This week is the Shabbos which immediately precedes Purim. Traditionally we fulfill the biblical mandate and read a special portion of the Torah – Parshas Zachor in which we recall the ancient atrocity dealt to our ancestors by the nation of Amalek. After our formation as a distinct independent Jewish nation, only the nation of Amalek had the audacity to attack and begin the long tradition of antisemitism, the reverberations of which we still suffer from today. This mandate is one of three associated Mitzvos. We are not only commanded to recall this atrocity, but we are also commanded not to forget, and to physically avenge by destroying every last vestige of this evil nation (after the coming of the Messiah). The Sefer Hachinuch, an anonymous work written during the 13th century explains, by regularly recalling the evil actions of Amalek, it allows us to keep the Sina-the hatred for them fresh in our hearts.
The question that irks so many of us is: Why do we harp on this? It was so long ago and although this ancient nation of Amalek did perpetrate evil, it hardly seems relevant. Furthermore, when contrasting this law to the rest of the Torah, the idea of vengeance seems even more elusive and difficult to comprehend. One of the many Mitzvos found in Parshas Kedoshim is the prohibition of Lo Sikom, the Torah outlaws a premeditated act of revenge. The Sefer HaChinuch explains, whenever we are harmed by another it is imperative to understand that any good or bad which befalls us is ultimately sourced from G-d. If we are damaged or hurt by another, we alone are to blame; whatever suffering we endure is ultimately due to our spiritual misdeeds. Even the national attack by Amalek is not without fault of the Jews. The Midrash finds various misdeeds which allowed the Jewish people to suffer the attack from Amalek. Why is it important for us to sow this hate and to vilify Amalek? Ultimately, we were responsible, we were to blame for the attack.
There is an approach to this Mitzva, quoted in the name of the R’ Raphael Sorotzkin, which seems to be apparent. The directive for us to fight Amalek underscores a fundamental Jewish idea. The Torah embodies the attributes of truth and kindness, these are essential Jewish values. As a people we are charged with the lofty mission to elevate ourselves, our community and the world by living and personifying these values. Amalek is a nation with a mandate that directly opposes our values, the expectation that we destroy Amalek is an expectation to destroy cruelty and falsehood, to destroy evil itself. The hate we have of Amalek is not for the specific action of Amalek itself, it is rather for the ideology of Amalek, an ideology of evil, that is diametrically opposed to ours.
There is are two important lessons brought to light here. First, as a nation charged with elevating the entire world, we are not limited to perpetuating good. The obligations that define our view of Amalek teaches us that we are also responsible to do what we can to remove evil. Second, the command to vilify and destroy Amalek speaks to not only our job to physically destroy Amalek, we are also expected to harbor an emotional contempt and disgust for the evil Amalek represents; cynicism, cruelty, and falsehood. As a Jew we are charged with having both a deep affinity and drive towards the core values of the Torah as well as a revulsion and hatred for the ideologies that are anathema to the Torah.
