זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק

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Remember what Amalek did

Verse: זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק

Command: Remember the Evil of Amalek and what he did

Devarim 25:17

Type: Positive

SMG Mitzva # 116

Cross-Ref: לא תשכח, תמחה את זכר עמלק

History

When the Jews left Egypt, Hashem did not want them to travel on the direct road from Egypt to Israel directly, which presumably passed close to the coast of the Mediterranean, because only a few decades before the Exodus, many members of the tribe of Menashe had miscalculated the deadline for leaving Egypt and successfully revolted. However, when they attempted to head to Israel by the direct route, they were attacked and killed en masse. Hashem did not want the new nation to come across the mass graves of the tribe, so he told the Jewish people to travel into the desert to the South and East. (Side note, it is to this missing group of Jews that Yeĉezkel is told many centuries later to prophesize to them and resurrect them in the valley.) Furthermore, Hashem had previously indicated that the Jewish people would journey to Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, which mountain is located south of the road, in the Sinai Peninsula.

While they were traveling through the wilderness, the nation of Amalek decided to attack them. Amalek lived in the desert in the southeast of the land of Cana’an, far from their route to Mt. Sinai, and there was no reason for Amalek to attack the Jews. Amalek is and was a descendent of Esav, and while he had intermarried with the people of Sair and Yishmael, his people was not one of the peoples that the Jews were destined to conquer and dispossess. There was no reason for the attack and no justification. Furthermore, the brutality in the attack, sodomizing and raping the men and women for express and singular purpose of defiling them, cutting off the penises of those they capture to toss heavenward in defiance the evidence of the Mitzva of circumcision, and deliberately targeting the weak among the Jewish people, indicates that this attack is a war against G‑d as well.[1]

Moshe commanded Yehoshua to choose some people and counter the attack which Yehoshua did. The Jewish people successfully repelled the attackers and continued on their way to Mt. Sinai.

The Jewish people were considered invincible after the open nature defying miracles they experienced in Egypt and were on a spiritual high. The nation of Amalek decided that this was the time to attack the Jews and cool them down. To remind them, and the world, that even if G‑d will protect the Jewish people, evil still has the free will to attack them and attempt to distract them from their mission on earth.

As a result of the evil expressed in their attack Hashem issued the command that the Jews must never forget the nation that was uninspired by the miracles performed for the Jews and decided to launch an unprovoked attack simply for the purpose of attempting to kill as many Jews as possible.

As the Mitzva is to recall what Amalek did, it is appropriate to quote those verses describing the unprovoked attack by Amalek:

After the Exodus, the Jews were in the wilderness, where there was no water. They complained to Moshe about their lack of water, wondering if G‑d was in their midst or not. G‑d told Moshe to hit a rock from which water miraculously gushed forth during their entire sojourn in the wilderness, settling this question once and for all.

Thereafter:

  • ויבא עמלק, וילחם עם ישראל ברפידם – and Amalek came, and waged war with the Jews in Refidim.
  • ויאמר משה אל יהושע בחר לנו אנשים וצא הלחם בעמלק, מחר אנכי נצב על ראש הגבעה ומטה האלקים בידי – And Moshe said to Yehoshua, muster for us men, and go wage war with Amalek. Tomorrow, I will stand at the head of the hill, with the staff of authority [G‑d’s staff] at hand.
  • ויעש יהושע כאשר אמר לו משה להלחם בעמלק, ומשה אהרן וחור עלו ראש הגבעה – and Yehoshua did as Moshe told him – to wage war against Amalek. And Moshe, Aharon, and Ĉur ascended to the top of the hill.
  • והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל, וכאשר יניח ידו וגבר עמלק – and so it was; when Moshe would raise his hands [in supplication] the Jews would gain strength, and when he would lay his hands down [to rest], Amalek would gain strength.
  • וידי משה כבדים ויקחו אבן וישימו תחתיו וישב עליה, ואהרן וחור תמחו בידיו מזה אחד ומזה אחד ויהי ידיו אמונה עד בא השמש – and Moshe’s hands were heavy, so they [Aharon and Ĉur] took a stone and placed it underneath him [for him to sit on], which he [Moshe] sat on. And Aharon and Ĉur supported his hands, one on each side, and his [Moshe’s] hands were [raised] in faith until sunset.
  • ויחלש יהושע את עמלק ואת עמו לפי חרב – And Yehoshua weakened Amalek and his people at the edge of the sword.
  • ויאמר ה’ אל משה כתב זאת זכרון בספר ושים באזני יהושע, כי מחה אמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים – And G‑d said to Moshe, write this as a reminder in the book, and relate this in the ears of Yehoshua; I will utterly eradicate the memory / patrilineal line of Amalek from under the skies.
  • ויבן משה מזבח, ויקרא שמו ה’ נסי – and Moshe built an altar, naming it ‘G‑d is my miracle’.
  • ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה מלחמה לה’ בעמלק, מדר דר – and he said, [G‑d’s] hand is placed on the Throne of G‑d in an oath to wage the wars of G‑d against Amalek, in every generation.

