When, in the

Lord!

(Shmot

16:8)

Not against us are your complaints – You directed the

complaint against us when you said that we brought you out [from Egypt].

But it is clear that you spoke against the Heavens, much like a person who grumbles

against an official but directs the complaint against the servant, and yet the

official knows that the complaint is against no one else but him [the

official].

(Chizkuni, ibid.)

…And regarding their complaints against Moshe and Aharon

– they wanted to stir up Moshe and Aharon; since they

are close to Hashem (they call out to Him and He answers them), they should get

up and complain to Hashem. And regarding what is written "as the Lord

hears your complaints that you complain against Him" – it says "complain"

in [the Hebrew active, causative verb form of] Hif'il,

meaning that their complaint to Moshe and Aharon was

meant to cause them to complain to Hashem, in whose hand it is to

give food, and He is obligated to do so. And it becomes clear that this is

indeed their intention: Regarding 'in the evening, the Lord gives you meat

to eat' – this comes to say that all that Hashem is obligated to, is to merely

provide them bread to silence hunger, and not meat which is for pleasure. Yet,

He gives you meat! And likewise, regarding bread, He is not obligated to give

more than [the halachic quantities] of an olive or an

egg for keeping you alive, and not an Omer [unit of dry measure, ~3.5 liters] per

person, which is to satiety. Yet, He gives you your fill of bread! And

this is an indication that they did not deny Hashem's wonders, and Hashem heard

and understood their complaints … but the essence of the complaint was

against Hashem and not against Moshe and Aharon. And regarding that which is written "for what are we?"

– for you know that it is not us who brought you out

from the Land of Egypt, and so your complaints are not

against us but rather against Hashem. And this is Israel's merit – that there was no

heresy, just grudges about lack of worthy food.

(Malbim ibid.)

Amalek came – where did he

come from?

Pinchas Leiser

To my little grandchildren Michal and Aviatar

and to their

parents Yael and Nati

In prayer for their health and

development.

May they merit to grow up in

times of peace, in a just Israeli society.

With gratitude to the wonderful team

of the premature

for their

dedicated treatment.

Since the verb form "came"

describes a situation of arriving from "one place" to "another",

the question is sometimes asked about the origin of the "coming". I

put double quotes around the word "place", because sometimes, there

is meaning to the place where a person comes from, and it's not necessarily a

physical or a geographical place.

For example, in the parasha

of Chayei Sarah it is said of Avraham:

"Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to

bewail her." Rashi there explains:

"From Beer Sheva.", as opposed to the midrashim (Bereishit Rabba Noach 5, and others):

Avraham

came to eulogize Sarah- Where did he come from? Rabbi Levy said: "[He]

came from Terach's funeral to Sarah's

not Terach's funeral predate Sarah's funeral by two

years? Where did he rather come from? From Mount Moriah,

and Sarah died from that very grief. Therefore, [the story of] the binding of Itzchak directly precedes 'Sarah's lifetime was…'".

It seems to me that also regarding the episode of

Amalek (17:8-16) which is mentioned at the end

of our weekly portion and starts with the words "Amalek came" – there

is room to ask "where did he come from?" In other words: What

is the context in which this story appears in the Torah? Is it sudden, and for

no apparent reason that Amalek comes and attacks Israel? Is the cause for this

inherent in Amalek's wickedness

alone?

Bible commentators in different generations dealt

with this question in different ways. Rashi (following Bereishit Rabba) connects these matters to the

previous verse, where the children of Israel express the feeling that

Hashem is not in their midst:

Amalek came… – this episode immediately

follows the preceding verses to say: "I'm always in your midst and ready

I swear that a dog will come and bite you, and you will cry out to me and you

will understand where I am." This is likened to a man who placed his son

on his shoulder and walked on his way; the son saw an object and said:

"Father, pick this up and give it to me", and he gave him; and so it

happened a second time, and a third. Then, they met a man, and the son asked

him: "Did you see my Father?" Now his father told him: "You

don't know where I am?!" He threw [his son] off, and a dog came and bit

him.

