Amalek

The people of Israel journeyed . . . and they camped in Rephidim . . .

[Moses] named the place “Challenge and Strife,” because of the strife of the people of Israel and their challenging of G‑d, saying, “Is G‑d amongst us or not?”

Then came Amalek and attacked Israel in Rephidim . . . (Exodus 17:1–8)

Remember what Amalek did to you on the road, on your way out of Egypt. That he encountered you on the way, and cut off those lagging to your rear, when you were tired and exhausted; he did not fear G‑d. Therefore . . . you must obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget. (Deuteronomy 25:17–19)

The Jewish people had just experienced one of the greatest manifestations of divine power in history. Ten supernatural plagues had compelled the mightiest nation on earth to free them from their servitude. The sea had split before them, and manna had rained from the heavens to nourish them. How could they possibly question, “Is G‑d amongst us or not?”

Yet such is the nature of doubt. There is doubt that is based on a rational query. There is doubt that rises from the doubter’s subjective motives and desires. But then there is doubt pure and simple: irrational doubt, doubt more powerful than reason. Doubt that neutralizes the most convincing arguments and the most inspiring experiences with nothing more than a cynical shrug.

Such was the doubt that left the Jewish people susceptible to attack from Amalek. Amalek, in the spiritual sphere, is the essence of baseless, irrational indifference. In the words of the Midrash:

To what is the incident (of Amalek) comparable? To a boiling tub of water which no creature was able to enter. Along came one evildoer and jumped into it. Although he was burned, he cooled it for the others.

So, too, when Israel came out of Egypt, and G‑d split the sea before them and drowned the Egyptians within it, the fear of them fell upon all the nations. But when Amalek came and challenged them, although he received his due from them, he cooled1 the awe of the nations of the world for them.2

This is why Amalek, and what he represents, constitutes the archenemy of the Jewish people and their mission in life. As Moses proclaimed following the war with Amalek, “G‑d has sworn by His throne; G‑d is at war with Amalek for all generations.”3 Truth can refute the logical arguments offered against it. Truth can prevail even over man’s selfish drives and desires, for intrinsic to the nature of man is the axiom that “the mind rules over the heart”—that it is within a person’s capacity to so thoroughly appreciate a truth that it is ingrained in his character and implemented in his behavior. But man’s rational faculties are powerless against the challenge of an Amalek who leaps into the boiling tub, who brazenly mocks the truth and cools man’s most inspired moments with nothing more than a dismissive “So what?”

The Bottleneck
Amalek attacked Israel “on the road, on [the] way out of Egypt,” as they were headed toward Mount Sinai to receive G‑d’s Torah and their mandate as His people. Here, too, history mirrors the inner workings of the soul: the timing of the historical Amalek’s attack describes the internal circumstances under which the pestilence of baseless doubt rears its head.

In the Passover Haggadah we say: “In every generation one must see himself as if he personally came out of Mitzrayim.” Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, means “narrow straits”; on the personal level, this refers to what chassidic teaching calls the “narrowness of the neck” which interposes between the mind and the heart.

Just as physically the head and the heart are joined by a narrow passageway, the neck, so it is in the spiritual-psychological sense. For while the mind possesses an innate superiority over the heart, it is a most difficult and challenging task for a person to exercise this superiority—to direct and mold his feelings and desires to conform with what he knows to be right. This is the “Exodus from Mitzrayim” that is incumbent on each and every generation: the individual challenge to negotiate the narrow straits of one’s internal “neck,” to overcome the material enticements, the emotional subjectivity, the ego and self-interest which undermine the mind’s authority over the heart and impede its influence on the person’s character and behavior.

As long as a person is still imprisoned in his personal mitzrayim, he faces many challenges to his integrity. As long as he has not succeeded in establishing his mind as the axis on which all else revolves, his base instincts and traits—such as greed, anger, the quest for power and instant gratification—may get the better of him. But once he achieves his personal “Exodus” from the narrow straits of his psyche, once he establishes his knowledge and understanding of the truth as the determining force in his life, the battle is all but won. He may be confronted with negative ideas and rationalizations, but free of the distortions of self-interest, the truth will triumph. He may be tempted by negative drives and desires, but if in his life the mind rules the heart, it will curb and ultimately transform them.

