One day, Daniel decides to go on a nature hike. He has been overwhelmed with work lately and just needs some time to recharge. Without telling anyone where he’s going, he heads off into the mountains. He’s enjoying the view and his peaceful hike, when suddenly, he slips and tumbles off the edge of a cliff. As he plunges downwards, he somehow manages to grasp onto a branch jutting out from the side of the mountain. He clings on to this branch for dear life, trying not to look down at the ravine below.
A million thoughts go running through Daniel’s head, but one thought in particular keeps reemerging to the forefront of his consciousness. “Nobody knows I’m here. I’m alone. I’m going to die.” He begins to take stock of his life, thinking about the good times he’s had and what he has managed to accomplish in his short existence. He thinks about his family, and how much they are going to miss him. Just then, a rope soars past his head, hanging directly in front of him. After a moment’s shock, he grabs on to the rope and holds on for dear life as someone on the other end begins to pull him up over the cliff edge.
When Daniel reaches the top, he immediately asks the man. “How did you know that I fell over the edge and needed rescuing?” The man stares at him blankly and says, “I didn’t. This morning, I randomly decided that today would be a great day to practice throwing ropes down cliff faces.
There are two reactions that Daniel can have. He can recognize the miracle of what has just happened, thanking Hashem for sending him salvation when it seemed so unlikely. Or, he can laugh at the coincidence of both his falling and this man practicing rope throwing at the exact same time, thankful that he happened to get lucky this time. This decision is one that we actually face in every moment and aspect of life, and it is a theme connected to the upcoming holiday of Purim.
The Battle Against Amalek
The Shabbos before Purim is known as Parshas Zachor, where we fulfill our yearly mitzvah to remember Amalek’s attempt to destroy us. What is the deeper connection between Amalek and Purim?
To address this question, we must understand the nature of Amalek. Amalek attacked the Jewish people as they were on the way to receive the Torah. What is most striking about this attack is the timing. With the ten makkos, the Jews just defeated the Egyptians, a nation considered to be the ultimate power in the world. Hashem had also just split the sea for the Jewish People, an act that had worldwide reverberations. The Jews were viewed as invincible, untouchable. And exactly then, Amalek chose to attack the Jewish people, undertaking a practically suicidal battle with zero provocation. What were their motives in undertaking such a mission? This question can be extended to the Purim story as well. Haman, suddenly promoted to second in command, makes it his mission to wipe out the entire Jewish people. As a descendant of Amalek, he is clearly continuing their legacy of Jewish obliteration. What is the reason for Haman’s hatred of the Jews and singular desire to wipe them out? Why is this the spiritual legacy of Amalek? In order to answer these questions, we must look at three fundamental principles of Jewish belief.
Three Fundamental Principles
There are three fundamental principles of Jewish belief. The first is that Hashem is the creator of the world. He is the source of time, space, and our entire reality. The second is that Hashem has a relationship with this physical world. This is the concept of hashgacha, that Hashem oversees and controls the events of this world. The third principle is that there is a purpose to this world and our lives within it. There is not a single thing that is random, rather each and every occurrence and interaction is part of an infinitely beautiful grand plan, a cosmic symphony, a masterpiece.
Amalek’s entire existence is devoted towards destroying the second and third of these principles. Amalek claims that although Hashem may exist, he has absolutely nothing to do with us or our world. Our lives are therefore meaningless and this world is utterly devoid of spirituality. This approach is summed up in the pasuk describing Amalek’s attack on the Jewish people. As we read in Parshas Zachor, we must remember what Amalek did to us, “ashar korcha baderech” – how they “happened” upon us while we were traveling (Devarim 25:18). The word korcha is a strange one, and Rashi therefore quotes three interpretations, each fundamental and significant.
Randomness and Happenstance
The first interpretation of the word “korcha” is based on its connection to the word “karah”- happenstance. This represents Amalek’s claim that everything in this world is random and meaningless. There is no hashgacha, no Divine providence. When things happen to you, whether bad or good, there is no deeper meaning or significance behind it. Amalek was projecting that they just “happened” to be here with swords in hand, ready for battle, they simply “chanced” upon the Jewish People as they were on the way.
This is the exact approach that Haman took when plotting to kill the Jews. He did not rationally calculate a date on which to kill the Jews, rather he specifically chose one through a pur, a lottery. A lottery represents randomness and chance. Haman let the luck of the draw determine when he would kill the Jews, an act of devotion to “karah” – happenstance. [The gematria, numerical value, of Amalek is safek- doubt. Amalek represents doubt and uncertainty, randomness and chaos.]
Keri: Spiritual Marriage
The second interpretation offered by Rashi connects “korcha” to “keri”, a concept linked to marital impurity. Judaism approaches marriage as a mitzvah, whereby the relationship between husband and wife holds incredible potential for spirituality. The Ramban explains that the relationship between man and wife can ideally reflect the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish People. It is a relationship of spiritual and existential oneness, where potential is actualized and developed.
