Parshas Zachor - How to erase one's own Amalek - Rabbi Asher Perkash

00:02 In the weekly parsha—this week, of course, we read Parshas Zachor. Chassidim tell a story about the well-known chossid Rabbi Hillel of Paritch, who was among the early chassidim. It is about the chossid through whom Rabbi Hillel was drawn to the Alter Rebbe, and later to the Mitteler Rebbe. As the story goes, even before that, Rabbi Hillel was a refined Jew, a great tzaddik and a holy man. Once, while traveling, he stopped at an inn, as was customary in those days. Jews from various places, from several communities and towns in that part of Russia, were there. They stayed for Shabbos and continued on their way afterward. Rabbi Hillel was there that Shabbos. The Jews gathered to daven, and there was a minyan. That week they read Parshas Zachor. When it was time for the Torah reading, a Jew who was the baal korei went up and read the weekly parsha. Then they took out a second Torah scroll and read Parshas Zachor. Rabbi Hillel looked at the baal korei, whose identity he did not know. He saw a Jew standing there, reading with seriousness and vitality. But when the man came to Parshas Zachor, Rabbi Hillel saw him become like a blazing torch. His face burned and turned red, and he

02:02 read Parshas Zachor with all his heart, with tremendous fervor and vitality. Rabbi Hillel was deeply struck by it. He had never seen a Jew read like that—with such force, such fire and such passion. When the man finished reading, Rabbi Hillel approached him and asked who he was. His name was Reb Zalman Zezmer. Rabbi Hillel asked him: “What have you seen that makes you hate Amalek so much? Where does this tremendous hatred of Amalek come from? After all, Amalek is no longer here. The Rambam says, ‘Their memory has already been lost.’ [unclear] The whole matter of Amalek is no longer relevant. What is all the commotion about? Why such intense hatred? What is going on here? I can’t understand it.” Reb Zalman Zezmer sat down and explained to Rabbi Hillel what Amalek is. He helped him understand what Amalek is and what it means, explaining that Amalek is not just history. Amalek is not merely a nation that once existed. Amalek is something within every Jew, on a personal, inner level. And “Hashem will wage war against Amalek from generation to generation.” We must fight the Amalek within. He explained the whole matter until Rabbi Hillel understood: Yes, there is an Amalek. Amalek is

03:33 something real. Yes, there is something to fight. How do you erase Amalek? Reb Zalman Zezmer then told him: “For that, you need to go to the Rebbe.” He took him to the Alter Rebbe, though, as the story continues, Rabbi Hillel was ultimately unable to meet the Alter Rebbe. As is known, Rabbi Hillel tried several times to meet him and did not succeed. In the end, through the whole course of this story, [unclear] Amalek, he became a chossid of the Alter Rebbe, one of the greatest chassidim. What is this story about Amalek? What is Amalek, and what is the point here? What does Chassidus say about the whole subject of Amalek? [unclear] Chassidus. The battle against Amalek is discussed in Chassidus. It is one of the subjects explored at length and in great detail: understanding what the kelipah of Amalek is. It is not simple. It is a very deep kelipah, with profound significance within each of us. On the other hand, what is the remedy for Amalek? Chassidus does not only teach us what the illness is; it also teaches us how Amalek can be corrected. At any rate, we will touch on several points about Amalek as discussed in maamarim of Chassidus. And as is known, [unclear]

05:02 the entire struggle with the nations of the world. The Torah speaks about the nations of the world, particularly the seven nations. What are all these things the Torah speaks about? Since the Torah is eternal, everything it speaks about exists in the soul of every Jew. The same is true of the struggle to conquer Eretz Yisroel and the seven nations. The struggle against the seven nations corresponds to the seven negative character traits. As is known, every Jew—every person—has seven character traits, the seven emotional attributes of the soul, and the animal soul has seven negative traits. The seven nations are those seven negative traits. What are they? There are all kinds of negative traits connected with misplaced loves and fears—negative qualities of the soul: jealousy and hatred, anger and desires, murder and anger. Each person knows within himself which negative traits he has and needs to correct. That is the conquest of the seven nations. A Jew must work on himself and transform his seven negative traits into holy ones. This is done through serving Hashem, through davening and contemplation: a Jew contemplates, learns and davens. In this way, he transforms his love of this world into love of Hashem, and his fear of worldly matters—his worry that he might not have enough bread, his fear about what will happen with his

