Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir
The first war in history forced upon Israel was the one against Amalek: “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim” (Shemot 17:8). There is a special mitzvah to recall this war, as it says, “Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt” (Devarim 25:17). We are likewise commanded “to obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens” (verse 19), and the verse concludes, “You must not forget.”
Why is it that must we “remember and not forget” this battle? It is because of the divine oath of Shemot 17:16: “The L-rd shall be at war with Amalek for all generations.” Amalek was the first nation to attack the Israelites for no discernible cause other than their being Jews, and their being caught in a moment of weakness, as it says, “When you were tired and exhausted, they cut off all those lagging to your rear” (Devarim 25:18). Just like a wild beast that attacks its prey when it discerns that it is weak, so was Amalek the first to attack Israel, thereby showing all the nations and anti-Semites down through the generations that the Jews are attackable.
At first, the nations were afraid to fight us. At the Geulah, it was revealed for all to see that Israel is G-d’s beloved, chosen son, His “firstborn” (Shemot 4:22), and that whoever harms Israel is smitten by G-d as with the plagues of Egypt and the splitting of the sea. Even so, because Amalek was undeterred by this, Israel’s whole power of deterrence was weakened.
Today, we are at the height of a war that was forced upon us by the Arabs, whose goal is to drive us out of Eretz Yisrael - it will never be! Unfortunately, this war is accompanied by some of the worst anti-Semitic propaganda we have seen since the Holocaust. With G-d’s help we shall win this war, just as all of Israel’s enemies were defeated down through the generations - from Amalek, on through Haman, and the enemy of the Jews from Germany - may his name be blotted out.
If we hope to become stronger spiritually and to strengthen the spirit of Israel’s fighters, then we must learn from Moshe: “As long as Moshe held his hands up, Israel would be winning, but as soon as he let his hands down, the battle would go in Amalek’s favor” (Shemot 17:11). Our sages ask: “Did the hands of Moshe make or break the battle? Rather, the Torah is teaching us that as long as the Israelites looked upward and subjugated their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would be winning” (Rosh Hashanah 29a).
Nefesh HaChaim (Sha’ar 2:11) further explains that “When Israel would only look heavenward, that is - when their cries of entreaty to G-d were not focused on their own suffering but only on the profanation of G-d’s name - they would be winning.”
This too holds true in our own day. We must recognize that any harm done to Jews or to the Jewish People constitutes a profanation of G-d’s name, and furthermore, that the battles of Israel’s Defense Forces against the enemies of Israel constitute a war over the sanctification of G-d’s name. It is a war between the nation that is setting out to spread the light of G-d on earth, and between those forces whose aim is to spread darkness.
Through our winning this war, G-d’s oath will be fulfilled. Neither G-d’s name nor His throne will be complete until we emerge victorious, as it says, “The L-rd shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment” (Tehilim 9:8. See Rashi on Exodus 17:16).
BeSorot Tovot,
Looking forward to complete salvation,
With the Love of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael,
Shabbat Shalom.
No comments:
Post a Comment