Fighting Your Inner Amalek
Zachor
Parshas Zachor is the most important Krias Hatorah of the year. Through it, we fulfil our Biblical Mitzvah of remembering what Amalek did to us.
Today we can no longer identify the nation of Amalek. Even if we could, without a king we cannot go to war. Yet every Mitzvah in the Torah is eternal, with an inner message that is relevant at all times. So what is the message of Parshas Zachor for us?
After the first battle with Amalek, recorded in Parshas Beshalach, the posuk says; ויאמר כי יד על כס י“ה Rashi explains that this means that Hashem swears by His holy throne to fight Amalek throughout the generations.
In the verse, only 2 letters of Hashem’s name י“ה are written, prompting the Medrash to observe that Hashem’s name will not be complete until Amalek is destroyed. Amalek’s opposition is to the final letters of Hashem’s name ו“ה. Only once he has been eradicated can they be restored.
In Kabbalistic thought, the 4-letter name of Hashem represents the process by which G-dly energy comes down into our world. This process filters through the Divine Sefiros which are represented by these 4 letters. This process can be understood, by parallel in our own conscious processes which bring our ideas into existence and then translates it into actuality.
To keep it simple; The first 2 letters of Hashem’s name represent two phases of intellect, the origination and subsequent development of an idea. These are the Sefiros of Chochma and Binah which are represented by the י and ה respectively. The ו of Hashem’s name represents the downward flow of our intellectual understanding into the 6 emotions of the heart. The final letter ה represents the translation of emotion into practical action through speech or deed.
Ideally this flow should be direct and automatic. What our mind understands to be right and true should flow through to excite us and inspire our emotions. This excitement should find expression in the words we speak or propel our decision to act or grow in a certain way.
Our study and meditation on Hashem’s greatness, His ongoing supervision of Creation and the truth of His holy Torah should generate feelings of love and awe which inspire us in keeping His commandments.
Chassidus explains that Amalek comprises the words Am Malak, the nation who performs Melikah. Melikah, the special way in which the bird offerings were slaughtered in the Beis Hamikdosh by piercing or severing it at the neck. This is what Amalek seeks to do - to disconnect the head from the body, separating the י“ה from ו“ה and obstructing the natural flow whereby our intellect directs our emotions.
Amalek is happy for our study of G-dly truths to remain in our heads. But he chokes the neck to prevent it from becoming personally meaningful and developing into a feeling which just might bring us to make real spiritual growth and changes in our lives.
We all suffer from the Amalek syndrome. We learn concepts in Torah and Chassidus, but it remains conceptual and cerebral. We can be proficient in the ideas, but the voice of indifference inside of us cools us off telling us not to get so excited and take it to heart.
The antidote to Amalek is not more meditation or deeper understanding. Amalek knows all of that already. Amalek does not object to the intellectual pursuit. He just won’t let it through to affect how we feel and how we behave. This is the ultimate Chutzpah, to know what is right and true and to disregard it.
The only way to fight the Chutzpah of Amalek is with a Chutzpah of Kedusha, a brazen resolve that we will not give any regard to the voice of Amalek and that we will do what Hashem wants of us, because that is how it has to be. When we do this, Hashem will reciprocate with the end to all evil when once again His name will be whole.
Today we can no longer identify the nation of Amalek. Even if we could, without a king we cannot go to war. Yet every Mitzvah in the Torah is eternal, with an inner message that is relevant at all times. So what is the message of Parshas Zachor for us?
After the first battle with Amalek, recorded in Parshas Beshalach, the posuk says; ויאמר כי יד על כס י“ה Rashi explains that this means that Hashem swears by His holy throne to fight Amalek throughout the generations.
In the verse, only 2 letters of Hashem’s name י“ה are written, prompting the Medrash to observe that Hashem’s name will not be complete until Amalek is destroyed. Amalek’s opposition is to the final letters of Hashem’s name ו“ה. Only once he has been eradicated can they be restored.
In Kabbalistic thought, the 4-letter name of Hashem represents the process by which G-dly energy comes down into our world. This process filters through the Divine Sefiros which are represented by these 4 letters. This process can be understood, by parallel in our own conscious processes which bring our ideas into existence and then translates it into actuality.
To keep it simple; The first 2 letters of Hashem’s name represent two phases of intellect, the origination and subsequent development of an idea. These are the Sefiros of Chochma and Binah which are represented by the י and ה respectively. The ו of Hashem’s name represents the downward flow of our intellectual understanding into the 6 emotions of the heart. The final letter ה represents the translation of emotion into practical action through speech or deed.
Ideally this flow should be direct and automatic. What our mind understands to be right and true should flow through to excite us and inspire our emotions. This excitement should find expression in the words we speak or propel our decision to act or grow in a certain way.
Our study and meditation on Hashem’s greatness, His ongoing supervision of Creation and the truth of His holy Torah should generate feelings of love and awe which inspire us in keeping His commandments.
Chassidus explains that Amalek comprises the words Am Malak, the nation who performs Melikah. Melikah, the special way in which the bird offerings were slaughtered in the Beis Hamikdosh by piercing or severing it at the neck. This is what Amalek seeks to do - to disconnect the head from the body, separating the י“ה from ו“ה and obstructing the natural flow whereby our intellect directs our emotions.
Amalek is happy for our study of G-dly truths to remain in our heads. But he chokes the neck to prevent it from becoming personally meaningful and developing into a feeling which just might bring us to make real spiritual growth and changes in our lives.
We all suffer from the Amalek syndrome. We learn concepts in Torah and Chassidus, but it remains conceptual and cerebral. We can be proficient in the ideas, but the voice of indifference inside of us cools us off telling us not to get so excited and take it to heart.
The antidote to Amalek is not more meditation or deeper understanding. Amalek knows all of that already. Amalek does not object to the intellectual pursuit. He just won’t let it through to affect how we feel and how we behave. This is the ultimate Chutzpah, to know what is right and true and to disregard it.
The only way to fight the Chutzpah of Amalek is with a Chutzpah of Kedusha, a brazen resolve that we will not give any regard to the voice of Amalek and that we will do what Hashem wants of us, because that is how it has to be. When we do this, Hashem will reciprocate with the end to all evil when once again His name will be whole.