Divine providence depends on a person's faith, and

man's abandonment of God hands the man over to the forces of evil. In the Mechilta of Rabbi Yishmael (Beshalach, tractate of Amalek, a), another interpretation

is brought down, expressing a similar idea:

Amalek came and battled Israel in Refidim… others say: "Refidim" means nothing other than "Refion Yadaim"

(=weakness/slackness), indicating that [the children of] Israel became careless about the

words of Torah. Therefore, an enemy came upon them, for an enemy only comes [as

a punishment/consequence] of carelessness with the Torah.

According to this view, the People of Israel are

vulnerable when they abandon the Torah. Rabbi Chizkiah

ben Manoach, the author of

the commentary "Chizkuni" (1250-1320), and

also the Tosafot view the attack by Amalek, grandson

of Esav, as an act of revenge for the birthright sale,

and these are the words of Chizkuni:

Amalek came – where did he come from? It

refers to the above "[Esav] went to a land

because of Yaakov his brother" (Bereishit

36:6). Rashi interpreted this as follows: "[Esav] left because of the certificate of indebtedness

regarding the decree 'that your offspring will be aliens' (Bereishit 15:13), which is upon the offspring of

Yitzchak. He said: 'I'm leaving this place; I'm neither interested in the gift (that

this land is given to him), nor in paying off the debt', and also because of

the shame that he sold his birthright to Yaakov. Therefore Amalek, the son of

his son, waited till Israel

leaves Egypt

and the debt of 'they will serve them and they will oppress them four hundred

years' (ibid.) is paid off. And

battled Israel – because

of the hatred caused by the birthright sale; but before that, [Amalekites] did not come near [Israel], for fear that the payoff

for the debt of 'they will serve them and they will oppress them four

hundred years' (ibid.) would be

placed upon them [as well].

And the Babylonian Talmud

(Sanhedrin 99b) also gives an explanation

about the roots of Amalek:

And Lotan's

sister was Timna? – Timna

was a royal princess, as it is written, aluf

an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, she went to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, but they did not accept her.

So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son

of Esav, saying, 'I had rather be a servant to this

people than a mistress of another nation.' From her, Amalek was descended who

afflicted Israel.

Why so? – Because they should not have repulsed her.

In this case, Amalek

"comes" as a consequence of rejecting Timna

by our forefathers (could this be our sages' criticism of rabbinic courts that

are stringent in matters of accepting proselytes?)

By contrast, the

Italian commentator Rabbi Yitzchak Shmuel Reggio

connects the Amalek battle story in our weekly portion to what is said in the

weekly portion of "Ki Teitze":

It is explained in Mishne Torah that Amalek's coming was neither from fear of Israel nor because of an evil that the children

of Israel

did to him, nor for booty. Rather, this villain came because of haughtiness

of his heart, out of denial of Hashem and his wonders, and to mock the

strong hand that Hashem showed over Egypt and at [the splitting of] the sea.

And the scoundrel said in his heart that all [those things] are tricks done by

humans, and so he came to fight Israel, to announce to everyone that one should

not fear them and that there is nothing divine about them. All this the Torah

expresses using the phrase "and he did not fear God." (Dvarim 25:18) For he

was from the group of Hashem's enemies who are wise in their own eyes, and so

Hashem commanded that his memory be wiped out.

This reading of Reggio sees

in Amalek's attacking Israel

a provocation of the God of Israel by those who deny his existence. It is

talking about a kind of a "religious war", without a political or

military reason.