But there remains one enemy which threatens also the post-Exodus individual: Amalek. Amalek “knows his Master and consciously rebels against Him.” Amalek does not challenge the truth with arguments, or even with selfish motivations; he just disregards it. To the axiom, “Do truth because it is true,” Amalek says, “So what?” Armed with nothing but his chutzpah, Amalek jumps into the boiling tub, contests the incontestable. And in doing so, he cools its impact.

Beyond Reason
How is one to respond to Amalek? How is one to deal with the apathy, the cynicism, the senseless doubt within? The formula that the Torah proposes is encapsulated in a single word: Zachor—“Remember.”

In his Tanya,4 Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi discusses the faith in G‑d that is integral to the Jewish soul. Faith is not something that must be attained; it need only be revealed, for it is woven into the very fabric of the soul’s essence. Faith, continues Rabbi Schneur Zalman, transcends reason. Through faith one relates to the infinite truth of G‑d in its totality, unlike the perception achieved by reason, which is defined and limited by the finite nature of the human mind.

Thus Rabbi Schneur Zalman explains the amazing fact that, throughout Jewish history, many thousands of Jews have sacrificed their lives rather than renounce their faith and their bond with the Almighty—including many who had little conscious knowledge and appreciation of their Jewishness, and did not practice it in their daily lives. At their moment of truth, when they perceived that their very identity as Jews was at stake, their intrinsic faith—a faith that knows no bounds or equivocations—came to light, and overpowered all else.

Amalek is irrational and totally unresponsive to reason; the answer to Amalek is likewise supra-rational. The Jew’s response to Amalek is to remember: to call forth his soul’s reserves of supra-rational faith, a faith which may lie buried and forgotten under a mass of mundane involvements and entanglements. A faith which, when remembered, can meet his every moral challenge, rational or not.

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Courtesy of MeaningfulLife.com

The Final Famine

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” — Amos 8:11

According to the Sages, there are ten global famines in the history of mankind. The first was in the time of Adam, the second was in the time of Lamech, and the third was in the time of Abraham. There are seven more famines to go, but the last one, say the Sages, will be the harshest. It will be unlike anything else that the world has ever experienced.

The tenth famine is described by the prophet Amos as “not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” The final famine that the world will experience has nothing to do with a lack of physical sustenance and everything to do with spiritual survival. There will be a dearth of substantial spirituality. Tradition teaches that the last famine will occur just before the coming of the Messiah.

What makes that so bad? Why do the Sages call this famine the worst of them all?

The rabbis explain that when people are suffering from extreme hunger and they are given a scrap of bread, it becomes a feast for them. When people are dying of thirst and someone gives them a canteen of water, their thirst seems to be completely quenched. The problem is that sporadic meals do not nourish the body. Such people are still in great danger and put their lives at risk.

The problem of being satisfied with too little is only compounded when the famine is spiritual. If we fail to take care of our bodies, it is sad. But if we fail to nourish our spirit – which is eternal – it’s tragic. The rabbis explain that this last famine is the worst because it doesn’t threaten our physical bodies. It threatens our very soul.

Today there are plenty of sweet and sugary opportunities out there to get our spirituality fix. A good book here, a nice lecture there, maybe even devotion once in a while. But where are your meat and potatoes? There is no substitute for daily Bible study. Nothing can take the place of consistent and meaningful prayer. Our bodies need constant nourishment and daily care. Our souls need the same.

We should be satisfied with nothing less.

With prayers for shalom, peace,


Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

Can You Hear It?

“When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?.” — Amos 3:6

The trumpet, or the shofar in Hebrew, is a call to arouse us from our spiritual slumber. It is a nudge to awaken and repent. But what if the shofar is sounded and the people remain unmoved?

This is the question posed by the prophet Amos: “When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?” In other words, how can it be that the shofar is sounded and no one trembles? Like the saying, “if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it still make a sound,” we ask, if the shofar is sounded and no one trembles, does it still make a sound?

A blacksmith’s assistant from a village once visited a large city. There he visited the local smithy. He noticed that the workers used bellows to fan the flames in the forge. Back in the village, they fanned their fire manually. The bellows were much more efficient and far less exhausting than manual fanning. The assistant excitedly purchased a bellows and returned with enthusiasm to his master’s shop.

Immediately, he set out to demonstrate the magic that he had uncovered. He set up the bellows and began to pump vigorously. But, alas, no matter how quickly he pumped, no flame appeared. “I can’t understand it,” he said. “In the city, I saw with my own eyes how a huge flame was produced by the bellows.”

“Did you first light a small fire?” the master asked.

