זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם׃ אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כׇּל־הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחֲרֶיךָ וְאַתָּה עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱ-לֹהִים. וְהָיָה בְּהָנִיחַ ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ לְךָ מִכׇּל־אֹיְבֶיךָ מִסָּבִיב בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר ה'־אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ תִּמְחֶה אֶת־זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח.
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt. How he happened upon you on the way, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear when you were famished and weary, (and he was) undeterred by fear of G-d. Therefore, when your G-d, Hashem, grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that your G-d ,Hashem, is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget! (25:17-19)
This is the mitzvah to remember the evil perpetrated by the nation of Amalek who to spite G-d was the first to attack the Jewish people after all the miracles we experienced during the exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea.
Halacha (Jewish Law) points out that remembering in this context means verbal remembering. We fulfill this through the yearly congregational reading of this section of this week’s parsha which we refer to as Parshat Zachor. We do this on the Shabbat before Purim.
Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch of Jerusalem points out that when the Torah addresses us regarding this episode of Amalek, it does so in the singular form. For example, “Zachor”, remember, is singular. “What Amalek did to you” is singular. So too, “How he happened upon you on the way, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear when you were famished and weary” and “you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" are all in the Hebrew singular form. This implies that although in some aspects this mitzvah is performed on a public level (such as the public Torah reading) there is an aspect that must be performed on the individual level.
I translated above the words,אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, as “how he happened upon you.” This is the first explanation cited by Rashi in his commentary. The second one is that קָרְךָ comes from the word קר which means cold. According to this the words אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ means that he (Amalek) cooled you off. Rashi cites an analogy to a boiling bath that no one can even touch. A contemptible person comes along and jumps into the boiling water! He burns himself but he brings down the temperature of the water. The Jewish people fresh off all the miracles G-d had performed for them were like scalding water that no nation would dare touch. Then came Amalek and showed the world that the Jewish people are vulnerable.
Why was Amalek different? Because Amalek's entire essence revolved around defying the presence of G-d’s providence in the world. He was therefore willing after all the miracles to attack the Jewish people and show that G-d can be challenged. He was defeated but he made the impression to the world as if it was possible to wage war with the Almighty.
The worldview of Amalek is that everything is מקרה, happenstance and beyond Divine control.When Amalek did this he contaminated the world with this attitude. It is inevitable that there will be times that even we will on some level think that the world is not being directed from Above. Therefore the Torah spoke in the singular form to personally charge us to strengthen our resolve that even under the most difficult circumstances the Almighty is always aware and orchestrating events for our good, whether we recognize that or not. This is the battle that each one of us wage against Amalek’s legacy. Every time we strengthen our faith and trust in Him we eradicate the world of the enemy’s heretical influence.
There are people who display this faith on an incredible level.The story is told about a group of Israeli soldiers who would take turns every night standing guard at an Israeli settlement. A soldier named Avi was asked by his friend Yosi if he would do him a favor and take his place doing guard duty that night. Avi was a good natured fellow and agreed although it meant standing guard two nights in a row. That night Avi was ambushed by terrorists and killed. When Yosi heard about this he was inconsolable because it was the favor he asked for that caused Avi’s death.
Yosi and a group of soldiers went to pay a shiva call at Avi’s parents house. Yosi tried to be as inconspicuous as possible because he was sure that Avi’s parents found out about how their son had done that night’s guard duty for someone else. At one point Avi’s father asked which one of the soldiers here asked his son to stand guard in his place. Yosi meekly indicated that it was him. Avi’s father walked over to him, lovingly placed his hands on Yosi’s face and kissed him on the forehead. “We want you to know,” he said softly, “that what happened to our son had nothing to do with you. We firmly believe that the Almighty dictated what was to happen to him. Please don’t ever think that you were the cause.” Then Avi’s father and Yosi embraced.
This emunah, faith in the Almighty and His providence, has to permeate every facet of our lives. The more we do this the more we negate the influence of Amalek and bring the light of G-d into the world.
The ultimate defeat of Amalek will come with the coming of Moshiach filling the world with the clarity of G-d’s presence. May we merit this speedily in our days.
Shabbat Shalom! Ketiva v’Chatima Tova!
Yitzchak