Remember Amalek- Shabbat Zachor

Shabbat Zachor is always the Shabbat prior to the observance of Purim. It reminds us that we are to remember Amalek who ruthlessly attacked the Israelites from behind as they were wandering through the desert. Amalek is remembered for preying upon the weak who were at the back of the line, for wanting to commit the wholesale slaughter of the entire children of Israel. We are reminded to never forget Amalek. The story of Purim which we will read tomorrow morning reminds us that Haman was a descendant of Amalek. He wanted to accomplish the wholesale slaughter of the entire Jewish population in the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. On Purim we are commanded to hear the story written in megillat Esther so we too do not forget that there have been those in history who have wanted to destroy us as a people, but that we have the moral obligation to preserve the Jewish people from such deadly hatred.

The message of Shabbat Zachor should not be too difficult for a generation that has grown up after the Holocaust to understand. We have witnessed the stories of members of our own community who survived the actions of the Amalek who sought to destroy them. We have grown up with the reality of the State of Israel which was established to provide a home for Jews who faced restrictions and dangers in the countries in which they resided. We have also been privy to newscasts where we have heard the words of Ahmadinejad calling for the wholesale destruction of the State of Israel and we have watched the world’s lack of meaningful response. We have also seen the rise of radical Islam across the globe, a form of extremism that has not been shy about disseminating anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

We Jews understand the dangers of becoming like Amalek ourselves. Of acting like Baruch Goldstein who on Purim day 1994, entered a room in the cave of Machpelah that was serving as a mosque and massacred the worshippers. But we also understand that Amalek still exists. When a family in Ithamar is brutally murdered in their sleep, we can see Amalek. Yet, we are still faced with the question of how to respond even though we remember.

If you listened to Prime Minister Netanyahu on CNN the other evening, you heard him say that Jews have learned from the Holocaust that we have the right to defend ourselves. Oddly enough, the megillah also promotes that same message. After Haman sent out an edict that the 13^th day of Adar was to be the day of massacre for the Jews, Ahashuerus could not nullify the edict. The king merely sent a decree allowing the Jews in the provinces to rise up and defend themselves against the hordes that would try to destroy them.

It doesn’t seem hard to understand the right to defend oneself from destruction. What seems hard is coming to consensus about the dangers that we face as a people. The Jewish value of not discriminating against nor persecuting minorities because we understand that we too have been strangers in strange lands, often leads us to be conflicted about acknowledging that there truly are groups whose beliefs and ideologies pose a threat to our existence as Jews and as believers in the value of a democratic society.

As we remember all the Amaleks, including Haman and Hitler and Hamas, may we have the strength to not only identify them as perpetrators of evil and hatred, but may we have the strength to insure that future generations will not have to suffer from the consequences of their atrocious actions.

Shabbat Shalom.