It seems to me that the

majority of commentators understood that if we are commanded to remember Amalek

yet also wipe out his memory, then the commandment does not relate to the

memory of the historical event but rather to Amalek as the ultimate enemy of

Hashem in the world, and this is what the Netziv

writes in his commentary "Haamek Davar" (Shmot 17:14):

"Write this as

a remembrance in the Book…" which I am telling you "that I

shall surely erase the memory of Amalek…"

Write it in the Book and also "recite it in the ears of Yehoshua." This is the issue. And apparently, this

is superfluous. After all, every word of Hashem to Moshe is written in the Book

of Torah, even without [explicit] words of Hashem that he should write it as a

remembrance. Also, the matter of "recite it in the ears of Yehoshua" is not clear. But first, let us explain

the essence of the statement "that I shall surely erase the memory of

Amalek". If this is talking about the kingdom of Amalek,

then why did our sages establish the commandment to remember it for generations,

after this evil kingdom had already been erased? And even if there are some

people from the offspring of that nation in the world, what difference does it

make? And if it means that his name and memory be forgotten – this is

impossible! After all, the Torah is eternal, and it is mentioning him. Rather,

what is meant here is the legacy of Amalek in the world. For it is clear

that Amalek challenged Israel

with a purpose. He undoubtedly knew that it would not be easy to overcome him.

He interfered with a fight not his own. The reason being that Amalek is the

"first among nations", as Bil'am

said when the light of the Spirit of Holiness appeared before him. This is not

to say that [Amalek] is a more successful and happy nation – after all, Amalek

had always been an inferior kingdom. Rather, just like the war of Amraphel and his coalition was against Avraham

our father alone, as becomes clear from a careful reading of the scripture in Sefer Bereishit. And he is known

as the symbol of judgment [שעל ידו נעשה עין

משפט], by way of bringing down

Providence

which works according to one's deeds. Thus, from the moment that Israel left Egypt and was ready to receive the

Torah, things have become much worse for the nations of the world. And

Amalek, the first among nations, deeply hates Providence. And the Holy One Blessed be

He promised that the time will come when He will wipe out the memory of Amalek,

meaning his purpose and legacy that the ways of nature should be free from

Providence [which behaves] according to one's deeds. This drive will be

forgotten by the nations of the world and the Lord shall be king over all the

earth (Zecharia

14:9). And these are the days of Mashiach who

shall come soon, in our days. And Hashem said to Moshe "write this as a remembrance

in the Book", like a person who tells his son a story in order to bring

his heart closer to morality, and when he comes to a most essential matter,

then in order for [this matter] to be rooted deeply in his heart, the father is

most careful and says: "remember this, my son." Even though he wants

his son to remember the whole story, he still draws his attention especially to

the essential matter of the story. Likewise, we are supposed to remember the

whole Torah by writing a Book of Torah, but where we see that the Holy One Blessed

be He told Moshe "write this as a remembrance in the Book", we

must understand from it that we must remember this matter especially well. For this is the requested goal, that the Glory of the Lord will

fill the whole earth, and we must have faith that the time for the coming

of Mashiach will arrive. And precisely regarding

this, Hashem added: "recite it in the ears of Yehoshua"

– this is about uttering a secret matter, the [time of Mashiach's

coming], which he revealed to his ear. And of course, [Yehoshua]

will also reveal this to someone worthy of it.

The Netziv,

it seems, sees here an eternal struggle in our world between the believers in a

world with Providence,

meaning a world where there is a relation between man's behavior and Divine

Providence, and the deniers of such belief. He also compares the war of the

kings against Avraham to this struggle, where

ultimately, we must remember and educate towards a world where everyone will

recognize the triumph of Hashem over Amalek.

