SPECIAL EXTRA “THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH”
January 26th: Beshallach
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
In addition to the dramatic Splitting of the Red Sea, Beshallach includes a small and curious story about a battle between Israel and Amalek. It has current relevance because of recent remarks in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compares Hamas to Amalek. Critics of Israel are all abuzz about this Biblical reference. What could Bibi mean?
Amalek is mentioned in the Bible ten times, but three and a half are significant and merit our attention. In this week’s portion, after the Red Sea and after the introduction of the Manna, we read: “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.” (Exodus 17.8-16) While Joshua leads the Israelite fighters, Moses stations himself on a hilltop above the battle and raises his holy staff. When his hands and staff are up, Israel prevails. But, when he gets tired and lowers his arms, the Amalekites recover and gain the advantage. Fortunately, Moses is assisted by Aaron and Hur who get him a stone for a seat and then literally hold up his arms. Thus does Israel win the battle: “Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek with the sword.” This miracle is interesting, but more so is God’s message afterwards: “Inscribe this in a document as a reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven....the Lord will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”
What does Amalek do that is so heinous? According to Deuteronomy 25.17-19 (the special
portion read the Shabbat before Purim), Amalek’s sin is that he attacks the rear of the
Israelites—murdering the old and infirm and people with young children: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt—how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when the Lord your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” There are lots of enemies in our ancient history—and we end up living in peace with many, but only the Amalekites are singled out as deserving of permanent hostility.
The next significant mention is in I Samuel 15 where King Saul is ordered to destroy Amalek: “Thus said the Lord of Hosts: I am exacting the penalty for what Amalek did to Israel, for the assault he made upon them on the road, on their way up from Egypt. Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.” Saul successfully attacks Amalek and kills everyone—except some livestock. Under pressure from his troops who want to sacrifice some animals to God in thanksgiving—and have a big celebratory meal, he relents and saves some of the livestock. It may not seem much of a sin—or a sin at all, but the Prophet Samuel declares that this is a rejection of God’s authority and strips Saul of the crown.
To us, the commandment to liquidate the entirety of Amalek seems brutal—as brutal as other commandments to destroy the peoples who inhabit Canaan before the Israelites return to the Promised Land. Israel is commanded to destroy all the nations, and the Bible records their devastating campaigns of conquest, but the fact is that these nations are not destroyed. Though the Bible brags about Israel’s success, it also speaks of these people’s presence in Israel long after their supposed annihilation. We know this because the Prophets spend a lot of time criticizing these Canaanite peoples’ cultures and religions which continue to be a snare for the Israelites. Also, if there had been such a complete destruction of Canaanite population and culture, a lot of archeological evidence would have been left. However, there is nothing—nothing to suggest such a violent and extensive subjugation. We are thus left with the probability that the destructive conquest described in Joshua never happens. The commandments and the victory reports must be hyperbole. Much as modern sports fans speak of destroying their opponents, such statements are true only in the sense of enthusiasm and bragging. They do not reflect actual divine commands or the complete conquest of Canaan. What we probably had was a filtering in of the Israelites and an eventual multi-cultural population. This is clearly what the Bible reports—despite the outlandish battle rhetoric.
Now, the “half mention:” In the Book of Esther (3.1), Haman is identified as an Agagite. Since the King of the Amalekites killed by Samuel is named Agag, there is some ancient thought that Haman is thus a descendant of Amalek. Though not in the Bible itself, this legend is recorded in some of the Targumim (ancient Aramaic translations) and Midrash. If true, then it would seem that the Amalekites were not all slaughtered—that this family survives and over and over again tries to destroy us: “The Lord will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.”
So, when Prime Minister Netanyahu refers to Hamas as a modern-day Amalek, is he calling for genocide against the Palestinian people? Hardly. First, he is always careful to delineate between the Palestinian people and Hamas. His calls for destruction are for the Hamas terrorists who oppress Palestinian civilians as well as Jews. Second, his call for destruction is different from genocide: Hamas fighters are asked to surrender, and thousands have. The ones killed are the ones who keep fighting and die in battle. Israel is defending itself military from deadly and persistent enemies. Third and most importantly, the Prime Minister is clearly speaking of the Deuteronomy 25 reference, the one that speaks of Amalek being totally evil and attacking the stragglers—the infirm and children! This is the most well-known reference to Amalek, and this is exactly what Hamas did on October 7th. The terrorists attacked and brutalized civilians at a music festival and kibbutzim filled with children and old people—many of whom are peaceniks and old hippies who specifically chose to live within the Green Line and not in territory seized in the Six Day War. Hamas massacred defenseless citizens, thus placing themselves in the Amalek category. They have “no fear of God.”
As for the genocide accusation, let us consider Israel’s record with the Palestinians over the last seventy years. Since 1950, life expectancy for Arabs in Palestine has gone up from 46 years to 74 years, an increase of 62%. And, in this same period, the Arab population of Palestine has gone up from 944,800 to 5,371,000, an increase of 570%. Israeli health care, public health, and better food and water supplies have resulted in these profound improvements. In other words, despite the tensions and frequent hostility, Israeli “treatment” of Palestinians has been the total opposite of genocide—a fact which makes such charges evaporate into absurdity or prejudice or fantasy. In the real world, where facts are acknowledged and the Bible is known, referring to Hamas as a modern-day Amalek is an indictment of Hamas’ moral fiber. The terrorists speak of submitting to God, but they ignore God and serve evil. They are a Chillul Hashem, a desecration of all that is holy and noble in Judaism and Islam.