Remember and Do Not Forget

Introduction. 1

Genealogy. 3

The Haftarah. 5

The Meaning of the name “Amalek”. 6

Purim.. 6

Nefarious Deeds. 7

King è War against Amalek è Temple. 8

Introduction

On the Shabbat before Purim, two Torah scrolls are taken from the ark; one for the regular Parasha and one for the maftir (During this special Shabbat the regular portion of the week is read and seven persons are called to the Torah. The maftir is taken from another portion and relates to the theme of this special Shabbat, as does the Prophetic portion.). The maftir commands us to 'Remember what Amalek (עמלק) did to you' (Devarim 25). Because of this reading, it is called, Shabbat Zakhor (Remember). The Haftarah also deals with Amalek.

This Shabbat Zakhor’s proximity to Purim demands that there be a connection between the two, and the detailing of that connection is one of the purposes of this paper.

On Shabbat Zakhor we perform the mitzvot (commands) to remember and not forget what Amalek did. The imperative to remember the deeds of Amalek was given permanence by Moshe at the command of HaShem:

Shemot (Exodus) 17:14 HaShem said to Moshe, "Write this as a remembrance in the Book and recite it in the ears of Yehoshua, that I shall surely erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.

Whenever something is “written in a book”, it is done so with the idea that the issue needs to be remembered.

The readings, relative to Amalek, for Shabbat Zakhor are:

Torah: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17-19

Haftarah: Shmuel alef (1 Samuel) 15:1-34

Rambam in his Sefer HaMitzvot tells us that there are three specific mitzvot related to Amalek:

1. Positive mitzva number 188: “The extinction of the seed of Amalek”:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:19 Therefore it shall be, when HaShem thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which HaShem thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it, [that] thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget [it].

2. Positive mitzva number 189: “Remembering the nefarious deeds of Amalek”:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;

3. Negative mitzva number 59: “Not forgetting what Amalek did to us”:

(The Rambam also discusses the above mitzvot in Sefer Hachinuch mitzvah 603, 604, 608.)

Since we have three mitzvot relative to the destruction of Amalek, it is important that we have a good understanding of our opponent and of his nefarious deeds. Armed with this knowledge we will be positioned to fulfill these mitzvot at the appropriate times.

Once a year on the Shabbat before Purim, we have the only Torah reading in which everyone is obligated to hear[1]:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17-19 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he encountered you by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, [even] all [that were] feeble behind thee, when thou [wast] faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when HaShem thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which HaShem thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it, [that] thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget [it].

On Shabbat Zakhor we can perform two mitzvot: We “Remember the nefarious deeds of Amalek” and we “do not forget what Amalek did to us”.

The Torah shows us that עמלק, Amalek, is intimately associated with evil in this world. We will see that Amalek really does represent evil. When Amalek is eliminated, so too is evil.

Amalek, and therefore evil, will be with us until Mashiach finally destroys it. Our Sages teach us that “In every generation Amalek rises to destroy us, and each time he clothes himself in a different nation”[2].

The ways of Amalek, in every generation, are always the same and they provide the clue that we are fighting Amalek. The Midrash provides an intriguing insight into the methodology of Amalek, which helps us to understand the mitzvot to remember and not forget. The Hebrew word Karcha, encountered you, also translates cooled you off. Thus the Midrash says:

Midrash Tanhuma What is the incident (of Amalek) comparable to? To a boiling tub of water which no creature was able to enter. Along came one evil-doer and jumped into it. Although he was burned, he cooled it for the others. So, too, when Israel came out of Egypt, and HaShem rent the sea before them and drowned the Egyptians within it, the fear of them fell upon all the nations. But when Amalek came and challenged them, although he received his due from them, he cooled the awe of them for the nations of the world.

Abarbanel (at the end of Parashat Ki Tsetse) finds four signs that we are fighting Amalek, which are disclosed by the Torah in Parashat Zakhor:

1. Conventional war is fought in order to protect one's territory from a belligerent nation. Amalek’s territorial integrity was not being threatened by the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Why then did they have to initiate a war against them?

2. When winds of war loom on the horizon of any society, it is most common that the aggressor will announce his intentions to go to war. Here, Amalek didn't at all announce its intentions to attack.

3. Amalek’s ambush was directed towards the weak and feeble in the Jewish camp; those who were least able to defend themselves were killed.