06:36 livelihood or [unclear]—he transforms into fear of Hashem, into genuine Jewish yiras Shamayim. And in the same way, one must work on and correct every trait. That is the challenge of working on one’s character. And then, we are told, there is Amalek. “Amalek is the first of nations”: among all the negative traits, Amalek is the “first of nations.” What is the nature of the kelipah of Amalek, the “first of nations”? As is known, there are several aspects to this. At any rate, these are the main points discussed in the Midrashim, in the teachings of our Sages, and especially in Chassidus. The nature of Amalek is “who cooled you on the way”—coldness. The Midrash explains “cooled you on the way”: when the Jewish people left Egypt, the whole world was gripped by fear and alarm. Everyone feared the Jewish people. “Dread and fear will fall upon them, through the greatness of Your arm,” as was said at the splitting of the sea. A tremendous fear fell upon them all. And among the Jews there was warmth. They were filled with tremendous love and closeness to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “Draw me after You; let us run,” as the verse says. After leaving Egypt, during the days of the counting of the Omer, the Jews had tremendous thirst and closeness to Hashem, and at every moment they longed to know: When will the giving of the Torah finally come? Then, while they were on the way from Egypt, came “who cooled you on the way.” Amalek wants to make things

08:25 cold. He wants to cool things down... So how does Amalek do that? We are told: the numerical value of Amalek is the same as that of safek, “doubt.” What is the kelipah of Amalek? Amalek does not come as open evil. He does not come and say, “Commit a sin.” What Amalek does is plant doubt. Amalek has the numerical value of safek. He raises doubts: Who says this is how it should be? Is this definitely the right path? Maybe not. Maybe it is not right. He casts doubt on one’s service of Hashem, and doubt gives rise to coldness. The Rebbe says about the nature of Amalek, [unclear]. What does that mean—who is Amalek? Amalek was Esau’s grandson. Who was Esau? Do we mean he went around with [unclear] and a shtreimel? In Amalek’s day there were farmers and laborers. People imagine him wearing a certain kind of clothing, [unclear]. No, we are not talking about a farmer, someone who works in a field, a laborer. We are talking about Esau, about Amalek. Perhaps Amalek wore a shtreimel and a zhupitse. Perhaps he wore chassidic clothing. He is the son of Yitzchak, the grandson of Avraham. [unclear] Esau. What is the point? What does this mean? [unclear] Amalek is sometimes found precisely among G-d-fearing people, religious people who observe Torah and mitzvos. They have all the details of Jewish life, of Torah and mitzvos; they observe the entire Torah and all the mitzvos, and they keep every hiddur. Yet the kelipah of Amalek is still there. There is coldness. We must not allow coldness to enter [unclear].

10:40 The strength and vitality in serving Hashem. And then comes the doubt: Who says this service is really service? That is how he wears it down. This is the kelipah of Amalek: he comes even to a person’s service of Hashem and says, “Who says this service is really service?” Amalek is present even in “Who am I, and what am I?” and even in the question, “Who says this service is worth anything?” He introduces doubt; he brings coldness. That is what Amalek is about. He exists within every Jew, at every level. As the verse says, “Hashem is at war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Chassidus explains: What does “from generation to generation” mean? The word dor can also mean a row—row after row. The Gemara uses dor dor to mean row after row. “From generation to generation” thus means from one row to the next. At every level, of every kind, there is its own Amalek. There is coldness; there is doubt. And there is an even deeper point, as the Rebbe explains: Amalek is related to the word “umalak.” In Parshas Vayikra it says, “He shall sever its head at the back of its neck.” The Torah says that when a sacrifice is brought from turtledoves or young pigeons, “He shall sever its head at the back of its neck.” Umalak involves slaughter: cutting it, severing it. “At the back of its neck”—that is where the cut must be made. This is the idea of umalak, from which the word Amalek is derived. What does this mean in spiritual service? The Alter Rebbe offers a remarkable explanation: umalak means severing the head from the body. The head studies; it knows. It knows what is written in the holy books, what our Sages say, what is written in the Torah and in the books of Chassidus. In terms of knowledge,

