Excerpted from Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider’s Torah United: Teachings on the Weekly Parasha from Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and the Chassidic Masters, co-published by OU Press and Ktav Publishing House
Eradicating the Amalek Within
At the very end of Parashat Beshalach, we meet the archnemesis of the Jewish people: Amalek. Historically, Amalek was a band of marauders who shrugged off reports of miraculous intervention, cocksure of their own prowess and ability to identify and prey upon weak stragglers. But Amalek has been understood by many Jewish thinkers to represent a tenacious threat, even after all nations have lost their identity by being dispersed by Sancheriv. Amalek is a dangerous mindset that poses
a psychological danger to our religious belief and observance. This “Amalek within” is a devious enemy and we must be vigilant to combat it.
What is the nature of this threat? The Frierdiker Rebbe, Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, saw it embedded in Amalek’s very name. The gematriya or numerological value of the Hebrew letters that spell “Amalek” ( 240 = עמלק) is equivalent to that of the letters that spell “doubt” ( 240 = ספק ). Whatever is holy is certain and absolute; Amalek is baseless doubt and icy cynicism that chills the fervor of holiness until all passion has dissipated. It introduces rot into the core that spreads and grows.
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook found profound meaning in two other words that appear in this episode. Following Amalek’s unprovoked surprise attack, Moshe deputizes Yehoshua to muster men and lead a counterattack. He then says, “Tomorrow ( מָחרָ ), I will stand atop the hill with God’s staff ( מַטהֶּ ) in my hand” (Exodus 17:9). Why “tomorrow,” and why with the “staff” in hand? Rav Kook explained that Amalek wanted to knock down the divine commands (מִצוְהָ) and obligations (חובָֹה) incumbent upon a Jew to the level of the optional (רשְׁותּ). “Things are not as important as you make them out to be,” says Amalek. “They can wait until tomorrow.” The very word for “tomorrow” (מָחרָ) is composed of a mem (מ׳) representing the commandments (מִצְוהָ); a chet (ח׳) standing for the obligations (חובָֹה); and a final resh (ר׳) for what is optional ( רְשׁותּ ). The order of the letters reflects how Amalek ultimately wanted to devalue everything.
How is Amalek’s onslaught countered? Moshe led the offensive by raising his hands and the “staff” (מַטהֶּ), which was to help direct (להְַטּותֹ) the hearts of the Jewish people to God and reverse this process. By placing God at the center of our lives, we assign our responsibilities the proper weight and treat them as we ought to. By feeling God’s presence during our waking moments, we can stoke a passion for Him that cannot be extinguished.
Rav Kook personified this. In the summer of 1913, he and a group of colleagues went on a trip to visit and inspire the new settlements in the fledgling Yishuv. One night, towards the end of the trip, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlop, a confidant and disciple of Rav Kook, woke to find his teacher restlessly pacing their small, shared room. As he watched, he noticed that Rav Kook’s face was flushed with passion and excitement. Rav Kook realized that he was awake, and slowly put his hands on his disciple. “What is wrong, rebbe?” asked Rabbi Charlop. Rav Kook answered, “Nothing is wrong. I am consumed with a burning love of God.”
Every day we recite during the Shema, “You shall love Hashem your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Rav Kook did not only verbalize these words but actualized them, and it was his belief that everyone is capable of doing so. He showed us that the brighter our passion burns, the more it can resist the irrationality – or even cold rationality – of Amalek and stay the course.
Amalek attacked the recently freed Israelites “on the road” (Deuteronomy 25:17–18). But this was not just any road. The Jewish people were on a direct route to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, and it is the Torah that shows us the optimal way to live our lives. Amalek, on the other hand, has no path. It follows no road to enlightenment. It knows only how to steer others off course and to relieve them of their hardwon spiritual possessions. By pursuing a life of faith and fervor we can overcome the pathological pathlessness of Amalek, but we would do well to pay attention to suspicious movement in our peripheral vision as we blaze paths to spiritual glory.