RASHI

Rashi provides the following commentary:

  • ויבא עמלק וגו’ – this section [of the attack by Amalek] was juxtaposed to this verse [the one in which the Jewish people questioned whether G‑d was with them], to teach us, that G‑d is always among you, and prepared for all your needs. And yet you [have the audacity] to say, ‘Is G‑d among us or not?’ I swear on your lives that the dog [Amalek] will come and bite you, and you will cry out to me [G‑d] and you will know where I am. It is comparable to a parable of a person who had his son riding on his shoulders and was walking on the road. The son saw something and asked, ‘father, give me that object’ and he [his father] did. This occurred twice and three times. Then they met someone, and the child asked, ‘have you seen my father?’ To which his father responded, ‘do you not know where I am.’ He [the father] took him [the child] off his [the father’s] shoulders, and a dog came and bit him.
  • בחר לנו – [choose] for me and you. He [Moshe] made himself equal to him [Yehoshua]. From which our sages [Rabbi Elazar son of Shamua] have said[i], ‘Your disciple’s honor should be as precious to you as your own is.’ [The continuation of that saying] ‘and the honor of your colleague should be as your fear of your teacher’, from where is that known? As it says in the verse[ii] ויאמר אהרן אל משה, בי אדני – even though Aharon was older than Moshe, he rendered his contemporary [colleague] as his master. [and the conclusion of that saying] ‘and the fear of your master should be as your fear of Heaven’, from where is that known? As it says in the verse[iii] אדני משה כלאם – my master Moshe annihilate them from the world, as they deserve annihilation since those who rebel against you [Moshe] are as if they rebel against G‑d.
  • וצא הלחם – leave the Cloud to go wage war.
  • מחר – [tomorrow] during the war, אנכי נצב – [I will stand fast]
  • בחר לנו אנשים – [choose for us] indomitable men, who fear sin, so that their merits will assist them. Another interpretation, choose for us men who know how to counter witchcraft, because the children of Amalek are witches.
  • ומשה אהרן וחור – From here we learn that a fast day requires three (3) to lead in front of the ark, as they were then fasting.
  • חור – Ĉur was the son of Miriam, and her husband was Kalev.[iv]
  • כאשר ירים משה ידו – Are the hands of Moshe causing victory in the war?[v] Rather, whenever the Jewish people looked up and they would subjugate their hearts to heaven, they would be victorious.
  • וידי משה כבדים – as he had been lax in performing this Mitzva, having assigned someone else to do it instead of him, his hands became heavy.
  • ויקחו – [they took] Aharon and Ĉur.
  • אבן וישימו תחתיו – he did not sit on a cushion or covering. He said, the Jews are suffering. Therefore, I too will be with them in pain[1].[vi]
  • ויהי ידיו אמונה – [read the verse as follows] ויהי משה ידיו באמונה – [his hands] were raised to heaven in faithful and proper prayer.
  • עד בא השמש – the Amalekites calculated the time by astrology, determining in which hour they would be victorious. Moshe caused the sun to stop for them, making them confused.
  • ויחלש יהושע – he decapitated their strong soldiers, leaving only the weak. He didn’t annihilate them all. From here we learn that this was done in accordance with divine statement[2].
  • כתב זאת זכרון – [write this as a remembrance] that Amalek came to harass the Jews before all other nations.
  • ושים באזני יהושע – [and place it in the ears of Yehoshua] the one who will bring the Jews into the Land. That he shall be the one to command the Jewish people to finish the job. Here is where it was hinted to Moshe that Yehoshua would be the one to bring the Jewish people into the Land.
  • כי מחה אמחה – this is the reason why I am admonishing you about this, because I [G‑d] desire to eradicate them.
  • ויקרא שמו – [he named] the altar.
  • ה’ נסי – G‑d has made for us a miracle here, not that the altar was ascribed divinity by name, rather the one who mentions the name of the altar will recall the miracle that was done in that place. [In other words] G‑d is our miracle.
  • ויאמר – [and he] Moshe [said]
  • כי יד על כס י-ה – the ‘hand’ of G‑d is raised to swear on his throne to wage war and be enemies of Amalek forever. What is this term כס used instead of the proper word כסא. And even G‑d’s name is divided in half.[3] G‑d is swearing that his name shall not be complete, nor will his throne be complete until the name of Amalek will be completely eradicated. And once his name is eradicated, then G‑d’s name and throne will be complete, as it says in the verse[vii] האויב תמו חרבות לנצח, which refers to Amalek about whom the verse[viii] states ועברתו שמרה נצח and[ix] וערים נתשת, אבד זכרם המה. And thereafter, what does it say[x]: וה’ לעולם ישב – G‑d’s name is complete, and כונן למשפט כסאו – his throne is complete.

