Ki Seitzei - The War Against Amalek
“Remember
what Amalek did to you, on the way when you where leaving Egypt, that
he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were
hindmost… you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven
– you shall not forget.” Deuteronomy 25:17
One
of the only parts of the Torah that our Sages say is a Torah
commandment to publicly read, and have the people listen to, is the
section about wiping out Amalek. On the Shabbos before Purim,
everyone makes sure they concentrate on the following words from
Parshas Zachor:
Remember what Amalek did to you, on the way when
you were leaving Egypt, that he happened upon you on the way, and he
struck those of you who were hindmost, all the weaklings at your rear,
when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear God. It
shall be that when Hashem, your God, gives you rest from all your
enemies all around, in the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you as an
inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from
under the heaven - you shall not forget! (Deuteronomy 25:17)
Most
Jews, being 'rachmonim bnei rachmonim' (compassionate children of
compassionate people) are struck by the severity of this commandment.
This absolute and unsparing war is a top priority of Hashem:
Hashem
said to Moses, "...I shall surely erase the memory of Amalek from under
the heavens...Hashem maintains a war against Amalek, from generation to
generation." (Exodus 17:8)
We
must not be deterred by thoughts of mercy or compassion in this command
to destroy Amalek. In the Haftara of Parshas Zachor, we read that
Saul, after he was anointed by Samuel to be the first King of Israel,
stumbled in this mitzvah, with disastrous consequences for him (and the
Jews - because King Agag sired the ancestor of Haman on the day he was
temporarily spared by Saul):
Samuel said to Saul: "...Now hear
the sound of Hashem's words. Now go and strike down Amalek and destroy
everything he has, have no pity on him; kill man and woman alike,
infant and suckling alike, ox and sheep alike, camel and donkey
alike"...Saul and the people took pity on Agag; on the best of the
sheep and cattle...The word of Hashem came to Samuel, saying, "I have
regretted that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from Me and has
not fulfilled my word!" (I Samuel 15:1)
We can ask
ourselves, "What is going on here? Who is this Amalek, and what
is this merciless war of annihilation all about?" This is an
absolute top priority for Hashem, an ongoing war that repeats itself in
every generation. We understand that this tribe attacked the
children of Israel from the rear after the exodus from Egypt. But
why does this warrant total and unmerciful annihilation?
Strangely
enough, we can get a possible answer to this question from the person
who is as close to being Amalek as anyone in modern times. Here
is what Hitler, may his bones be ground to dust, wrote in Mein Kampf:
It
is true we Germans are barbarians, that is an honored title to
us. I free humanity from the shackles of the soul; from the
degrading suffering caused by the false vision called conscience and
ethics. The Jews have inflicted two wounds on mankind:
circumcision on its body and conscience on its soul. They are
Jewish inventions. The war for the domination of the world is
waged only between these two camps alone, the Germans and the
Jews. Everything else is but deception.
Hitler
claims that he is the standard bearer of Amalek, calling his group
"barbarians". He says that his war with the Jews is a "war for
the domination of the world" over the issue of "conscience and ethics"
that are "Jewish inventions". "Everything else is but deception".
It
is terribly ironic that it takes Amalek himself to help us see more
clearly why the Chumash says "Hashem maintains a war against Amalek,
from generation to generation". It helps us understand that a key
phrase in Parshas Zachor is that Amalek "did not fear God".
Amalek, because he does not fear God, wants to "free humanity from the
shackles of the soul." Hitler saw all too clearly that there is no
compromise in this war, it is a war of annihilation at the center of
human history.
The Chumash and Amalek himself tell us that
there are two fundamental ideologies in the world fighting "for the
domination of the world". On the one hand, there is "conscience
and ethics" that holds that there is right and wrong, and that we are
commanded by an almighty G-d to be good and we are accountable for our
actions accordingly. Violently opposed to this is the ideology of
Barbarism that hates the concept of right and wrong, and wants the
freedom to live by the law of the jungle where might makes right.
The Barbarian thrills at the thought of satisfying every desire and
lust relying on his strength alone, without restriction of
consience.
The Chumash and Amalek also inform us that
each of these ideologies is embodied in a people, and that each of
these peoples cannot be separated from the ideologies they
represent. Since these two ideologies are totally irreconcilable
and antithetical, the people representing each ideology know they must
destroy the other.
