פרשת תצוה ושבת זכור וענייני פורים
In this week’s Maftir, we read the chapter which commands us to remember how badly Amalek treated us when we were in the desert, and the ensuing commandment to obliterate them and their possessions from the face of the earth. On a practical level, it comes out that we have three responsibilities when it comes to the nation of Amalek. Firstly, we need to constantly remind ourselves what they tried to do to us, and preserve that feeling of resentment of them for it. Secondly, we need to actively speak out in front of ten other Jews on an annual basis what they did to us and our commandment to decimate them. And thirdly, when the time comes that we can positively identify who they are, we need to actually go and physically execute every one of them. I feel that this commandment of the Torah requires some explanation. We can understand the Mitzvah to incessantly remind ourselves of how Hashem extricated us from Egypt, and gave us the Torah, as these activities cultivate a strong belief in Hashem and His oneness, and motivate us to properly keep the Torah. But how is this seemingly obsessive harping on what Amalek tried to do to us in any way productive to our wholesomeness as Jewish adults? Furthermore, what are we trying to remind ourselves of? We don’t even know who they are today!
R’ Dov Shteinholtz, the renowned Mashgiach explains that in order to adequately comprehend this commandment, we need to take a closer look at what exactly Amalek was trying to do to the Jewish people. The verse says, “אשר קרך בדרך”. Rashi explains that this word has three connotations. Firstly, “Korcha” means they tried to cool you off. This can be likened to a boiling hot bath tub. Nobody would go near it for fear of being burned, until one audacious person came and jumped in. Even though he got scalded, other enemies are now more ready to try. Similarly, Amalek made it that other nations now regarded the Jews, (and by extension Hashem), with less trepidation. Secondly, “Korcha” connotes a language of happenstance. And thirdly, “Korcha” can mean impurity – that Amalek injected impurity in the Jewish people. The Mashgiach points out that we see from this third explanation that the danger presented by Amalek is not only a physical one but a spiritual one as well, and therefore the conflict between us is spiritual in its nature. He focuses on the second explanation that “Korcha” comes from the word “Mikre” which means happenstance. He wants to try to expound on what is so perilous about happenstance. He explains that Amalek has the same numerical value as Safek – doubt (240). Amalek has a uniquely damaging force to be able to make us question some of the basic tenets of our faith and to try to convince us that all the good and bad which befalls us is mere coincidence. Perhaps this is why they were brazen enough to attack the Jewish people after the undeniably miraculous way in which Hashem took them out of Egypt. They were making a statement that there were no miracles here, the Jews just got lucky. This spiritual danger that they present us with, is the primary reason for the commandment to destroy them. On a practical level, we are not in a position to physically dispose of any Amalekim. But what we can do is attempt to eradicate their damaging force from our hearts by strengthening our belief in Hashem and galvanizing our faith. Every time we attribute the events in our lives to random occurrence, we are allowing Amalek a foothold in our hearts, and we must attempt to remove this insidious perception as much as possible.
R’ Yechezkel Sorno explains that it is no coincidence that we read this crucial chapter right before Purim. Chazal teach us that one of the key messages from the Purim story is the unwavering belief that nothing in this world is random, and that every occurrence in our lives is sent to us directly from our Creator. There were no outward miracles in the Purim story. One could have misconstrued the entire Purim story as a series of unfortunate events, which in the end all turned out dandy. But the Jews of the time got the message, and chose to use these events to boost their belief in the one true Master of the Universe by setting up Purim as national Jewish holiday. Furthermore, the Megilah states that the Jews accepted upon themselves the fasts and the prayers of Purim. R’ Yechezkel explains this cryptic verse by saying that the Jews of the time renewed their commitment to turn to Hashem during any time of duress. Meaning, one could have thought that the proper response during the Purim story would be to go to war. But they realized that this would have been the “Amalek” response. Rather the “Jewish” response is to turn directly to Hashem and admit that He alone has the power to help us. Based on what we have said, there is no greater way to wipe out the “Amalek” from our hearts than to read the Megillah, and imbue in our hearts its clear message – that nothing happens to us, big or small, without Hashem’s say so.
May we all merit to inculcate this crucial message of Hashem’s mastery of the world into our hearts, and have a wonderful Purim!