“No,” the assistant replied. “I just pumped the bellows.”

“You fool!” the blacksmith said. “The bellows can only increase the size of the flame when you begin it with a spark. When you have no spark of fire, all the pumping of the bellows is of no use at all.”

Like the bellows, the shofar can only arouse us if there is a spark lit inside of us. If there is no spark, if we are spiritually deadened, then all of the shofar-blowing in the world will not get us to tremble.

The shofar represents the many messages that God sends to us all of the time. The tragedy of 9/11 was a shofar call. The tsunami was a shofar call. All of the upheaval in the Middle East – it’s all a great shofar call. Do we not tremble? Do we not repent?

The answer to our original question is yes; whether or not we hear the shofar, it does indeed make a sound. God is desperately trying to wake us up.

Now the question is: Do we hear Him?

HLM

End of Days

Many people are curious as to how Jewish tradition foresees "the end of days" -- the coming of the Messiah. While there are many descriptions offered in the rabbinic sources, we are nevertheless cautioned against speculating much on this subject. Why? Because Jewish tradition says if we're focused too much on the future, we'll miss out living in the present!

It is worthwhile to note one striking Midrash, which describes the "awesome fear" that will prevail at the end of days. The Midrash says that a competition will be held between Jews and other religions, to determine who is really carrying out the Almighty's will. The Midrash says that initially it will be other religions, not the Jews, who will be answered by God. This shocking response will cause "awesome fear" in the minds of the Israelites and will be for them a time of great trial and tribulation.

Ultimately, Israel will be vindicated, but those early moments will be a time of great terror and self-doubt. The entire scenario, the Midrash explains, is a grand, final test of the Jews' loyalty to God and His Torah.
Rabbi Yehuda Appel

One Lord

"I can identify all the Jewish children in two minutes," proclaimed Rabbi Eliezer Silver. His long beard and crisp, new army uniform were an odd sight in the Krakow Monastery.

"In two minutes? Impossible!" declared Father Hugo. "These children came to us as infants and do not have the slightest hint that they are Jewish. If you can identify them, you may take them!"

With a grin on his face, the good rabbi continued, "Then you will allow me two minutes tomorrow at lunch time?"

"No problem," replied Father Hugo. And the rabbi was gone.

Rabbi Silver had arrived in Poland immediately at the end of World War II, determined to somehow locate and extract the hundreds (if not thousands) of Jewish children in monasteries across Europe. Their parents had placed them with non-Jewish families - who then decided to minimize their risk by sending them to monasteries.

In Krakow, Rabbi Silver had information that 30 Jewish children were in one particular monastery, and he was determined to obtain their release.

The following day at noon, he stood in the dining room of the monastery, facing 100 children in the middle of lunch, gazing at him curiously. The rabbi put his hand over his eyes and cried out the words of the "Shema": "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!"

Immediately, 30 little children began crying, "Mama! Mama!" What the rabbi knew (but the priest didn't) was that the last memory these children had of their mother was reciting together with them the most famous Jewish prayer.

"These are the Jewish children," proclaimed the rabbi.

"You may take them," replied the father. And another 30 children were then reunited to their heritage.

Last week's Parsha had the first paragraph of the Shema, and the end of this week's Parsha has the second paragraph. The Jewish people have lived and died with the Shema throughout their history.

Sustainers

The people in your life mirror your world. If they are hollow, dull, or cruel so will you see your life. If they are loving, inspirational, and supportive you will reflect their beauty.
It is most important that the company you keep reflect the life you wish to live.
Choose your company wisely, seek your teachers well, consider carefully the ones you engage in serious conversation.
Look into the eyes of those who surround you and you will see a reflection of yourself.
Karen D. Kedar
~God Whispers
Melissa Johnson

Hard Preaching

Some have said we are not preaching hard enough on the issues that matter

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity... (Psalm 15:1-2) The biblical Hebrew word for "integrity" is tamim (תמים). It means "whole, sound, blameless, lacking nothing essential, consistent inside and out." It is the same word the Torah uses to describe a lamb suitable for a Passover sacrifice. "Your lamb shall be an unblemished (tamim, תמים) male a year old..." (Exodus 12:5). What does it mean to be unblemished? Removing the sin in our lives should be top priority. Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,........ Time is the biggest problem. We waste a lot of it doing things that are of no benefit to ourselves or others. The signs of the times are showing us that the end is near. Jesus is coming, look to the east!!!