Amalek

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson

“The numerical value (gematria) of the Hebrew letters that spell Amalek (240) is equivalent to that of the letters that spell safek, “doubt.” All things holy are certain and absolute... Amalek is doubt; baseless, irrational doubt that cools the fervor of holiness with nothing more than a cynical shrug.”

Midrash (Sifrei 296) tells us that the wording in Deuteronomy 25:18, "Asher kar'cha ba'derech," literally means that Amalek “happened” upon the Jews. This, the rabbis explain, is an explanation of the personality of Amalek: Amalek represents the belief in chance, of the haphazard dictates of “fate” and “destiny,” which opposes the Jewish belief in Divine providence. Amalek’s philosophy negates the concept that there is a purpose to humanity or to creation itself--again the antithesis of Jewish philosophy

Question:

The Torah commands the Israelites to wage an eternal war against the nation of Amalek, and to wipe them out totally. Wat does that mean today?

Answer:

First you have to learn to identify who Amalek really is.

Amalek was an ancient Middle Eastern nation that had an inborn hatred towards Israel. The Amalekites took any opportunity to attack Jews for absolutely no reason.

There was nothing that caused this hatred - it was an intrinsic pathological need to destroy G‑d's people. There was no option to re-educate the Amalekittes.

(danger of doing evil because you think it is for greater good (jihad) ).

Their hatred was not taught - it was ingrained. As long as an Amalekite walked the earth, no Jew was safe. A Jew had to take the command to kill Amalek quite literally - his life depended on it.

In time, the Amalekite nation assimilated into the people around them. Their inborn hatred became diluted as their national identity dissolved, and the command to kill them became impossible to fulfill. This was no accident, Hashem decided that the time had come that this command should no longer apply in its literal sense. It was time for the Jewish people to move on.

But this doesn't mean that Amalek has disappeared. Amalek is alive and well today, but in a different form. No longer a foreign nation, today's Amalek is an internal enemy. We each have an Amalekite within our very self. The inner Amalek is unholy cynicism. That little voice inside each of us that derides, belittles and attacks truth and goodness; our irrational tendency to mock people who act morally, to be cynical when we see good and holiness- these are the modern day Amalekites.

They wage a war with our soul. If we let it, cynicism can kill our every attempt to improve ourselves.

There is only one effective response to Amalek's attacks: Annihilation. The most inspiring moment of spiritual awakening can be dismissed in an instant by Amalek's sarcastic taunts.

Next time your cynical Amalekite raises his ugly head, stomp on it. Beat him at his own game: Do good things for no good reason. Be kind without an explanation. Love your fellow irrationally. Become the hero of your own inner battle, and free your captured soul—kill an Amalekite today.