12:48 thank G-d, he is rich in knowledge. He knows and understands; he is familiar with all the sayings, the aphorisms, the Torah teachings and the concepts. He knows everything. But he has created a barrier: umalak—a separation. That is Amalek. Amalek comes and severs his head, tears it away. Let him study and understand—but let it all remain in his head. Let it not descend to his heart, to the emotions of his heart, or affect his thought, speech and action. And when it does reach the heart, he is cold. So he knows a little. He doesn’t mean it; it has no effect. What do you expect? It’s a miracle. A miracle. Yes, they cool things down. He isn’t there. What do you expect? It has no effect. Where is the warmth? Where is the enthusiasm? What happened here? He does... Oy, this is what the kelipah of Amalek is about: “He shall sever its head.” “At the back of its neck,” says the Alter Rebbe. The back of the neck is the rear. As long as the service is at the back of the neck, on the level of the “back.” There is a face and there is the back of the neck. The face represents inwardness. As long as a Jew is engaged inwardly, as long as he has vitality, strength and life, as long as his service of Hashem is face to face, from deep within, Amalek cannot enter. The verse says that Amalek reached those “who lagged behind you.” As long as a Jew’s service of Hashem is on the level of the back, the back of the neck, and he stands on the outside, at the rear—his service of Hashem is somewhat... yes, he has not yet put his inner self into it.

14:29 That is where Amalek can be. Amalek comes, cuts things off and does not want them to translate into actual service. As long as a Jew is in [unclear], as long as a Jew is face to face, there is no Amalek. But in practice, each of us knows himself: we know that we have not yet reached the level of face to face. So Amalek comes, and he comes to each person according to his level. There is a story that the Frierdiker Rebbe once spoke, while he was still in Russia. He was in Petersburg, in Leningrad. The Frierdiker Rebbe once delivered a maamar in which he discussed six levels of Amalek. Throughout the maamar, he explained six levels within the kelipah of Amalek. He spoke of increasingly subtle levels: the Amalek within each person, as it appears in a Jew, in a Jew’s service of Hashem, in someone who studies Torah. He kept explaining, going deeper and deeper. Chassidim relate that after Shabbos, as Purim began, one of the great chassidim of that time arrived to spend Purim with the Frierdiker Rebbe. They say that when this chossid entered yechidus, the Frierdiker Rebbe told him, “Well, if you had been here on Shabbos, I would have spoken about a seventh level—a seventh level of Amalek.” That is what the Frierdiker Rebbe said. Perhaps that chossid knew how to take those words at that moment, and the Frierdiker Rebbe knew to whom he was...

15:57 saying them. The chossid knew how to take it then. But the point is that each person has Amalek according to his level. So we need to know what Amalek is, what “the first of the nations” means, what the source of the kelipah is—the arrogance and sense of self whose nature Chassidus discusses at length. How do we overcome Amalek? Especially since the following expression is said about Amalek, as discussed extensively in the sefarim, [unclear]: “He knows his Master and deliberately rebels against Him.” This brings us to our own Amalek. “He knows his Master and deliberately rebels against Him.” In other words, the usual remedy for all bad character traits is for a person to know and understand what is at issue: contemplation, studying Chassidus, strengthening one’s awareness of the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This arouses love and fear of Hashem, and it corrects the character traits. That is how all bad traits are corrected. But Amalek “knows his Master”—he knows, and nevertheless “deliberately rebels against Him.” What does this mean for us, for each of us? As we said earlier, he studies a chapter, and he knows and understands. But Amalek has made a decision. Amalek operates out of a decision; [unclear] what led to that decision, what produced a decision that seems to say, “I study again and again, and it doesn’t touch me or affect me. I won’t let it bother me.”

