Why the Obsession?

 “Remember what Amalek did to you [thousands of years ago]… do not forget.” Every year when this Shabbat, known as Shabbat Zachor, comes around, we ask ourselves the same question.  Why the obsession with remembering this nation that picked a fight with us when we left Egypt 3,333 years ago? In fact it is considered a Biblical Mitzvah to hear this Torah reading.  In addition to the regular Parsha, Vayikra, we use a second Torah to read “Parshat Zachor” – the “Parsha of remembering.” We read it on the Shabbat before Purim, because Haman, the main anti-Semitic villain of Purim, was of the nation of Amalek, and his irrational, virulent hatred of all Jews was, as an Amalekite, genetic. 

But the question that always comes up is, why do we need to constantly remember Amalek?  And it’s not just once a year. Remembering Amalek is one of the “six remembrances” that the Torah commands us to remember verbally every day!  (Along with the Exodus, the Giving of the Torah, the behavior of the Jews in the desert, lashon hara and Shabbat.)  Aren’t we a forgiving nation?  Does the Torah not command us not to hold a grudge?  Why don’t we move on and focus on nice things like educating our children, building our communities and spreading goodness and kindness?  This hatred of Amalek seems a little too much!

Well I think we now have the answer in a very clear way, unfortunately.  We can never forget that evil lurks in the world, that is until Moshiach comes.  Good, well-meaning people like to turn their back on evil and often think that, if only we play nice, everyone else will go along.  If we smile at tyrants and give them gifts, then they can’t help but respond in kind.  If we only concede to our enemies what they are asking for, a little bit of land here and there, they will live in peace with us.

The truth is that it is a great Jewish value that a little light dispels much darkness.  We do believe that every act of goodness and kindness has a ripple effect and helps bring redemption to the world.  And yes, it is good to smile at a stranger and do favors for others.  But at the same time, we must always remember that there are truly evil people in the world.  It is possible for someone, in full view of the entire world, to bring death, destruction and mayhem just because he can.  

Mordechai understood this in the time of the Megillah.  People asked him: why don’t you just bow down to Haman?  Why get him angry?  Everyone is doing it; why do you have to be the one to provoke him? But Mordechai understood Haman, and knew that true evil does not need a reason to be evil.  He understood that conceding to Haman would have the opposite effect, and that the only hope the Jewish people had to survive his plots was to cleave to Hashem.  In the end that is what brought about the great miracle of salvation.  We read this Parsha every year and remember this message every day.  Amalek is still here (until Moshiach comes), and for many of them no amount of pacification will help.  We must always maintain our faith in Hashem and our connection to Him.

There is also a message for each of us in our own lives. We face a struggle every day between following the path of Torah and goodness or the opposite.  This choice and struggle is built into the fabric of our existence.  Hashem has given us the ability to make the correct choice, and we can always handle whatever challenges come our way.  But it is important always to remember that unless we choose well, Amalek, the evil inclination, is there to drive us in the wrong direction.  

The answer is not to cave or buckle and give in, to “bow to Haman.”  The answer is to stand tall, to know that we have within us a part of Hashem that is connected to everything good and holy.  With hope, faith and joy, knowing that we do have the tools to do the right thing, we have nothing to fear.  

Happy Purim!  Please join us for any or all our Purim events (see here), and may the celebration of this most joyous day of the year banish all the Hamans, those of the world and those of our hearts!