בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Painting by: Baruch Nachshon z”l
This week we read the portion of Zachor, considered by numbers of poskim to be the only Biblically mandated Torah reading. This portion bids Israel to rememeber the cruelty of Amalek and to obliterate this nation. This reading is juxtaposed to Purim, since according to tradition Haman, chief-enemy of Israel, was from the seed of Amalek. This painting displays elements of Purim with an intersting twist: the enemies of Israel are depicted in an Arab/Muslim context with Palestinian flags. Although this painting was painted more than twenty years ago, perhaps only today can we, unfortunately, truly see how “Amalekite” and cruel our Arab enemies really are. In the past we have provided sources for Germany’s connection to Amalek, and today we see how our Arab enemies have copied the cruelty of Nazi Germany.
Our Sages learn from the incident of Shaul, read in this week’s haftora, that “one who is merciful open the cruel will in the end be cruel upon the merciful.” This refers to Shaul’s mercy upon Amalek – saving their king and animals, and later on to his cruelty upon Nov the Priestly city and their slaughter upon his orders. Also today, as this painting suggests in the words “bayamim hahem bazman hazeh,” we see mercy upon our enemies ultimately resulting in cruelty on the merciful, i.e our own People. How can it be that people among us keep falling into this tragic trap? It seems that one of the in-born traits of Israel, according to the Sages, is mercy. This, of course, has many advantages, but sometimes when taken advantage of and when not guided by the Torah’s direction, it can used to aid the side of evil. Perhaps for this reason the reading of Amalek’s obliteration by us is mandated by the Torah to be so essential. With all the value of love and mercy put to the side, we must know the important place of animosity and the full destruction of evil. We must know that our Arab enemies of today educate their youngest children to murder Jews, the murder, rape, and torture of Jews, babies, children, women and men, from young to eldelry, in the cruelest ways, has become an ideal not only taught, but fully acted on, on a massive level. These enemies preach and act the ways of the Nazis along with denying the Holocaust. These enemies have been taking advantage of our merciful traits over many years in various ways and also through their un-precedented captivity of Jewish hostages in the past year-and-a-half, manipulating our emotions to make life-risking concessions. These enemies do not have any remorse, for they are motivated by the “ideal” of Jihad and obliterating Jewish presence from the “Muslim continent.” These enemies do not have the right to exist.
The time has come to ask Hashem to avenge the blood of our brothers and sisters. The time has come to avenge their blood ourselves with real action, and to defeat our enemies fully without any doubt who has risen victorious.
Hebron is the site of the beginning of the first Jewish war, where Avraham began his battle against the four kings to save Lot. From Lot descended King David, who fought against Amalek. From David will come Mashiach who will war all that needs to be warred to bring salvation and spiritual and material prosperity for Israel and all mankind. With Hebron’s spirit may we win!