The words that Samuel told Saul
ring in our ears: "Now hear the sound of Hashem's words. 'Now go
and strike down Amalek and destroy everything he has, have no pity on
him; kill man and woman alike, infant and suckling alike.' "
Hitler understands this from the other side of the fence, that this war
between the Jews and Amalek is for keeps, it is a war of extirpation
where no prisoners are to be taken. We suddenly understand the
Holocaust more clearly, that Hitler was trying to annihilate the Jews
because as long as one Jew remains alive to carry forth the word of
G-d, Hitler and his "weltenshauung" are in jeopardy.
Hashem
chose the Jews to fight this war of annihilation against Amalek.
With what weapons can the Jews battle such a formidable enemy? We
remember that in the Chumash's description of the battle against Amalek
in the desert, when Moses lifted his arms to Heaven, the Jews overcame
the strength of Amalek. But when Moses' arms drooped, Amalek
became stronger. These are the uplifted arms of prayer beseeching
Hashem to help us in this bitter struggle. The key to overcoming
Amalek is maintaining a good relationship with Hashem so that He helps
us. Help from Hashem is essential in this war.
This is clear from the conversation between Haman (who the Sages tell us is from Amalek) and Ahasuerus in Messechet Megilla 13b:
He (Haman) said to Ahasuerus, "Come, let us destroy them."
He (Ahasuerus) replied: "I am afraid of their God, lest He do to me as He did to my predecessors."
He (Haman) replied: They (the Jews) are 'negligent' (lit. asleep) in the commandments. He (Ahaseurus) said, There are Rabbis among them.
He (Haman) replied, They are 'one people'.
Haman
understood that the Jews at that time were weakened because they were
'negligent in the commandments', and therefore they didn't have the
zchus (merit) that was needed to warrant Hashem's help. Ahaseurus
asked if perhaps the merit of the Rabbis would be enough to save the
Jews. Haman answered that the Jews are 'one people', and that the
merit of all the Jews are considered in Hashem's calculation of how
much help is warranted. Apparently it was clear to both of them that
the actions of the Jews in general at that time did not warrant such
help. The story of Purim tells us that only when the Jews
collectively did tschuva (repentance) and lifted up their arms to
Hashem and cried out together to be saved did Hashem save them.
The
Haggadah that we read on Pesach tells us that in every generation 'they
rise up to destroy us'. This war of annihilation between the Jews and
Amalek is serious business, it is a matter of life and death. The
war is over the issue of whether people should live by the standards of
right and wrong that Hashem set forth clearly in the Chumash, or
whether they will be freed from these 'shackles of the soul' and be
'barbarians'. (God forbid). There is a barbarian within every
human being, and it is called the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination.
Every time we give in to the Yetzer Hara, we strengthen Amalek, and
whenever we overcome the Yetzer Hara, we help the Jews in this cosmic
battle.
We cannot win this battle alone. It is
only by maintaining a good relationship with Hashem by not being
'negligent in the commandments' can we succeed in this bitter
war. This is stated clearly in the Psalm 91 that is attributed to
Moses:
I will say of Hashem: he is my refuge and my fortress, my God - I will trust in Him.
That He will deliver you from the ensnaring trap, from devastating pestilence.
With His pinion He will cover you, and beneath His wings you will be protected;
Shield and armor will His truth be.
You shall not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day;
Nor the pestilence that walks in gloom, nor the destroyer who lays waste at noon.
The
struggle for Man's mind and soul is between two peoples. "The war
for the domination of the world is waged only between these two camps
alone.... Everything else is but deception." Every
Jew, whether or not he or she likes it, is enlisted in this
battle. Just as Jews are commanded to destroy Amalek who embodies
Barbarism (because "he did not fear God"), likewise Amalek itches not
only to destroy the concept of conscience, but the people who embody
that belief.
We can see in the popular media this struggle
between Conscience and Barbarism. There is a strong current in
our popular culture that people should be able to do whatever they
want, often rationalizing it in the name of progress. We can feel
this struggle against the 'yetzer hara' within ourselves every
day. Whenever people lose an external or internal battle against
Barbarism, the Barbarians get stronger, and all Jews become more
vulnerable. It is incumbent on every Jew, and every moral
human being who sees that the world would not be better if the
Barbarians held sway, to fight for the Reign of Conscience. We
must fight for and pray that Mankind lives by the standards set forth
by G-d. We cannot win this battle against Amalek and Barbarism by
ourselves. We must strive to attain more zchus (merit) to warrant
Hashem's help, and then lift our arms to heaven and pray that the
Almighty will protect and save us.