[1] (instead of sitting on a chair, he sat on a stone)

[2] For if the soldiers had all been killed, what would otherwise stop Yehoshua from destroying that nation utterly.

[3] Instead of spelling out the full four (4) letter name, only the first two (2) letters are used.

[i] Pirkei Avos 4:12

[ii] Bamidbar 12:11

[iii] Bamidbar 11:28

[iv] Gem. Sota 11b-12a

[v] Mishna in Gem. Rosh Hashana 29a

[vi] Gem. Ta’anis 11a

[vii] Tehillim 9:7

[viii] Amos 1:11

[ix] Tehillim 9:7

[x] Tehillim 9:8

[1] Indeed, this is why the Arab nations chose to attack Israel on Yom Kippur during the Yom Kippur war, and later the Arab terrorists from Gaza chose to attack Israel on Simĉas Torah. And it is why their proxy attacks target Jews and Synagogues all around the world. Their battle is not just against the State of Israel, it is against the Jewish people as the Chosen Nation of G-d – and therefore, their battle is against G-d himself.

SMG

[With regard to] the positive Mitzvos associated with the Chosen House [the Base Hamikdash] – it is not the place here to count it, and we are only counting here the two (2) positive Mitzvos of eradicating the descendants of Amalek [positive Mitzva 115], and the establishing a monarchy [positive Mitzva 114]. And just as there is a positive Mitzva to eradicate the descendants of Amalek, so too there is a positive Mitzva to constantly recall his evil deeds and his attack on the road [while the Jews were traveling in the wilderness], in order that we constantly awaken enmity against them, and their transgression will be preserved for ever, as it says in the verse[i] זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק. And we learnt in the Gemara[ii] זכור means verbally[1]. You might otherwise think it could mean in one’s heart, but when the Torah states לא תשכח, that is talking about memory within the heart. Therefore, what does the word זכור imply, verbally [that one must recall what Amalek did verbally].

[1] The Gemara notes as follows:

From where do we know that if the Megilla was read by heart one hasn’t fulfilled his obligation.

Rava stated, this is learned from the term זכירה which is used both by the reading of the Megilla, as it states in the verse [Ester 9:28] והימים האלה נזכרים, and the same term is used with regard to remembering Amalek, as it says in the verse [Shemos 17:4] כתב זאת זכרון בספר – just like the one requires reading from within the book [when reading Parshas Zaĉor, it must be read in the Torah], so too when reading the Megilla.

Question: how do we know this term of remembrance means to read [out loud]. Perhaps it just means that one must look into the book [and mentally read it].

Answer: we cannot conclude the word זכור means [to remember it] in one’s heart, since when the verse states לא תשכח, remembrance in the heart is already derived. What then is the word זכור for. To teach us it must be recalled out loud.

[i] Devarim 25:17

[ii] Gem. Megilla 18a

AMUDAY SHLOMO

[Maharshal’s comments to the remaining positive Mitzvos was either lost or the manuscript was never completed.]

RASHI

The verses laying out the Mitzva to recall what Amalek did are as follows:

  1. זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק, בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים – Remember what Amalek did to you, on the road as you left Egypt.
  2. אשר קרך בדרך ויזנב בך כל הנחשלים אחריך ואתה עיף ויגע, ולא ירא אלקים – he ‘happened’ upon you on the road, cutting off the ‘tails’ of all those who were weak in the rear, while you were faint and tired. And [they] did not fear the Almighty.
  3. והיה בהניח ה’ אלקיך לך מכל איביך מסביב בארץ אשר ה’ אלקיך נתן לך נחלה לרשתה תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים, לא תשכח – and it will be, when G‑d grants you respite from all your enemies around you, in the land that G‑d your Almighty gives you as an inheritance to bequeath; erase the memory / patrilineal line of Amalek from under the skies. Do not forget.

