Parshat Zachor - Mirror Image

 בס"ד

The salient theme of Purim is the eradication of Amalek. The character Amalek is the grandson of Esau and he was one of the chiefs of Edom. There is a tradition that he was the first of the sons of Esau not to be circumcised. He became a nation and attacked Israel shortly after the parting of the Red Sea. Josephus says that the renown of the Hebrews created rumors in the alarm to the people in the area. Amalek was the most warlike of these nations and agitated them to attack Israel lest they become strong and a threat (Antiquities 3.2.1). 

The attack came when the Israelites camped at Rephidim (רְפִידִם), where they quarreled with Moshe because there was a lack of water (see Exodus 25:8). The Cli Yakar notes a similarity to the word רִפַיוֹן which means slackness and it may may hint that their hands slackened from the Torah. In the book of Deuteronomy (25:18), when Moses reviews the incident, he says that Amalek did it without fear of G-d. The Chumash continues that Hashem will be at war with him in every generation and hints that His dominion will not be complete until Amalek is totally destroyed. In the prophecy of the war to end all wars, Bilaam says that just like Amalek was the first to attack Israel, he will also be the last.

Israel is also commanded to totally obliterate Amalek after they have coronated a king. That king is Saul who does go to war against Amalek. He is victorious in battle but declines to totally destroy the enemy. Consequently Amalek recovers and attacks the Jews in the days of Mordecai and Esther. The Jews are victorious but only a partial rectification is made. The virtue of Saul was that he understood that there are times when one should seek the counsel of God through a prophet. However, after he became king, he despised this quality which caused this downfall.

In Jewish thought Amalek is considered a mirror image of Israel. When Amalek is up, Israel is down, and vica versa. Israel is considered inherently good and Amalek inherently bad. However when Israel entirely rejects a good obligation, Amalek automatically accepts it. When the nation of Israel is generally bad, Amalek ascends by means of the virtues eschewed by the Jews. 

When Israel goes astray the first to rebuke them are the prophets and rabbis, and they do it out of love of the nation and a desire for its good. If a Jew neglects his mission, it is pushed onto his friends. The friends then complain that the Jews are more talented in this pursuit and really should be doing it and, not only that but they are also stealing his job. If the Jews totally reject their place, it is assumed by Amalek, who then says the Jews are useless and evil and seeks to totally annihilate them. The Jews inevitably repent and defeat Amalek, but typically with great suffering and expense. When they repent because of the words of the rabbis and the prophets, it is generally only with some chagrin and inconvenience. 

לע"נ  האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח

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