For a parshah following the Plagues
and the Leaving of Egypt, Beshalach definitely holds its own in terms of
exciting events. The Splitting of the Sea, the Song of the Sea, and the manna
are just a number of the stories found in this week’s parshah. I would like to
focus on the last story in the parshah, the battle with Amalek. This is the
first battle in what has been and continues to be a long-standing battle
between the Jewish nation and Amalek. Amalek has always tried to undermine what
we as Yisrael live and stand for. As we approach Purim, where Haman, a
descendant of Amalek, plays a major role, it is fitting that we begin to
discuss this idea.
The gemarah in Brachos (61a) describes
the science of a fly. If a person has no blemishes on his body, there is
nowhere for the fly to enter and feed. However, once the fly finds a single
tiny cut anywhere on the body, it can latch on and begin to rot the flesh. This
is a parable for the Yetzer Hara; a tzaddik whose deeds are complete and has no
“cuts” cannot be affected by the Yetzer Hara, but if you give it just one
little opening, it will latch on and begin to make you “rot”.
This is exactly the way Amalek operates.
As long as Bnei Yisrael were at peace with each other, Amalek could not attack
them. However, this episode takes place right after the famous story of “מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה”, “Testing
and Quarrelling”, named for the fact that Bnei Yisrael tested Hashem and quarreled
amongst each other. The pasuk (Shemos 17:8) says that the battle
took place in a place called “רְפִידִם”
which comes from the Hebrew word, “להיפרד”
which means to separate. It was so called because Bnei Yisrael had two
separations there, from Hashem when they tested him, and from each other with
their arguments. This was exactly the opening that Amalek was waiting for and
he immediately came to battle with Bnei Yisrael. The Kli Yakar explains that we
see in the megillah that Haman makes the same statement about the Jewish People
to Achashverosh when he asks to kill them. “וַיֹּאמֶר הָמָן
לַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים”
“And Haman said to the king, ‘there is one people spread out and separate
amongst the nations” (Esther 3:8). Clearly, this is the aspect that
Amalek always focuses
on.
As we approach Purim,
we must take a closer look at what caused that whole episode to happen in the
first place. According to what we are saying here, since their first
altercation with the Jewish People, Amalek feeds on discord, whether between us
and Hashem or between ourselves. Starting from this Shabbos, let’s all work on
improving our relationships with each other and with Hashem so we can ultimately
defeat Amalek. And with that, we can eradicate Amalek completely and accomplish
the true goal of Purim.
Shabbat Shalom!
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