Dvar Torah for Parshas Zachor (Prep for Purim)

       In preparation for Purim, this Shabbos we read Parshas Zachor, which commands us to remember the story of how Amalek came to battle with Bnei Yisrael in the desert and how we must wipe out the nation of Amalek from the face of the Earth. The Haftorah also talks about a battle with Amalek, a story from Sefer Shmuel when Shaul nearly wiped out the entire nation of Amalek. Haman was a descendant of Amalek so before Purim we read passages that deal with the defeat of his people. However, there is another lesson that we learn from both these stories in how to deal with evil.

       The story in Sefer Shmuel when Shaul destroys Amalek does not have a happy ending. Shmuel told Shaul that Hashem had commanded him to completely wipe out the nation of Amalek. He also told him that Shaul should wait for him to come back after the war was concluded and that they would bring korbanos in thanks to Hashem together. Shaul, for reasons we will discuss, did not kill Agag, the king of Amalek, immediately. He instead waited to kill him later on. He also began bringing korbanos before Shmuel arrived. Because Shaul did not listen to what Shmuel told him, Hashem decided that Shaul could no longer be king, and Shmuel informs Shaul that his dynasty will end with him, his son will not be king. The Gemarah in Yoma (22b) asks, why was Shaul was punished for his sin while we see other figures, such as Dovid Hamelech--who ended up taking over for Shaul, also sin and not be punished in the same damaging way?

       “ויאמר שמואל הלוא אם קטן אתה בעיניך ראש שבטי ישראל אתה וימשחך יהוה למלך על ישראל … ולמה לא שמעת בקול יהוה” “Shmuel said, ‘Is this not so?—Though you may be small in your own eyes, you are the head of the tribes of Yisrael; and Hashem has anointed you to be king over Yisrael…Why did you not obey the voice of Hashem?” (Shmuel I 15: 17, 19) Shmuel’s main complaint against Shaul was that he made himself “small”, meaning, unimportant. An earlier pasuk explains that Shaul allowed the nation to convince him to take pity on Agag and let him live for the time being. Even though humility is an extremely admirable trait (Moshe Rabbeinu was praised as being the most humble man to ever live), even a good trait in its wrong place can be a bad one.

      No trait is said to be either a bad or a good one in Judaism. For example, jealousy is mentioned in Pirkei Avos (4:21) as being one of three things that remove a person from this world. On the other hand, the Gemarah in Baba Basra (21a) says that jealousy among scholars will result in advances in knowledge. So it does not matter what the trait is, in Judaism we believe it is all about how the person uses that trait. If used properly, any trait can be a good one.       

        For a king, humility is a terrible trait. A king needs to be able to make decisions without worrying about what people will say. He cannot focus on trying to protect everyone’s feelings and not make a big deal out of himself, he’s the King! He’s the one responsible! Because of his misplaced humility, Shaul could not continue as king. This is different from someone like Dovid, that even though he sinned, they did not come as a result of his being a poor leader.

      

       The Sichos Mussar suggests that Shaul panicked which led him to using his trait of humility poorly and to his sinning. In both mistakes that he made, with Agag and the korbanos, Shaul did not think everything through, instead he reacted to what the crowd was telling him, and ended up going against the word of Hashem.  In the times of the Megillah, however, we see that Mordechai did not even tremble when Haman walked by at a time when everyone feared Haman. Apparently, all instances of Amalek can have that affect.

       Now to Parshas Zachor. Reb Levi Yitzchak Mi’Berditchev in his sefer, Kedushas Levi, explains that our obligation to destroy Amalek does not end with their physical destruction. Amalek is not only a people, but ‘Amalek’ is an idea. Each of us has a little bit of this ‘Amalek’ inside of us that influences us towards evil. Our job is to eradicate this piece from within us. The medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 65:20) explains that the strength of Am Yisrael is through our mouths, through learning Torah and davening to Hashem. As long as we hold onto this power, we can hope to destroy Amalek. If we were to let go of it though, there is no way to defeat this instinct.

       Even though physically Amalek is no longer around, conceptually, it still remains. Through this extended Purim weekend (Thursday through Monday), let us focus on eradicating Amalek from within us. All the mitzvos we perform, all the davening we do, it should all be with the focus of removing that piece of Amalek contained within us. Accomplishing this is the true purpose of Purim.

Shabbat Shalom and A Freilechen Purim!  

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Zachor

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Tzav

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Zachor/Purim 5773 (2013)--Week of Parshas Tetzaveh

AIMeMTorah would like to thank Daniel Sax for writing this week's Dvar Torah.

       Every year on the Shabbos before Purim, we fulfill a Torah commission to read Parshas Zachor. It includes the commandment of remembering Amalek and what they have done to the Jewish people, and our instruction to eliminate them not only physically but spiritually as well.  The commandment is so extensive that we are told to eradicate Amalek’s animals as well, so that we leave no trace of Amalek’s existence in this world.

