Shabbat Shalom Beloved.
Our Torah and Haftorah Reading in Light of Where we are on the Calendar
This is a special Shabbat, for it is the Shabbat that immediately precedes the Jewish holiday of Purim. According to our observational calendar, Purim will occur at sundown on M-nday, 3/6/2023, and end at sunset on T-esday, 3/7/2023.
Jewish tradition holds that on this day annually, Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:17-19 is to be read in addition to the scheduled weekly Torah Reading. Furthermore, 1 Samuel 15:2-34 is to be read as an additional Haftorah Reading.
The Commandment to Remember the Evil of Amalek
We find recorded in Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:17-19 mention the unprovoked and vicious attack on the weakest of our ranks by the Amalekites as we journeyed out of Egypt. That incident is recorded in Exodus/Shemot 17: 8-16. And in mentioning this brutal, unprovoked attack by the Amalekites, Yehovah, through Moses/Moshe, commands us to remember what the Amalekites did to us on that terrible day. And in Moses’ instruction to us to remember the evil of Amalek, we were further instructed to “…eradicate it from the face of the earth” (Zachor; Chabad.org).
The Lesson of King Saul and Samuel
We find it recorded in 1 Samuel 15:2-34 the story of our first king, Saul/Shaul, whom Yehovah commanded through the Prophet/Judge Samuel to go to battle against the Amalekites. In that commandment to war against the Amalekites, Saul would annihilate every living thing and destroy all their possessions without exception. Saul complied with Abba’s command and took his warriors to battle against the Amalekites. Although Saul was successful in his campaign against Amalek, he captured the Amalekite king Agag alive, took possession of some of their choicest livestock which he later claims he intended to use for sacrifices unto Yehovah, and allowed his men to lay hold of some of the Amalekite’s valuable possessions.
This blatant disregard by Saul to carry out Yehovah’s instructions to the letter infuriated Yehovah. Thus, Yah dispatched the Prophet/Judge Samuel to confront Saul and make him answer for his transgression.
In responding to Samuel’s allegations that he failed to follow Yehovah’s commandments to destroy every Amalekite living soul and possession, Saul admitted to giving in to the desires of his warriors and his own heart and reasoning on the matter. But the king justified his failure to obey Yehovah by stating his intention to sacrifice the livestock unto Yehovah.
But Samuel cuts Saul’s lame excuses off by putting the concept of unwavering obedience to the instructions of Yehovah into proper perspective for him:
“Does Yehovah take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of Yehovah? Behold, obedience is better than a good sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams” (15:22; LXX). And it is then that the prophet delivers unto the king the harsh blow that because of his blatant disregard for Yehovah’s explicit commands, He was going to strip Saul of his throne (15: 23, 26, 28).
The Amalekites Possessed no Fear of God
In our Reading of Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:17-19, Moses reminds his listeners who were preparing to conquer the Land of Promise of the Amalekite incident. Moses stresses to his righteous listeners that they must remember or “Zachor” what Amalek did to their parents during our exodus from Egypt. And he adds depth to the Amalek story by reminding his listeners that Amalek was a merciless adversary who took advantage of those bringing up our rear. He described those souls bringing up our rear as being tired and hungry. Yet Amalek attacked them because “he did not fear Elohim” (25:18).
The Amalekites no doubt had heard what Yehovah did to our former Egyptian taskmasters. Yet, he showed no respect, no fear of Elohim. And thus, Amalek’s attack was as much an attack against Yehovah as it was against us as seemingly vulnerable people.
And then Moses prophesies that after we peacefully settle in the Land of Promise, we would “blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven” (25:19), which takes us to the Haftorah portion we previously discussed.
Why the Command to Zachor/Remember the Evil of Amalek?
So, why is it important to remember the Amalek incident, and why are these readings tied to this Sabbath?
The Amalekites of the Exodus and King Saul incidents were Esau’s descendants, essentially Edomites. The age-old feud between Jacob/Ya’achov and Esau aside, the Amalekites effectively embodied the spirit of Esau. The essence of Esau would, in one form or another, plague our people generation after generation. Every generation faces a new set of Amalekites that seek to destroy us as Yehovah’s set-apart people.
In a couple of days, many of us will, in some form or another, celebrate or commemorate Purim. To be clear, Purim is a Jewish holiday commemorating Yehovah’s foiling of the high Babylonian official Haman’s plot to annihilate us. It is not a mandated Feast of the LORD.
Haman was of the Esau, Amalek line and was just another Luciferian proxy charged by the enemy to exterminate us. Like the Greeks and the Romans that would come later, he was a willing proxy of the enemy to destroy Yehovah’s set-apart people. But each time the enemy sends forth another Amalek to exterminate us, Yehovah raises those He equips to withstand them, such as He did with Mordecai and Queen Esther.
The arch-enemy Haman’s beef was not with the Jews as a captive ethnic group, as many have postulated. But instead, Haman despised just one man: righteous Mordecai, Queen Esther’s uncle.
Because Mordecai was a righteous Jew who chose to remain loyal to Torah and his Hebrew culture, he refused to prostrate himself before Haman, who he knew was of the line of Amalek. Mordecai’s refusal to prostrate himself insulted and infuriated Haman so much so that he decided to make every Jew of the Babylonian Captivity pay for Mordecai’s perceived stubbornness with their lives.
Thus, Haman’s aught was not with the ethnic Jewish captives, not so much with Mordecai, but more so with Yehovah, who instills within His faithful ones like Mordecai His holy and righteous ways and mindset. These stand firm against those enemy proxies who endeavor to war against Yehovah and His set-apart, chosen ones.
Nothing has changed, however, throughout the centuries. The generational Amalekites are always concocting ploys to defy Yehovah and harm His people. And this is why, in significant part, Yehovah commanded us in our reading today to remember— “Zachor” Amalek and His evil deeds. Zachor means to place a key event as a memorial and or mention that key event through teaching or discussion (Jeff Benner’s Ancient Hebrew Lexicon; page 324).
For us, it is to recall and rehearse in spirit and truth all the Amaleks of history. We are to rehearse, recognize, understand, and watch for the modern-day Amaleks lurking in the world. These seek to rob us of our opportunities to walk in Torah and worship the God of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov.
Shammai Engelmayer, in his article entitled “Why we must Remember Amalek,” goes even further by suggesting that the most formidable Amalek that any of us will have to face is the Amalek from within.
The Take Away of Shabbat Zachor
We all possess Amaleks within us. For whenever we resist obeying Yehovah’s instructions in righteousness; whenever we quench Abba’s set-apart Spirit operating in our lives; whenever we give in to our base nature and turn our backs on holiness and righteousness; whenever we neglect or refuse to teshuvah; whenever we fail to study and embrace Yah’s Words of Life, we entertain and permit the spirit of Esau-Amalek to take precedence in our lives. We must annihilate that inner Amalekite with extreme prejudice and wipe it from all remembrance. All of which is to say, beloved: Let us examine ourselves daily and flesh out the Amalekites that dwell within and seek Yehovah’s assistance in ridding ourselves of it. Praise Yah!
Thus, we must take Shabbat Zachor to heart in 2023, for it is through this critical annual rehearsal-remembrance we become better prepared to deal with the Amalekites that encroach upon our lives.
Have a meaningful and blessed Shabbat Zachor beloved.
Faithfull,
Rod