4. For some absurd reason Amalek feared the Jews. Remember, though, that these were tired slaves, awed by their sudden reversal of fate, but weary nonetheless. These Jews cast fear over the camp of Amalekites. But HaShem, the great warrior on behalf of the Jews, they did not fear. How come? Abarbanel accordingly concludes: The utter absurdity of this attack when measured against conventional war for all times marked Amalek as the target of annihilation by the Jewish people. Indeed, this is HaShem's personal war also.

The Rambam, in Sefer Hachinuch, teaches us that the penalty for theft is greater if we steal when the owner is not around. This greater penalty is levied because it shows that we do not fear HaShem, but we do fear the owner. Thus we must conclude that Amalek’s penalty will be greater than those enemies who fear HaShem.

Genealogy

Amalek was the illegitimate son of Eliphaz, and the grandson of Esau, whose guardian angel is none other than HaSatan himself[3]. (Amalek’s mother was the illegitimate daughter of Amalek’s father). The first appearance of the word “Amalek” in the Torah, is:

Bereshit (Genesis) 36:8-16 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau [is] Edom. And these [are] the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: These [are] the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau's wife. And these [are] the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. These [were] dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn [son] of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, Duke Korah, duke Gatam, [and] duke Amalek: these [are] the dukes [that came] of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these [were] the sons of Adah.

The progeny of Amalek are the archetypal enemy of the Jewish People. Their very existence is diametrically opposed to the Torah. The Sages describe the people of Amalek as being the essence of all the evil in the world.

Esau we know as the brother of Yaakov, the son of Isaac. The Torah tells us that Esau wanted to kill his brother Yaakov, who was also called Israel:

Bereshit (Genesis) 27:41-42 And Esau hated Yaakov because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Yaakov. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Yaakov her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, [purposing] to kill thee.

Eliphaz we know as one of the so called “friends” of Iyov (Job):

Iyov (Job) 42:7 And it was [so], that after HaShem had spoken these words unto Job, HaShem said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me [the thing that is] right, as my servant Job [hath].

Eliphaz was Esau's son (Bereshit 36:4). According to the Midrash (quoted by Rashi in Bereshit 29:11) he was bidden by his father to pursue Yaakov and slay him. Owing, however, to the influence of the teachings of Isaac, which he had imbibed, he forbore to do this, and as a compromise, in order not to disobey his father wholly, he deprived Yaakov of all his possessions, because a man without possessions is reckoned as dead.

Thus we see that Esau, Eliphaz, and Amalek all want to kill Yaakov. Amalek is following in his father’s footsteps. Amalek comes from an infamous family line.

This family also had some royal blood, as we see from the Talmud:

Sanhedrin 99b A propos, what is the purpose of [writing], And Lotan's sister was Timna? — Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, alluf [duke] Lotan, alluf [duke] Timna; and by ‘alluf’ an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, she went to Abraham, Isaac and Yaakov, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, ‘I had rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.’ From her Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have repulsed her.

The Midrash also gives us some insight into the genealogy of Amalek:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LXXXII:14 AND TIMNA WAS CONCUBINE TO ELIPHAZ ESAU'S SON (XXXVI, 14). R. Simeon b. Yohai taught: What purpose is served by the verse, AND TIMNA WAS CONCUBINE TO ELIPHAZ?-It is to inform us of the greatness of the house of our father Abraham and how royalty wished to become allied [through marriage] to him. For what was Lotan? He was a son of one of the chiefs, as it says, The chief of Lotan, etc. (ibid 29). Now it is written, And Lotan's sister was Timna (ibid 22), and yet, AND TIMNA WAS CONCUBINE, etc.! She said: Since I am not worthy of being his wife, let me be his handmaid. Now may we not here draw a conclusion a fortiori: If kings ran to cleave to the wicked Esau, who had to his credit but the one pious deed of honouring his father, how much more will they run to cleave to Yaakov, who fulfilled the whole Torah!

The child of Timna was Amalek, the archenemy of the Jewish people. This was not accidental. When a potential convert, with genuine intentions, is distanced from the Jewish people by being made to feel unfit, the consequences for the Jewish people can be disastrous. The same occurred to Orpah. When she was discouraged from joining the ranks of the Jews, her children were given vast powers over the Jewish people. One of these children was Goliath, another was Yishbi; both of them were massive warriors who focused their efforts on fighting against the Jewish people.

Though the name Amalek refers to a nation that actually existed, it also describes a character trait within ourselves. Just as Amalek stood in direct opposition to the Jewish people, the trait symbolized by Amalek defies the very foundations of our divine service.

