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Neither Hamas Nor the Nazis Are Halachically Amalek According to the Rambam

Machshavah Lab

English - October 27, 2023 17:00 - 1 hour - 66.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 9 ratings
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Length: 1 hour 36 minutes
Synopsis: I've heard it said that "Amalek" refers to any nation or group which harbors an antisemitic ideology and poses an existential threat to the Jewish people (e.g. the Nazis, or Hamas). This position is ascribed to the Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik) in the name of his father, R' Moshe Soloveitchik. I have no objection to this view per se. I do, however, object to the claim that this is the Rambam's view. This morning (10/27/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we review the position of the Rav and his father, after which I attempt to demonstrate why it is IMPOSSIBLE to learn the Rambam this way. I raise seven objections to this view, the majority of which come from R' Nachum Rabinovitch. I conclude by sharing my thoughts on why this misconception matters, and on what those who have clung to this view may think and feel as an alternative. 
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מקורות:
שמות יז:ח-טז
דברים כה:יז-יט
רמב"ם - משנה תורה:ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות הקדמה; ה:א,ד-ה
רדב"ז - שם ה:ד
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, מנין המצוות, עשה קפ"ז-קפ"ט, לא תעשה מט,נט
רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות ידים ד:ד
רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי ביאה יב:כה
קול דודי דופק, דפים לג-לד, הערה כג
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik - "Fate and Destiny: From the Holocaust to the State of Israel" (translated by Lawrence Kaplan)
abbi David Holzer, "The Rav Thinking Aloud: Transcripts of Personal Conversations with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik")
ר' מיכל זלמן שורקין - הררי קדם חלק א סימן רט
ר' נחום רבינוביץ מלומדי מלחמה ג:ג, גדר מצות מחיית עמלק
רמב"ם - ספר המצוות, עשה קפז-קפח
מורה הנבוכים ג:מא,נ
Rabbi Stanley Boylan - "A Halakhic Perspective on the Holocaust," p.212 n.3 (published in B. Rosenberg and F. Heuman eds., "Theological and Halakhic Reflections on the Holocaust")
José Faur, "The Horizontal Society: Understanding the Covenant and Alphabetic Judaism," Appendix 25: Erasing the Memory of 'Amaleq
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