17:29 He probably tells himself, “I won’t be moved.” Perhaps he sees a revelation of G-dliness, [unclear], he sees kindness from Hakadosh Boruch Hu—he sees it, and nevertheless decides, “That’s all very well, but I’m not going to be moved by it. I’m staying as I am.” [unclear] that coldness: “I didn’t let it touch me.” How can this be corrected—this state of “knowing his Master and deliberately rebelling against Him”? In Meor Einayim, he writes that this is the whole nature of the kelipah of Amalek. That is why Moshe Rabbeinu had to go out to battle Amalek. For Moshe Rabbeinu is [unclear]; Moshe Rabbeinu is the faithful shepherd. That is his entire being. So we find that the Torah says, “Choose men for us”—men of Moshe. “Choose for us”—the wording here is not clear. Moshe Rabbeinu calls Yehoshua bin Nun, and what does he tell Yehoshua bin Nun? “Choose for us”? He should say, “Choose for yourself”! Rather, “for us” refers to the men of Moshe. A person must be connected to Moshe Rabbeinu, because Moshe Rabbeinu embodies this quality. Therefore, “When Moshe raised his hand, Yisroel prevailed.” The Gemara says, “Do Moshe’s hands wage war?” The Gemara asks: Moshe Rabbeinu stood during the battle with Amalek and held his hands up—“Moshe raised his hand”—and then “Yisroel prevailed.” The Gemara asks in—

19:09 Rosh Hashanah, and Rashi quotes it: “Do Moshe’s hands wage war?” Do they win the battle? Can Moshe Rabbeinu’s hands accomplish something? What is it about Moshe Rabbeinu’s hands that they wage the war? “Rather, when Yisroel looked upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven”—the Jews subjected their hearts. The Meor Einayim, Reb Nachum of Chernobyl, asks: How does that answer the question? Why does it say “Moshe’s hand”? That was the question: “When Moshe raised his hand”—“Do Moshe’s hands wage war?” And what is the answer? “When Yisroel looked upward.” But the verse speaks of “Moshe’s hand.” He explains that it refers to the Moshe within every Jew. “Moshe’s hand”—Moshe Rabbeinu, who is [unclear]—this exists within every Jew: a connection to Moshe Rabbeinu, to the faithful shepherd, to the Moshe within every Jew. And the Alter Rebbe speaks in one of the [unclear], in Parshas Zachor, and explains the whole matter: when there are men of Moshe—and Moshe Rabbeinu’s entire being was faith and knowledge and [unclear] higher knowledge, a connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And this aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu is truly present [unclear] within every Jew. Therefore, “Choose men for us”—men of Moshe. [unclear] This is what Moshe Rabbeinu is about; it is a matter of bittul. And when [unclear] Moshe Rabbeinu, then Amalek can be defeated. What is the actual avodah in practice? What is the power that wins, what is the avodah itself? Moshe Rabbeinu gives every person, through “Remember,” “Remember,” [unclear].

20:55 [unclear]. For this is the secret of Parshas Zachor. When it says, “Remember what Amalek did to you,” the word “remember” is the advice for getting rid of Amalek. Remembering is what Parshas Zachor is about. What does “remember” mean? There are several explanations. The Rebbe once shared a wonderful insight about Parshas Zachor on Shabbos Parshas Zachor. [unclear]. Let’s speak here about what the Rebbe said. It is something every ordinary person knows. This is the secret of Parshas Zachor, the inner meaning of its words. When we have this “remember,” that itself gives us the strength and the way to overcome Amalek. What does “remember” mean? The Rebbe says this: It is written in the sefarim, “Recognize your Creator.” What is the first thing a person needs? The first thing is the very fact of his existence: I am here. And when a person recognizes his own existence, the first thought that should occur to him is: I am here—but why am I here? I am here because who created me? I certainly did not come into being on my own. So who created me? Who made me? The Rambam says, “From the truth of His existence, all beings came into existence.” Everything in the world exists because of the truth of His existence. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created me. Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Creator of the world, the Creator of heaven and earth, created me. So “remember” means, first of all, remembering myself: I am here.