The Midrash[4] describes the nature of this trait in its commentary on the verse:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17-18 "Remember what Amalek did to you...as you came forth from Egypt, how he encountered you on the way and cut down all the weak who straggled behind you."

The Midrash explains that the Hebrew word "Karcha" ("he encountered you") can also be rendered as "he cooled you off." Amalek represents the cold rationality, which makes us question everything we do or experience[5].

Amalek, in terms of our spiritual service of HaShem, is symbolic of coldness and apathy for all that is holy. Of Amalek it is said, "He cooled you off" -- i.e., the physical Amalek dampened Israel's eagerness and enthusiasm for the Torah they were about to receive at Sinai following the exodus from Egypt; the spiritual Amalek lurks in the recesses of our hearts. The tikkun (correction) for this trait is Torah study.

The Haftarah

Yalkut Shimoni 1:264 "According to our traditions, Esau will fall, in the hands of Rachel's children".

Chazal (our Sages) teach that Amalek, the descendant of Esau, will fall by the hand of Rachel’s children. Yehoshua from Ephraim was the first to fight and succeed (partially). King Saul, the descendant of Benyamin, took up the challenge, and Mordechai, the descendant of Benyamin, succeeded against Haman.

The Haftarah for Shabbat Zakhor recalls the war with Amalek during the time of the prophet Shmuel and King Saul. The leader of the Amalekites[6] at that time was King Agag (Gog), an ancestor of Haman, who is one of the central characters in the story of Purim.

Saul, the first king in Israel, was a Benjamite, one of Rachel’s children. His main task as king was the destruction of Amalek:

Shmuel Alef (1 Samuel) 15:1-33 Samuel also said unto Saul, HaShem sent me to anoint thee [to be] king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of HaShem. Thus saith HaShem of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah [until] thou comest to Shur, that [is] over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all [that was] good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing [that was] vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Then came the word of HaShem unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul [to be] king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto HaShem all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of HaShem: I have performed the commandment of HaShem. And Samuel said, What [meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto HaShem thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what HaShem hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and HaShem anointed thee king over Israel? And HaShem sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of HaShem, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of HaShem? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of HaShem, and have gone the way which HaShem sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto HaShem thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath HaShem [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of HaShem? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of HaShem, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of HaShem, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship HaShem. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of HaShem, and HaShem hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, HaShem hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, [that is] better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he [is] not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: [yet] honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship HaShem thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped HaShem. Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before HaShem in Gilgal.

Mordechai, the hero of Megillat Esther, was a descendant of King Saul and of the same royal house. No wonder he was given the task of destroying Haman, the descendant of Amalek! This incredibly close connection suggest that the reason why Shabbat Zakhor is the Shabbat before Purim, is to drive home that the descendants of Rachel will destroy the descendants of Esau.

By the way, Hakham Shaul was also a Benjamite:

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin.

I believe that Hakham’s Shaul and his namesake, His Majesty King Saul (Shaul), had many things in common. King Saul battled physically against Amalek whilst Hakham Shaul used Torah as his weapon to eradicate the evil that is Amalek.

When we are confronted with an enemy who hates us and wants our destruction because we are different, because we remain faithful to HaShem and His Torah no matter what, because we won't compromise our beliefs, this is when we confront Amalek, no less than did Yehoshua or King Saul or Mordechai.

The Meaning of the name “Amalek”

Amalek: The term may be divided into amal - to toil, and the letter kuf, with the meaning 'ejection of the life-spirit' e.g. katal - to kill with removal of life-spirit. So Amalek means 'becoming dispirited through loss of spirit as a result of hard labour and continuous toil'. Such detachment is negative in nature.

Amalek represents intellectual doubt, the kind that erodes one's sense of belief that HaShem is running world. This is why the Hebrew word Amalek (in gematria) has the numeric value of 240, which is equal to the Hebrew word safek, which means doubt.

Purim

The Feast of Purim gets its name from the lots that Haman, the Amalekite, used to choose the day of destruction for the Jews. Pur is the Persian word for lots. The Hebrew word for lots is Goral. This is an amazing thing! Haman, like all Amalekites, does not believe that there is a G-d in the world. He thinks that everything occurs by happenstance. Yet we know that the truth is quite different:

Mishlei (Proverbs) 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof [is] of HaShem.