On these verses, Rashi provides the following commentary:

  • זכור את אשר עשה לך – If you use false measures and weights[1] you will need to be concerned about the provocations of the enemy, as it says in the verse[i] מאזני מרמה תועבת ה’ and immediately after is written בא זדון ויבא קלון.[2]
  • אשר קרך בדרך – [the word קרך] is a term of מקרה – happenstance. Another interpretation of the word, it is a term of קרי – seminal emission, and Tum’ah, because Amalek defiled the [male] Jews [that they captured] by sodomizing them. Another interpretation of the word, it is a term of קר – cold and heat. They ‘cooled’ the Jews down and separated them from their ‘hotness’; all the nations were afraid to fight them [the Jews – due to the miracles of the exodus], and this people [the Amalekites] came and started up, showing others [that it was ‘ok’ to fight the Jews]. It is comparable to a parable of a boiling hot bath, in which no one can immerse. Along comes someone who doesn’t care, and jumps in. Even though he was himself scalded, he cooled it off for others.[3]
  • ויזנב בך – attacking the tail. They cut off the circumcised penises of the men and threw them heavenward.[4]
  • כל הנחשלים אחריך – they [the victims of Amalek] lacked strength because of their sins, the Cloud of Glory had spat them out. [The Amalekites attacked those whom the cloud did not protect.][5]
  • ואתה עיף ויגע – you were faint from thirst, as it says in the verse[ii] ויצמא שם העם למים, and thereafter it is written ויבא עמלק.
  • ויגע – [and tired] from the road.
  • ולא ירא – Amalek [did not fear] the Almighty to refrain from being evil to you.
  • תמחה את זכר עמלק – men, women, children, nursing infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys[iii]. That the name Amalek should not be recalled, even about an animal; to say that this animal belonged previously to Amalek.

[1] in reference to the juxtaposition of this section to the previous which talks about keeping honest weights and measures for commerce.

[2] What false measures were in use that resulted in Amalek attacking? We can potentially state homiletically that the question asked by the Jews ‘Is G-d among us or not’ is a question of volume and measurements. What amount of G-dliness can be measured within the Jewish people.

[3] The startling similarity to the modern-day so-called Palestinians is obvious. After the open miracles of the Six Day War, and the Yom Kippur War, none of the Arab nations were willing to attack the Jews. Their losses were tremendous. During the Six Day War, fifteen thousand (15,000) Arab soldiers died, and they lost all the ground they had gained from the United Nations attempt to take Israeli land for the Arabs, not to mention the entire Sinai Peninsula. Six (6) years later, during the Yom Kippur War [only ten (10) days long], again fifteen thousand Arab soldiers died. Since those two decisive battles, and the open miracles that accompanied them, none of the Arab states wanted another war. Even now, Iran fears to engage in a direct war, and only supports its proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah. Until the so-called palestinians, led by Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) [now rebranded as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority (PA)] began what is known as the Intifada, killing themselves, literally blowing themselves up, in order to prove that Israel can be attacked. And when the terrorists do capture people, besides the horrors they inflict on the women captives, they also sodomize the men for the express purpose of defiling them. This is well documented in the videoed interviews of the terrorists who were captured in which they attest their reason for raping and sodomizing the women and men that they capture was not due to sexual desire, but because they wanted to defile the Jews.

[4] Once again, the Palestinian brutality is noted in a description of Amalek by Rashi a millennia ago. During the attack on Yom Kippur, there were many documented instances of Palestinians cutting off the penises of their victims, either while alive or after killing them.

[5] During the attack on Simchas Torah, the so-called palestinians focused on those who were not celebrating the holiday, but were instead out enjoying a music festival.

[i] Mishlei 11:1-2

[ii] Shemos 17:3, 8

[iii] Shmuel I 15:3

Discussion by SMS

Unusually, the Torah provides the reasoning for the destruction of Amalek. This is not provided for the command to kill those of the seven (7) Cana’anite nations. One possible explanation as to why the history and the reasoning for this Mitzva is provided is because these types of actions can be used as an identifying feature as to what Amalek is.

The nation of Amalek attacks in a manner of אשר קרך בדרך:

  • they act to ‘defile’ the Jewish people – their barbarity is expressed in a manner that seeks to defile those they capture or kill. They aren’t content with winning the attack, they must defile the Jews.
  • they are opportunists who ‘happened’ upon the Jewish people – their attacks are always unprovoked and seemingly random, attacking when least expected.
  • they ‘cool down’ any excitement about attacking the Jews – they exist to incite others to attack the Jews.

An unprovoked attack with hatred so virulent that they cared nothing for their own lives so long as there was a chance to kill a Jew or multiple Jews. So random and unprovoked that there can be no justification for their actions. So barbaric that they were unsatisfied with death and destruction but needed to perpetuate disgustingly evil acts. Such people are Amalek and must be eradicated wherever they occur throughout history.

On the ancestry of these so-called palestinian people

Rashi notes a discrepancy between the verse[i] ותמנע היתה פילגש לאליפז – Timna was the concubine of Elifaz, while in the verse[ii] elsewhere she is listed as his daughter. This records that Elifaz, son of Esav, committed adultery with the wife of Seir wife of Esav and his mother, from which union the bastardess Timna was born. He then had sex with his own daughter, producing Amalek. The bastard son of a bastard. This is the spiritual ancestor for those who carry on his legacy.

[i] Beraishis 36:12

[ii] Divrei Hayamim I 1:36

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