23:15 That is “Modeh ani lefanecha.” Here I am, and I was created—“From the truth of His existence, all beings came into existence.” And why was I created? Hakadosh Boruch Hu created me. He created me for His glory. Even an ordinary person understands that. When we think about it, why did the Torah establish this matter of “remembering”? What is the purpose? The purpose is as the Gemara says: “I was created to serve my Maker.” I was created to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And this “remembering” is the greatest and strongest remedy and means of getting rid of the kelipah of Amalek. When a Jew gets up and begins his day, he begins with this “remember.” That must be his “remember.” We need to remember, to call it to mind, to awaken the power of memory. And when we awaken that power and reflect, what should we think about? This is the “remember”: to call to mind and remember, and not forget, that I am a Jew and I belong to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and that “from the truth of His existence, all beings came into existence.” Consequently, “I was created to serve my Maker.” When there is “remembering,” it gives a Jew the greatest strength and resolve to overcome the kelipah of Amalek. By reflecting on this very matter, a Jew knows he has the strength to overcome Amalek. Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu allow the kelipah of Amalek to exist? When a Jew considers that such a kelipah exists, that there is such a thing as Amalek—Hakadosh Boruch Hu created that too. “From the truth of His existence,

25:05 all beings came into existence”—so this too was created by Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Well, why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu allow Amalek, coldness, and doubt to exist? So that a deeper connection would be awakened within me, so that I would overcome all of it, so that there would be “remembering.” And when there is “remembering,” and through it we recall this truth and live it with vitality, there is no more Amalek. Then “I will utterly erase” and “You shall erase” are fulfilled—the erasure of Amalek in its fullest sense. That is the lesson we learn from Parshas Zachor. And in the days leading up to Purim—the whole story of Purim, which is why we read Parshas Zachor before Purim, is connected with Haman, who was descended from Amalek. What we learn from the parsha and from Purim is what the Torah tells us: there is Haman the Agagite, and there is the thinking of Haman the Agagite—the thinking of Amalek—which still remains and is present within every person. “One who reads the Megillah backward has not fulfilled his obligation.” The Baal Shem Tov says that this refers to someone who reads the Megillah as an old event, as something that happened in the past, a fine piece of history, a nice story. It is told that when the Mitteler Rebbe was a child, he heard the Megillah—

26:34 One year, when the Alter Rebbe was not in Liozna on Purim, the Mitteler Rebbe read the Megillah as the reader, and [unclear] heard it. He said to the Mitteler Rebbe, “A nice story, a fine piece of history.” The Mitteler Rebbe asked him, “What, is this the first time you’ve heard the Megillah? You’ve been hearing it for years.” He replied, “When your father reads the Megillah, you don’t hear a story. You hear something else. You don’t hear a story; you hear something alive.” [unclear] Mordechai and Esther [unclear] souls. Every Jew has a part in the Megillah. It truly is a living event that belongs to everyone. Haman is the Amalek within the soul; Haman is present within every Jew. There is this Haman-Amalek, this Haman. So this is what we take now from today’s reading, from today’s parsha, Parshas Zachor: that we connect ourselves to Moshe Rabbeinu, that we be “Moshe’s men.” When a Jew goes with the strength of Moshe Rabbeinu—“Choose men for us,” Moshe’s men—Moshe Rabbeinu gives us daas, gives us bittul, and enables us to remember and live this “remembering”: that I am a Jew; that we remember that [unclear] all beings came into existence; and that we remember, “I was created only to serve my Maker.” Living this truth through remembrance gives

28:04 us the strength to fulfill “I will utterly erase” and “You shall erase the memory of Amalek,” to do away with Amalek completely. And the Gemara says: “The Jewish people were commanded in three mitzvos: to appoint a king over themselves, to destroy the descendants of Amalek, and to build the Beis Hamikdash.” As explained in Chassidus, “to appoint a king over themselves” is the avodah of accepting the yoke of Heaven. This is the first avodah, “the beginning of avodah, and its core and root,” as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya. The first thing must be “to appoint a king over themselves”—kabbolas ol of the Kingdom of Heaven, fear of Heaven. After that comes “to destroy the descendants of Amalek,” to transform [unclear] “Amalek is the first of the nations,” to erase all the Amalek within you. And then, “to build the Beis Hamikdash”—we build the Beis Hamikdash. May we indeed merit to build the third Beis Hamikdash speedily in our days. May we have true joy in the building of the third Beis Hamikdash, and then there will be the true joy of “For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honor”—so may it be for us.