It is the Goral, the Pur, that demonstrates most powerfully this Hashgachah Pratis, this providence, of HaShem in every detail of the world's existence. When a Goral is conducted, one has no input or influence on the outcome of the Goral. Thus Haman’s device to prove there is only happenstance, and that there is no G-d, was in fact proving just the opposite!

The Tikunei Zohar calls Yom HaKippurim a "day which is like Purim" (Yom KiPurim). On Yom HaKippurim our atonement is guided by the Goral in much the same way that HaShem directed Haman’s pur.

Nefarious Deeds

The first time that the Torah tells us about the cowardly evil deeds of Amalek is in:

Shemot (Exodus) 17:7-16 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted HaShem, saying, Is HaShem among us, or not? Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of G-d in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands [were] heavy; and they took a stone, and put [it] under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady (emunah – faithfully obedient) until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And HaShem said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it HaShem-nissi: For he said, Because HaShem hath sworn [that] HaShem [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.

After the Jewish people defeated Amalek in war, the verse states, "HaShem will be at war with Amalek for all generations" (ibid. 17:16). We have seen many times throughout history the nation of Amalek rise to power and assault the Jewish people. We saw them at war again with the Jewish people in the book of Shmuel. We saw them in the form of the wicked Haman in the Purim story. We saw them in the various tragic pogroms throughout history. We saw them in the deeds of Stalin, may his name be blotted out, who died on Purim. Most recently we saw them in the form of Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 40's.

King Saul failed to utterly destroy Amalek as he had been commanded, and as a consequence lost his kingship, and was slain by an Amalekite. Ever since, each generation of the Jewish people has had war with an Amalek: Haman, Stalin, Hitler, Nasser, Sadam Hussein, and now the Palestinian (Philistine) entity.

Now, we know that King Saul killed all of the Amalekites except Agag, and the the Prophet Shmuel killed Agag the following day. Thus it appears that all of the Amalekites have been killed. This presents a small problem:

Shmuel Alef (1 Samuel) 27:8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.

If all of the Amalekites were killed by King Saul and Shmuel the Prophet, where did the Amalekites come from, who battled against King David later in history?

Rashi[7], in Shmuel Alef, comments on the command to kill every living being, including all of the animals. He asks why the oxen and sheep must be killed, and answers that the Amalekites knew magical arts and could transform themselves into animals, and thus, might disguise themselves and escape.

Thus a possible answer to our question is that some Amalekites escaped, disguised as animals[8]. It could also be, however, that the story of David took place before the story of Saul. Never the less, one of the things we learn from the fact that the Amalekites could disguise themselves, is that this use of a disguise is a trait of the Amalekites that will help us identify them. Rashi shows us that they have used disguises many times and points to the following pasuk:

Bamidbar 21:1 "And the Canaanite heard... And he fought against Israel."

The Canaanite was Amalek. Upon hearing that Aharon had died and that the Clouds of Glory had departed, he thought that permission was granted to battle with Israel[9].

The Nazarean Codicil also addresses an enemy of the noble people:

Romans 16:17-20 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all [men]. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the G-d of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

The enemy that is being addressed is the one who causes divisions. The one who destroys are unity is just like Amalek. As Amalek creates doubt so too does the one who causes division within the congregation.

* * *

Bereshit (Genesis) 21:1 The Canaanites heard ...

He heard that Aharon had died and that the Clouds of Glory had lifted ... Amalek is a “punishing strap” for Israel always ready for punishment. (Rashi)

King è War against Amalek è Temple

B’Seder – In Order:

The Talmud [10] clarifies the process of the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash (the holy Temple). It states that the nation of Israel is commanded to perform three commandments sequentially after they occupy the land of Israel:

They are to appoint a king,
They are to eradicate the offspring of Amalek.
They are to construct the holy Temple.

The eradication of Amalek comes after we have a King who is a descendant of Rachel (Either from the tribe of Yosef or from the tribe of Benyamin). I have dealt with this topic extensively in the study titled “Esther”. Only AFTER Amalek is destroyed can the Mashiach ben David restore the Beit HaMikdash.

Haman

Shabbat Zakhor is the name of the Shabbat before Purim so that the destruction of Amalek will be adjacent to the destruction of Haman, the latter being an Agagite, a descendant of Amalek.

