Misvot #603-605: To Remember, Blot out and Not Forget Amalek

In the final verses of Parashat Ki-Teseh (Debarim 25:17-19), the Torah introduces three Misvot relevant to the evil nation of Amalek. The first is the command to always remember Amalek’s attack on Beneh Yisrael soon after the Exodus from Egypt. The significance of Amalek’s attack can be understood in light of a verse in Parashat Balak (Bamidbar 24:20), in which Bilam proclaims, “Reshit Goyim Amalek” – that Amalek was “the first among the nations.” Targum Onkelos explains this to mean that Amalek was the first nation to wage war with Beneh Yisrael after they left Egypt. The Sages compare Amalek’s attack to somebody who jumps into a bath of scalding water, into which nobody else had dared to enter. This fellow was badly burned, but he had the effect of cooling the water somewhat, so that others could enter. Similarly, after the miracles of the Exodus and the splitting of the sea, all the nations of the world feared Beneh Yisrael, and did not dare initiate hostilities against them. Amalek was defeated after attacking Beneh Yisrael, but the attack had the effect of exposing Beneh Yisrael’s vulnerability, “cooling” the fear that the rest of the world had felt, thus paving the way for future offensives by other peoples. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that Amalek launched this unprovoked attack due to its “evil heart and evil nature.” The Torah wants us to remember this event, the Sefer Ha’hinuch adds, so that we realize that anybody who causes to harm to Am Yisrael is despised by G-d. Furthermore, the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains, the downfall of the enemy nations is commensurate with the extent of their efforts to cause us harm and destroy us. The harder they try to fight against us, the greater the devastation that they will suffer as a result. This notion is relevant to our time, as well, when we have enemies who are expending an enormous amount of effort to wage war against the Jewish People. The Kabbalists teach that the concept underlying this Misva refers not only to the actual nation of Amalek, but to all those who follow Amalek’s evil example, and fight viciously against Am Yisrael. We must firmly believe that the modern-day “Amalekites” are despised by Hashem, and He will bring retribution for the pain and harm that they cause to the Jewish Nation. The Sefer Ha’hinuch notes that the Torah did not specify when or how often we are to fulfill this Misva to remember Amalek’s attack. As opposed to the Misva to remember the Exodus from Egypt, which, as the Sages inferred from the text of the Torah, requires mentioning the Exodus each day and night, the Misva to remember Amalek’s assault is not given any time-frame. However, the accepted custom is to fulfill this Misva once a year, on the Shabbat before Purim, by reading these verses from the Torah in the synagogue. This is done because on Purim, we read the Megilla, which tells of the destruction of Haman and his sons, who belonged to the nation of Amalek. In advance of the reading of the destruction of Amalek, then, we fulfill the Misva to remember what Amalek did to us. Later, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that one transgresses this affirmative command by going his entire life without ever verbally remembering Amalek’s attack. It appears that in his view, the Torah obligation requires verbally recalling Amalek’s attack just once at some point in one’s life. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this command applies in all places and in all time-periods, and is binding only upon men. He explains that since women do not generally go out to war, they are exempt from the obligation to remember Amalek’s attack, which is linked to the Misva of waging war to annihilate Amalek. Later scholars raised the question of how to reconcile the Sefer Ha’hinuch’s comments with the Gemara’s teaching that in the case of a Milhemet Misva (a war which there is a Misva to wage), everyone must participate, including brides and grooms. The Gemara clearly assumes that when it comes to obligatory wars, the responsibility falls upon even women. The answer given is that women fulfill non-combat roles, such as preparing and delivering food and other supplies for the soldiers. They do not, however, participate in the actual fighting, and therefore, in the view of the Sefer Ha’hinuch, they are not included in the Misva to remember Amalek’s attack, since they do not fight against Amalek. In the next verse, the Torah introduces the command, “Timheh Et Zecher Amalek Mi’tahat Ha’shamayim” – to eradicate Amalek from the face of the earth. The Gemara in Masechet Baba Batra relates that King David’s general, Yoab, waged war against Amalek, and killed only the males. When he returned, David asked him why he did not kill also the women, and Yoab replied by citing the phrase “Timheh Et Zecher Amalek.” His schoolteacher, Yoab recalled, taught him that the word “Zecher” in this verse should be pronounced, “Zechar” – “the males of,” such that the obligation is to kill only the men. This is a mistake, as the correct pronunciation is “Zecher,” which means “memory of,” and the Misva requires killing even the women. According to some views, this schoolteacher was tracked down and punished for the grave mistake that was made when teaching this command. The Gemara in Masechet Sanhedrin teaches that upon entering the Land of Israel, Beneh Yisrael became obligated in three Misvot: appointing a king, building the Bet Ha’mikdash, and annihilating the nation of Amalek. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this command is binding upon all those who have the practical ability to kill Amalekites. Fundamentally, this Misva applies in all times and places. In practice, of course, we are unable to identify anybody as a member of the nation of Amalek. The Assyrian emperor Sanhedrib captured much of the ancient world and transferred entire populations from their lands, such that residents of a country cannot be assumed to be the descendants of the original nations who lived there. Hence, nobody can be identified as a member of the nation of Amalek, and we are thus unable to fulfill this Misva. The final words of Parashat Ki-Teseh are “Lo Tishkah” – “Do not forget,” introducing a third command, forbidding us from forgetting what Amalek did to our ancestors. In addition to the affirmative command to remember Amalek’s attack, we are also prohibited from doing anything that would cause us to forget what they did. The Gemara understood that the affirmative command requires verbally recalling Amalek’s attack, whereas the prohibition forbids us from forgetting it in our minds.