SWEET DOESN'T MEAN PUSHOVER- Parshat Zachor | Rabbi Ari Shvat | Beit Midrash

קטגוריה משנית

SWEET DOESN'T MEAN PUSHOVER- Parshat Zachor
The ingenious & rational Rambam (hil. M'lachim 5, 5) adds several surprising words in defining the Torah mitzva to remember what Amalek did to us: "to constantly (!) remember their evil deeds and their ambush of Israel TO AROUSE OUR HATRED of them". We usually relate to hatred as something we are meant to overcome, and surely not "arouse"! And why does the Rambam add that this obligation is "constant".
Another obvious question is: if there is no longer Amalek in the world, why must we stubbornly "remember what Amalek did to us". We Jews have a long memory, but when an historic issue seems no longer relevant, the Talmud asks: "מאי דהוה הוה!", "What was, was"- so who cares? (e.g. Yoma 5b), so what's the "nafka mina" (practical application)?! Anyway you look at it, it's been 2500 years since there was a practical mitzvah to fight the Amalek children!
I think this mitzvah can be likened to the classic advice of many a father to their teenage daughter: "BH you have grown up to be a very sweet and beautiful young lady, and we love you that way, but don't be naïve. Just know that there are some evil people out in the world. Don’t let them take advantage of you!"
We Israeli citizens who comprise the IDF are normal peace-loving people who are not naturally "tough", and would prefer spending our time on creative pursuits. This is exactly the problem which enabled the Hamas to surprise us on that fateful Simchat Torah. Many Israelis lived in a naïve dream-world, thinking that if we just pull out of Gush Katif, if we just treat them nicely, there will be peace. We mistakenly PROJECTED our own mindset onto our enemy. Didn't our parents teach us: "it take two to tangle"? So if we are adamant to be friendly with them, rationally that's what we should get in return (see Mishlei 20, 17).
Unfortunately, the past year year and a half, the Hamas has proven to anyone objective that the lack of peace in the middle-east is a direct outcome of their understanding of Islam. What does murdering the helpless, rape and mutilation have to do with their "freedom"? I admit that I don't know much about their religion, and that there may be other peaceful interpretations to Islam, but as long as Hamas and ISIS interpret it the way they do, we cannot put our heads in the sand and deny reality. Yes, Am Yisrael yearns for peace, but in our eternal role as a Light to the Nations, our loving Father teaches us this Shabbat, that it's irresponsible to be naïve and let evil people take advantage of us. This is a constant mitzvah, just in case we sometimes may want to forget the irrationality of anti-Semitism…