With Purim rapidly approaching, the last Shabbat before the holiday has a special portion called parshat Zachor. The special portion details the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites and the command by God to stamp out the memory of Amalek from the earth. The connection to Purim is that Haman is a descendant of Amalek.
In the story preceding the command, the Israelites are walking in the desert during their 40-year journey out of bondage from Egypt to the Promised Land. All of a sudden, Amalek sneaks up on the Israelites and attacks the most vulnerable members of the Israeli camp: the old, the infirm, and the children. Eventually, with the help of God and Moshe, the Israelites repel the attack; however, the nature of the attack, having targeted those most in need of protection, sticks with the Israelites. The command that God gives in response to this horrific conduct is incredibly explicit.
“Therefore, when the ETERNAL your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the ETERNAL your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” Devarim 25:19
There is an inherent issue with this command in that it asks us to do contradictory things. First, we have to remember Amalek, and by extension their crimes, ritually not only through individual Torah reading but also through this special parsha. Second, we have to make sure that they are forgotten. At this point in world history, Amalek only exists in two forms: In our holy books and as a convenient yardstick for enemies of the Jewish people. In the latter case, any group that is acting outside the interests of the Jewish people is called a “new Amelak.” Even concepts can become Amalek with one Rabbi denouncing political violence as such. I don’t feel that this ubiquitous enemy provides a usual framework to speak about the modern ills of the world, and that our holding on to an ancient grudge is the only thing keeping their memory alive.
Revenge and the pursuit of it is a fool’s errand. In letting our hatred of Amalek fester for two thousand years, we inextricably tied ourselves to the villain that harmed our ancestors. There is an old Chinese proverb that is often attributed to Confucius: “When you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” The wisdom of this proverb is that holding on to grudges and acting on them not only hurts the intended target but also has a profound negative effect on the person seeking revenge. We must not forget the Amalekites, but maybe it’s time to stop remembering them.
