A Daily Bread Date: 5 Tamuz 5781 (June 15, 2021) Torah Portion: Chukat Topic: Amalek, Part 1

בייה

It is written (Num. 21:1), “And the sovereign of Arad, the Kena’anite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Yisra’ĕl was coming on the way to Atharim, and he fought against Yisra’ĕl and took some of them captive.” The king of Amalek disguised his people as the Kena’anites who lived in the southern part of the Land of Yisrael. He heard that the Clouds of Glory had disappeared and attacked them at Refidim (Exo. 17:8) and wanted to attack Yisrael again when they came close to Amalekite territory and tried to enter the Land of Yisrael through Edom by the route the spies had taken (Num. 13:22). Even prior to this when they saw the Ark of Covenant, which preceded the Yisraelites by a three-day journey’s distance (Num. 10:33), but they were deterred by the presence of the Clouds of Glory.

Now, however, they interpreted the removal of Hashem’s “honor guard” to mean that He now permitted other nations to attack. Nonetheless, they knew the Yisraelites still possessed their power of prayer, so, in order to render their prayers ineffectual, the Amalekites disguised themselves as Kena’anites, hoping the Yisraelites would pray to Hashem to deliver them from the wrong enemies. Thus the king of Amalek “waged war against Yisrael and took a captive from them.” Although this was only a woman the Yisraelites had captured from Amalek in their earlier encounter with them (Exo. 17:8-16) and who thus had the status of a slave and was therefore outside the protective clouds. The Yisrael saw that these enemies who were disguised as Kena’anites had Amalekite features, so they made a generic vow to Hashem by saying, “If You deliver this people into may hand indeed, then I shall put their cities under the ban” (v. 2). And Hashem heard their voice and delivered the “Kena’anites” into their hands, “and they put them and their cities under the ban. So the name of that place was called Ḥormah (meaning Dedication/Destruction)” (v. 3).

To recap, Amalek attacked the Yisraelites when they first left Mitzrayim and were on their way to receive the Torah, and here again as they were preparing to enter the Land of Yisrael. In the first skirmish, they did not disguise themselves, but here they did.

Allegorically, Amalek is the element of doubt that cools the enthusiasm we are supposed to feel toward Hashem and our Divine mission. In this sense, our inner Amalek does not oppose receiving the Torah, only our excitement about it. After all, he argues, learning the Torah is an intellectual endeavor. He continues that reasoning requires a calm, seasoned attitude, not fiery enthusiasm. He argues against our passionate commitment to Hashem’s laws even before we have learned what they are. He says, “If the Torah is true, we will eventually commit to it even if we predicate action on study. Why be so impetuous and irrational?”

The Amalekite attitude will eventually lead us off the Torah’s path unless we approach the Torah with the warmth and enthusiasm that flow naturally from relating to it as His will and wisdom. We will lose interest in it and squander our energies on diversions and lifestyles that offer more immediate gratification whether it is material or spiritual.

Shalom.