is not the command to be carried out
immediately and whenever possible!
Remember the Shabbat to keep it holy.
(Ex. 20:8)
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as
you came out of Egypt.
(Deut. 25:17)
The Midrash Tanchuma (parashat Ki
Teitze, 7) says that these mitzvot have a corresponding relationship. At first
glance it may seem that their connection is only because they begin with the
command, "Remember!" But there must be more to it than this.  | | " The rogue nation of Amalek had the chutzpah to attack the Jewish People..." | | |
Amalek struck for the first time just after the
splitting of the Red Sea, when the rest of the nations of the world had a dread
fear of and awesome respect for the Jewish People. During the Splitting of the
Sea, even the lowest echelons of society experienced a prophetic vision more
profound than the vision of the chariot experienced by the prophet Ezekiel. And
when the Red Sea split, all the waters in the world split, cups of drinking
water, bathtubs, puddles etc. The whole world "witnessed" the great miracle that
had taken place.
As for Amalek, "...he did not fear G-d". He had no
previous dealings with the Jewish People that would warrant a wanton attack, but
he nevertheless attacked. The rogue nation of Amalek had the chutzpah to attack
the Jewish People, even though the Jewish People was now clearly enjoying G-d's
favor. This brought him to a pure baseless, yet deep-seated hatred.
In fact, cites Rashi, when Amalek decided to come out
against the Jewish nation, he was filled with a hatred so deep that he was even
willing to risk death in order to set a precedent for other nations. (see Rashi
on Deut. 25:18)
Amalek had another weapon up his sleeve. Rashi (ibid.)
teaches us that the verse "how he met you on the way [in Hebrew, "asher
korcho baderech"] (Deut. 25:18) can be understood "how he cooled you off
along the way". Amalek, spreads his poison in each and every Jew and tries to
dampen one's enthusiasm for serving G-d. "Pray, learn Torah and keep mitzvot",
he declares, "but why do you have to be so religious? G-d didn't create
such a big world out there just for you to ignore it, did He?!"
When this attitude, or one of extreme chutzpah like Amalek's, takes hold amongst
the Jewish People, we must uproot it to the core. | | " When one has peace of mind...then one is poised to rid oneself of Amalek..." | | |
Therefore, when the L-rd your G-d will relieve you of
all your enemies around you, in the land which the
L-rd your G-d is giving you
as an inheritance, you shall obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the
Heavens. Don't forget!
(Deut. 25:19)
The most fitting time for wiping out Amalek is when one has peace of mind and is in a restful state (in Hebrew, "menucha") - with oneself and with ones household and family.
Then one is poised to rid oneself of Amalek.
When did Amalek come, when the Jews were weak and
weary, when they had no desire to fight, finding little rest, then Amalek came
out against them. This is the secret of understanding Amalek. He came only to
disturb the peace and quiet of the Jewish People. Causing confusion and unrest
between a person and those close to him, not to mention within oneself or in
ones relationship with G-d is one of Amalek's secret tricks. Therefore the
mitzvah of wiping out Amalek is ". . . when the L-rd your G-d will relieve you
of all your enemies around you, in the land which the L-rd your G-d is giving
you as an inheritance", when there is peace and tranquility...before Amalek
comes to spoil things. | | " Even one who is in distress all week with his enemies, forgets about them on Shabbat..." | | |
Therefore it stands to reason that our moments of rest
and tranquility are endowed with an extraordinary potential to root out the
poison of Amalek in our lives. This moment is the holy Shabbat! As the sages
expressed it, "When Shabbat comes menucha comes." ( Bereishit Rabba
10:9 and in Rashi Gen. 2:2) "A person does his work all the six days of labor
and rests on the seventh. He is then at peace with his children and household
and with himself. Even one who is in distress all week with his enemies, forgets
about them on Shabbat." ( Tanna D'bei Eliyahu 225b)
Shabbat is an auspicious day for wiping out Amalek.
The Zohar (sec. II, 134a, and found in the Sefard prayerbook, end of Kabbalat
Shabbat just before the Evening Prayer, "K'gavna") describes the arrival
of Shabbat: "...as she arrives and merges into Oneness, as is separated from the
other side, and all strict judgments are severed from her. She remains in unity
with the Holy light, and crowns herself with many crowns for the Holy King. Then
all the powers of wrath and all adversaries flee from her and vanish, and no
other power reigns in the world...."
This is the unique opportunity of the Shabbat of
parashat Zachor, the Shabbat before Purim. Shabbat itself is the foundation
of faith and sanctity, the precise opposite of Amalek's essence of heresy and
foul impurity. And Shabbat is the quintessential manifestation of rest and
tranquility.
At the same time, the day of Purim itself, the day
when Haman, the progeny of Amalek, was defeated is also a highly auspicious day
for obliterating the vestige of Amalek left within us.
And the rest of the Jews who were in the provinces of
the king gathered, standing up for their lives, and gained relief from
their enemies, and slew their foes, seventy five thousand - but on the spoils
they did not lay their hands. That occurred on the thirteenth day of the month
of Adar, and they had relief on the fourteenth of the month, making it a
day of feasting and joy. But the Jews who were in Shushan gathered on the
thirteenth and the fourteenth of the month and on the fifteenth they had rest
and relief from their enemies, making it a day of feasting and joy.
Therefore, the Jews who dwelled in unwalled cities make the fourteenth day of
the month of Adar a day of joy and feasting and a holiday of sending portions
one to another. And Mordechai wrote these events and he sent letters to all the
Jews who were in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far, to
enjoin them to keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth
day of the month as the days on which the Jews rested from their
enemies and the month which had been turned around for them from sorrow to joy
and from mourning to a holiday; and to make them days of feasting, sending
portions one to another and sending gifts to the poor.
(Esther 9:16-22)
On Purim we also found rest and tranquility, the ever precious commodity of "menucha".
Visitor Comments: 3
Anonymous, 2/22/2006
Kabbala Online is outstanding.Allan Cohen, from NY, 3/15/2005
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< Rabbi Moshe Scholnick, from USA, 3/14/2005
Please keep up the excellent w
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