Taamei Hamitzvos - Remembering Amalek
Reasons Behind the Mitzvos
By Rabbi Shmuel Kraines
“Study improves the quality of the act and completes it, and a mitzvah is more beautiful when it emerges from someone who understands its significance.” (Meiri, Bava Kama 17a)
Mitzvos #603-605; Devarim 25:17-19
In Parashas Ki Seitzei, Hashem commands us: “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you left Egypt, that he met you on the way and smote all those straggling behind you, while you were fatigued and weary — and he did not fear Hashem. When Hashem shall grant you peace from all your enemies around you in the land that Hashem your
We do not find such a commandment regarding any other enemy of the Jewish people. What is unique about Amalek? Amalek displayed great evil and also caused us great harm. They displayed evil by coming from a very distant land, crossing through five nations, to attack weak stragglers of a weary nation who posed no threat to them (Mechilta and Rav Hirsch). Moreover, by seeking to destroy the nation that Hashem had just acquired for Himself, they showed that they did not fear Him, even after He had revealed His power and awesomeness to the world through the miracles of the Exodus. Their wicked attack included contaminating their victims through sodomy and severing their signs of circumcision, which they cast up heavenward in gross blasphemy (Rashi). They also caused us more harm than any other nation, for all the nations of the world were scared to fight with the seemingly invulnerable Jewish people until Amalek “cooled the boiling water” with their impudent attack (Shabbos 118band Rashi). It is therefore a mitzvah to hate and eliminate this evil enemy of Hashem and His people.
On a deeper level of understanding, Amalek represents evil itself, and they are diametrically opposed to the Jewish people, who represent Hashem’s kingship and all that is good. Thus, Hashem’s Throne and Name are said to be incomplete as long as Amalek exists (Rashi to Shemos 17:16). The conflict between the Jewish people and Amalek may be traced to the opposition between their respective patriarchs, Yaakov and Eisav, about whom it is written that they would battle each other in a see-saw-like manner, that when one rises the other falls (Rashi to Bereishis 25:23). This relationship was clearly apparent during the Purim story, in which Hashethe Jewish people sank at the depths of their period of exile and Haman the Amalekite stood to annihilate them; and then, Haman fell and the Jewish people rose.
There are two ways to lower the far side of a see-saw: either by lowering it directly or by raising the near side. Just as it is easiest to lower the far side by raising the near side, the easiest way to battle Eisav is by raising our religious standards. We may apply this idea to all the enemies of the Jewish people in the current exile, which is associated with Eisav. Our national rectification depends on the elimination of evil and those who represent it, and this depends on our conduct.
In light of the above, we gain insight into the circumstances of Amalek's attack and the method by which we defeated them. Amalek attacked because of the Jewish people’s lack of faith, for immediately prior to the attack, they had lacked water and asked, “Is Hashem with us or not?!” (Rashi to Shemos 17:8). When we are lacking, Amalek fills the void and gains power to attack. For this reason, when Yehoshua led the Jewish troops against Amalek, Moshe focused on the real battlefront: the Jewish people themselves. He raised his hands heavenward to direct the Jewish people direct their hearts to Hashem, knowing that once they did so, they would rise and Amalek would fall.
The Sages illustrate the double-sided nature of the mitzvah to remember Amalek with a parable: A king fenced off his royal vineyard and placed within it a ferocious watchdog, and one day, his son breached the fence and got bitten. Whenever the king sought to caution his son against repeating his error, he would say, "Remember how the dog bit you." So too, Hashem tells us to remember what Amalek did to us primarily so that we do not repeat the error of losing faith in Hashem and doubting His presence (Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei §9). He is always with us and ready to provide our needs with boundless love, and whenever we lack something, it means that our behavior is lacking and needs improvement.
This idea is also reflected in the Torah’s description of Amalek’s attack, “they did not fear Hashem.” Some interpret this to mean that Amalek did not fear Hashem, while others interpret it to mean that the Jewish people did fear Hashem. These two interpretations of “they did not fear Hashem”are two sides of the same coin: since the Jewish people did not fear Hashem sufficiently, He placed them in the hands of those who lacked any fear of Hashem whatsoever: Amalek.
Amalek's power is especially linked to the extent to which the Jewish people devote themselves to Torah study. We thus find that Amalek’s attack in Wilderness followed a laxity of Torah study (Tanchuma §25). The Sages expound similarly that whenever the voice of Yaakov is heard in synagogues and study halls, the hands of Eisav are powerless (Zohar,Beshalach 58b). In light of what we have explained, this is because Torah study is the elixir for the yetzer hara (Kiddishin 30b), and when we raise ourselves, we lower Amalek.
Just as Amalek is hidden among the nations, the evil inclination lurks within, swaying our every decision and tugging us downward ever so gently, in its deviously imperceptible way. And just as our national struggle against Amalek and the evil they represent will last until the coming of Mashiach, so too, we must struggle to better ourselves and develop our relationship with Hashem for as long as we live.