Haman, one of the central characters of the Megillat Esther, was descended from Amalek. The Prophets says in Yeshayahu (chapter 43) that in spite of Bnei Israel's suffering, they will prevail. The reason given is that we are HaShem's crowning jewels and chosen nation. In contrast, HaShem's throne will not be complete until the destruction of Amalek. This underscores the fundamental difference between Bnei Yisrael and Amalek. Our existence is defined by HaShem's Divine intervention, whereas Amalek defined his destiny through denying HaShem's Presence. Naturally, this places us at impassable odds with Amalek and his children.

Amalek’s goal is the total destruction of Israel. He attempted to destroy Israel in the desert in the days of Moshe. He attempted to destroy Israel in Haman’s day. He Attempted to destroy Israel (Mashiach) in the days of Judas. He attempted to destroy them in the days of Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein. As our Sages teach, there is an Amalek who arises in every generation to destroy Israel.

Nazarean Hint

Haman’s treacherous buyout of the Jews has a parallel in the Nazarean Codicil:

Matityahu (Matthew) 26:14-16 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said [unto them], What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Judas, a convert, was an image of Haman, the Amalekite.

Mashiach=Israel

Mashiach was sold for silver, by Judas.

Israel was sold for silver by Haman.

Both Judas and Haman had to leave their wine feast.

Both Judas and Haman were hung by gallows of their own making.

Both Judas and Haman were traitors of the Jewish people.

Both Judas and Haman were born Gentiles.

Both Judas and Haman sold out to those who were glad about their enemy’s impending destruction.

Both Judas and Haman gave their lives to destroy the Jewish people.

Both Judas and Haman had their plans come to nothing on Nisan 17.

Haman was thought to be Esther’s friend and Judas was thought to be Yeshua’s friend.

Both Judas and Haman were Amalekites!

Because the righteous are the body of Mashiach; if the head is killed, so is the body. Amalek is only interested in the destruction of all of the Bnei Israel.

Adar

Adar marks the fall and defeat of Haman the Agagite, a descendant of Amalek.

Shabbat similarly marks the connection between HaShem and His people - "Between Me and Bnei Israel it is a sign forever"[11]. Therefore, the Gemara draws a connection between desecration of Shabbat and the attack of Amalek:

Shabbat 118 "Had Bnei Yisrael observed the first Shabbat after the giving of the manna, no other nation would have been able to have dominion over them. The verse states: 'And it was on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather [the manna],' and afterwards the Torah states: 'And Amalek came and fought.'"

When the Bnei Yisrael desecrate the Shabbat, they also damage their connection to HaShem, thereby exposing an opening for Amalek to attempt to challenge the entire relationship between HaShem and His nation.

The Midrash [12] states that the word Zakhor (remember) appears with regard to both Amalek and Shabbat because the two are equal. One symbolizes HaShem's Hashgachah Pratis, His providence, and one its denial. Remembering and keeping the Shabbat strengthens the holy covenant between HaShem and His nation Israel, and this counteracts the effects of Amalek.

Our Sages decreed that Parashat Zakhor was to be read on the Shabbat before Purim and not on Purim itself. Shabbat symbolizes our return out of love.

Devarim (Deuteronomy 25:17-18 Remember what Amalek did to you as you were leaving Egypt. He happened upon you, and struck the weakest people trailing behind, when you were exhausted. And he did not fear G-d.

Parashat Ki-Teitzei is known as the Parshah with the most amount of mitzvot, so it may not be surprising to find the mitzva to recall Amalek's hatred of the Jewish people at the end of the Parshah, seemingly disconnected from what came before it and what comes after it.

However, the mitzva that preceded this one of remembering Amalek was that of keeping properly balanced weights and measures, so that no one will ever end up paying more than they should have for what he purchased. However, the weighing of items is a symbol for far more than the give-and-take of the business world; it also represents the idea of being deliberate in judgment. Thus, Chazal have taught:

Pirkei Avot 1:1 Moshe received Torah from Sinai, and handed it over to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets handed it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; develop many students; and make a fence for Torah.

First the Mishnah discusses the mesorah, the line of Torah tradition without which Torah Judaism cannot survive. Right after that, however, the first teaching to emerge is to be deliberate in judgment, to weigh issues and assess their importance.

It is as if our Hakhamim are admonishing that the Mesorah itself survives only when those responsible for it act level headed, are well-balanced, and are only interested in the pursuit of justice, HaShem's justice. If not, then the teachings become flawed, severed from their Divine Source. The result of not properly weighing ideas: doubt, confusion, and war with Amale