Rabbi Samson Raphael

Hirsch famously sees in 'Amalek' a spiritual position which does not

characterize a certain group of people or nations, but rather a moral danger

which lies in wait for every person and every people, and these are his words:

'Do not forget'

– Do not forget this thing if the day comes and you will want to become like

Amalek, and, like Amalek, you fail to recognize your obligation and do not

know God. Rather, you only seek opportunities, in matters small or great, to

exploit your advantage in order to harm your fellow men. Do not forget this

if the day comes and you ask to relieve your heart of its role and its mission

as Israel

that you have taken upon yourself amongst humanity. Do not envy the laurels

which a foolish world throws to those happy with having destroyed the happiness

of others. Remember the tear-soaked soil which nurtures the laurels of those

wreathes, do not forget this thing when the day comes and you yourself suffer

Amalek's violence and coarseness. Keep standing straight! Preserve the humanity

and values of justice that you learned from your God. The future belongs to

them, and in the end humanity and justice will overcome coarseness and

violence. You yourself were sent in order to announce and to bring near – with

your very example – that overcoming and that future.

Do not forget – and

in order that you not forget, "remember" from time to time,

renew in your heart the memory of Amalek and what you have been told of its

future. (From

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's commentary on Devarim

25:19, written circa 1860!)

It seems to me that these words, written by RaShaR Hirsch in the second half of 19^th century

are still valid today, and we can understand them without a need for

explanation. There is a tendency to see in Amalek the ultimate external enemy,

and the evil and hatred that were directed against us from various "Amalekites" must not be belittled, but a different

reading enables us to observe the "Amalek" in ourselves, in the

inclination to take advantage of our fellow man's weakness, in every single one

of us, as individuals and as a people.

If so, where does this "Amalek" come from?

What are his roots?

Sometimes, he emerges from vengeful feelings towards

someone who hurt us; he can also come from a sense of rejection, which causes

us to project the evil onto others. However, we cannot ignore the fact that he

sometimes comes from a lack of strength. We are given the choice, as

individuals, as a group, and as a people, of whether Hashem is "in

our midst" or if it's Amalek who is "in our midst". Sometimes,

there is a struggle between these two forces, and may we be wise to make the

right choices.

Pinchas Leiser,

editor of Shabbat Shalom, psychologist.

And

go do battle with Amalek (17:9)

Yehoshua said: "But Amalek comes from the sons of Esav, from the sons of Yitzchak our father. Maybe, we

should make a covenant with him and bring him under the wings of [Divine]

Presence?" Moshe said to him: "One only brings [people] under the

wings of [Divine] Presence in times of peace", as it is written: 'The

Lord blesses his people with peace' (Tehillim 29:11), "but this one is coming to

battle", as it is written: 'and battled Israel' (17:8) Yehoshua said: "So what?

He strikes [only] those that are dismissed [and thus not worthy of being protected]

by the Cloud [of Glory]", as it is written: 'all the weaklings at your

rear' (Dvarim

25:18). Moshe said to him: "You yourself, go out from the cloud and

fight Amalek, like Noach was told: 'Go forth from

the Ark' (Bereishit 8:16). You

have no right to sit comfortably while Amalek strikes those who are hindmost."

(Based on Mechilta of Rabbi Yishmael)

Planting

connects man to eternity

And

when you come to the land and you shall plant (Vayikra 19:23): The Holy One Blessed be He said to Israel: even though you find it

full of all good things, do not say, "We shall rest and not plant." Rather,

be careful to plant, for it says and you shall plant all fruit-bearing trees.

Just as you entered [the Land

of Israel] and found

trees that others had planted, you too should plant for your children's sakes. A

man should not say, "I am old, how many years do I

have left to live, why am I wearying myself for others? Tomorrow I shall die."

Shlomo said He put the world [ha'olam]

in their mind (Kohellet

3:11). It is written without the letter vav,

to vanish]. What is this? If the Holy One blessed be He had not caused

death to vanish from the human mind, a person would not build or plant, for he

would say, "Tomorrow I die; why do I weary myself for others?" That

is why the Holy One blessed be He hides the day of their death from the minds

of humans, so that they will build. If he merits it, [that which a man builds]

will be his. If he does not merit it, it shall be for others.

(Midrash Tanhuma

Kedoshim 8)

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