       On Purim we read, “מִלְחָמָה לַיהֹוָה בַּעֲמָלֵק מִדֹּר דֹּר”  “…a war for Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation” (Shemos 17:16). It also says in Parshas Zachor, “זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם. " אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt. How he happened upon you on the way…” (Devarim 25:18-19). A popular question asked is to why is the word “way” repeated? 

       Amalek attacked the Jewish people immediately following their exodus from Egypt. This was a real test for the Jews. They had just received the Torah with G-d declaring them as His people; and suddenly, just as the Jews seemed vulnerable, Amalek attacked, albeit unsuccessfully. Amalek has since haunted the Jewish People until this very day.  We can see a clear trend as to when Amalek attacks. The attacks come every time the Jews are in a transition period.  Right after the Torah was given we were attacked, Shmuel HaNavi had an endless fight with Agag—the king of Amalek, following the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple) we were threatened by Haman as part of the Purim miracle, and even recently following the declaration of the State of Israel we were attacked by our surrounding neighbors. All these were moments of transition when the Jewish people were perhaps most vulnerable. Choosing to attack only at these times displays the cowardice of the Amalek nation. 

       The first time the pasuk says “way” refers to that present time in the desert when the Jews were closest to G-d and Amalek came to battle for the first time. The repetition of the word “way”, ties into the first pasuk we quoted from Shemos. Although Amalek was defeated in the desert, they continued to strike from generation to generation and into the modern era. It will be an endless war until we can completely eradicate Amalek as we are commissioned too. Achieving this will lead to the rebuilding of the third Beis Hamikdash where there will be no Amalek to come against us.

       Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of Amalek in the times of the Prophets. The reason why we read Parshas Zachor on the Shabbos prior to Purim is because Megillas Esther (The Book of Esther) is one of the Jewish People’s many battles with Amalek.  Haman threatened to wipe out every single Jew in the world but did not succeed. G-d is never directly mentioned in the story of Purim but we know that He was “hidden” throughout the 14 year time period of the Megillah. But even without G-d’s “direct” presence, Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish People prevailed and defeated Amalek once again. This is a lesson that we can apply for ourselves today.  G-d is “hidden” in our time and Amalek continues to discreetly threaten us, but if we remain true to G-d’s with Torah and Mitzvos, we will come out on top just like Mordecai and Esther did. 

Shabbat Shalom and A Frailichin Purim!

Daniel Sax studied at Yeshivas Derech Etz Chaim in Jerusalem. He currently studies in Duquesne University. He is a first-time contributor to Ancient Ideas for the Modern Mind.

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah on Purim

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah on this week's parsha, Parshas Tetzaveh

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Tazria/ Hachodesh

      The week before Rosh Chodesh Nissan, we read the last of the four special parshahs, Parshas Hachodesh. In it is discussed the first mitzvah given to the B’nei Yisrael as a nation, the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, Sanctifying the New Moon. This mitzvah is followed in the parshah by the mitzvah of Korban Pesach (Passover lamb offering) and other laws of Pesach.

      It makes sense logically that Hashem would give the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh together with the laws of Pesach since sanctifying the moon would determine what day the holidays would begin. When Bais Din (Jewish Court) would determine based on the testimony of two witnesses that it was Rosh Chodesh, they would declare that day the first of the month and start counting the days of the month from there, therefore determining the starting day for Pesach and the other holidays. However, perhaps we can find a deeper connection between the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh and Korban Pesach. 

      Chazal tell us that in ancient times, the god of Egypt was the sheep. It is for this reason Yosef tells his brothers in Parshas Vayigash that the Egyptians hated all shepherds, for someone to lead their god and not have the god lead itself was the highest form of degradation. Furthermore, the constellation for the month of Nissan, the current month during our Parshah’s events, is Aries, the lamb. Hashem specifically commanded the Jewish People to slaughter a lamb as the Pesach offering in order to show that he was ruler of all the land including up in the sky by the constellations and down on the ground with the sheep. Additionally, Aries is the “first-born” of the constellations as it comes first in line, Hashem wanted to destroy not only the first-born of the Egyptians down on the ground but also the first-born of the sky.

      Hashem commanded the Jews to designate the lamb that they were going to use for the Korban Pesach on the Tenth of Nissan, five days before they actually sacrificed it. One of the reasons Hashem had them separate it so early was to show that even early in the month, when the constellation is still “powerful”, Hashem is still more powerful than it.

      It is for these reasons, says the Kli Yakar, that Hashem gave us the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh right before the mitzvah of Korban Pesach. By knowing the exact date and how far into the Month of the Lamb we were, Hashem’s authority was shown that much more to everyone. So when we read Parshas Hachodesh this week and say Hallel on Rosh Chodesh next week (and in a few weeks when we celebrate Pesach), realize that this is not any old parshah and this month is not any old month, when we celebrate the sanctification of this month, we are celebrating the complete rule and authority Hashem has over the world. May we merit that this month, this realization will be spread throughout the entire world with the coming of mashiach. And may the pasuk “ביום ההוא יהיה ה אחד ושמו אחד” “On that day, Hashem will be one and his name will be one”, be fulfilled.

Shabbat Shalom!

     

        

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