Amalek, however, claims that marriage is no more than animalistic mating, a relationship that will never contain meaning or spirituality. Perhaps the reason for this is connected to Amalek’s very conception. Amalek was the result of Eliphaz’s relationship with his concubine, Timnah (Bereishit 36:12). Unlike Jewish marriage, which is rooted in a devoted and loving commitment, a concubine is a purely physical relationship, lacking the spiritual components of true marriage. The very nature of Amalek’s creation became their national ethos. Amalek has divorced the physical from the spiritual, viewing the physical as fallen and empty, detached from any higher spiritual source. The physical urges of man are the ultimate motivation in this world, as there is nothing deeper to the world or human interaction than its physical facade.
The name Amalek shares its root with the word melikah, which was the process of removing the head from the body of a bird before it was offered as a sacrifice. The head is the highest part of the body, representing the mind and the spiritual, the body is the lower part, representing the physical. Ideally, the two are connected. Amalek attempts to disconnect the head from the body, to disconnect the spiritual (head) from the physical (body), claiming that there is no spirituality within the physical world, no meaning, no connection to Hashem or anything higher.
Kor: Cooling Off the Flame
Rashi’s third explanation of the word “korcha” is based on a midrash that relates the word to “kor”- cold. The midrash gives the mashal of a boiling hot bath of water that nobody dares jump into. Along comes one man and jumps into the scalding water, burning himself completely in the process. He may have harmed himself, but he has now cooled the water enough for others to jump into. This is what Amalek did as the Jewish people were traveling from Egypt. After Hashem performed the ten makkos, the plagues, and took the Jewish People out of Egypt, the nations of the world were fully ready to accept both Hashem and His Torah. They began flocking towards Har Sinai, on a mission to join the Jewish people in accepting the Torah. [As the Ramchal explains at the end of Derech Hashem, until the Torah was given, any nation could have joined Klal Yisrael.] The Jewish people were at the height of their success, about to receive the Torah, and the other nations were ready to accept the Torah along with them. At this point, Amalek saw it necessary to attack the Jewish People, undertaking a nearly suicidal mission but showing the other nations that the Jews were not as completely invincible as they seemed. They “jumped into the scalding bath” – attacked the Jewish people, and “cooled the waters”- showed the other nations that the Jewish People were vulnerable to attack. Why did Amalek do this? Why were they willing to burn themselves simply to weaken the Jewish People?
To review what we have said until now, Amalek rejects both Hashem’s control of this world and the ability for physical man to uplift himself to spirituality. Torah is the epitome and paradigm of both of these principles. It is based on the principle of Hashem’s connection with this world, and it is the means for elevating ourselves and all of physicality to a higher purpose. Amalek stands directly opposed to this, and when they saw not just the Jewish People, but the entire world, ready to adopt this way of life, they had no choice but to attack. Amalek’s entire existence is predicated on a lack of connection between Hashem and this world, therefore a complete acceptance of that principle by all the nations of the world would mean Amalek’s ceasing to exist. Amalek attacked the Jewish People with the goal of preventing Matan Torah, with the goal of preventing the world from accepting Hashem’s Torah and the truth that lies within it. And although Amalek was sorely beaten, with only a few survivors, they still had managed to kill a few Jewish warriors. They showed that the Jews were not invincible, “cooling” down the excitement of all the nations of the world and paralyzing their readiness to accept the Torah. Amalek Won. Physically, they lost, but in a deeper way, they won! The nations of the world walked away.
[The most dangerous thing in the world is to cool off someone’s passion and fire for avodas Hashem, service of Hashem. Once life becomes more practical and toned down, everything starts to wither away! This is what Amalek represents, cooling the flame. For this reason, the middah- attribute- of Amalek is mockery and sarcasm. Sarcasm is the tool we use to distance ourselves from truth. When something is too much to handle we respond with sarcasm, to create an internal wall, allowing us to distance ourselves from it, refusing to confront the truth. A single sarcastic comment can murder the impact of the most moving and inspiring speech.]
Why Isn’t Hashem Mentioned in the Megillah?
Hashem’s name isn’t mentioned once throughout all of Megillas Esther. This is the only sefer in Tanach in which Hashem’s name is not mentioned. Why is this so? It’s because Purim marks a transition in history, where our battle against Amalek took on a new form. Until Purim, history was full of open miracles, nevuah- prophecy, and Hashem’s open revelation to the world. The second stage, the one we live in now, is characterized by hidden miracles. Hashem is no longer openly manifest and clearly visible. Rather, in this stage, we must choose to see Hashem. It is in this stage that Amalek’s claim can be even more tempting to believe, as it is in this stage that we can more easily fail to see Hashem’s involvement in every aspect of this world and our lives. Our challenge is to see past the surface, to see the miraculous within the natural, the ethereal within the mundane, the infinite within the finite.
Today’s Purim Battle
Amalek represents the fight for a God-less reality, void of spirituality and meaning. Only when you focus, look closer, and peer beneath the surface do you see the true nature of reality. Hashem is echad, one, and our goal in this world is to see the spiritual oneness inherent within every event and object in this world. Amalek seeks to hide the truth, disconnect us from our source, and strip all meaning from this life. Only when we see past the surface and trace everything that happens in this world back to Hashem- our spiritual source- will we ultimately defeat Amalek and all that they stand for.
