Zachor/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! Deuteronomy / D’varim 25:17-19
Zachor/Remember was designated for the Shabbat before Purim based on the rabbinic teaching that Haman, the villain of Megillat Esther, who sought to eliminate the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire, was a descendant of the Amalekites. While the midrash provides a genealogy to demonstrate this connection, I believe that the ultimate and enduring message of our sages is that in any generation there can be a spiritual heir and descendant of Amalek who will arise to attack the innocent.
This is the second Purim since the Hamas attack and atrocities of October 7 and this modern-day Amalek continues to hold Israeli hostages, living and dead. We continue to pray for the safe return of the living to the loving embrace of their families and the return of the bodies of those murdered by the terrorists so that their loved ones can have a measure of closure; that their remains can be laid to rest with dignity, a dignity denied them by their killers.
The Torah, and Cha”zal, our ancient sages who highlighted these verses, intended this not just as a warning about the persistence of evil actors and the destruction such malevolent figures can cause. Sacred texts set forth divine expectations for our daily lives while also mandating our responses to urgent situations when they occur. The Torah is clear that we have an ongoing obligation to fight against Amalek, however it manifests itself in any era.
While the story of Purim serves as a warning against the whims of enemies and the destruction they cause in the world, it also expresses a confident hopefulness, a certainty that relief and deliverance will come. This is part of Mordechai’s message encouraging Esther to act on behalf of the Jewish people which also notes that if she fails to act, she will be doomed, and that deliverance will happen by the actions of someone else. Megillat Esther asserts that there are levels of heroism available to each and every person.
I hope you will join our celebration of Purim beginning on Thursday evening at 5:30 with a dinner of triangular foods, followed by a shpiel and mini-Megillah reading at 6:00PM and last for about an hour or so. For those wishing to hear the megillah read in its entirety, that will begin at 7:30PM. Our festivities continue with a Faux Traif Purim Seudah and Shabbat dinner on Friday evening beginning at 5:30PM. Registration is required for this dinner.
Shabbat Shalom & Simchat Purim –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
Gal Gadot speaking at ADL’s Never Is Now Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP5qPYUEl2U
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