Parshat Beshalach - Amalek and Theology

This shiur is also based on the writings of Rav Tzadok HaCohen.

May this shiur be a Refuah Shleima for Shiri bat Gila.

Rav Tzadok says that remembering what Amalek did to us is really about remembering the sin that we committed which led to Amalek coming. But the Torah does not specify what the sin was.

By way of contrast, the Torah tells us

Remember, do not forget, how you angered G-d, your G-d, in the desert. From the day that you left Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebellious against G-d.

. This is explicit and according to Rav Tzadok is a warning never to trust ourselves against the yetzer hara. No matter how close we are to G-d or how great His revelation to us, we must always continue to wage war against the evil inclination.

According to Rav Tzadok the sin which brought Amalek was a mistake in theology. The Zohar says that the people weren't questioning whether G-d was with them (they were surrounded by the Clouds of Glory) but whether it was YHVH or Ayin - which aspect of G-d was leading them. They asked questions that were beyond them, and this gave Amalek the chance to attack.

The reason the Torah does not explicitly state their sin is because it is not a sin of action, but of trying to understand things that they were not allowed to ask. The sin is one that cannot be stated explicitly.


I look forward to your comments.

Here is the audio shiur (and the pdf sheets to download if you want).

Parshat Beshalach - Amalek and Theology

(Right click and then 'download as')

Parshat Beshalach - Amalek and Theology

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28th Iyar

Not only is today Yom Yerusahalayim and also the yarzheit of Shmuel HaNavi (as per my last blog), but my brother also told me several interesting things about the date.
He claims that if you do the maths (and I'm not quite sure how to do it, but it certainly seems approximately correct) this is the anniversary of the first battle with Amalek in the desert (at Refidim). If you look at the end of parshat Beshalach you find the Israelites complaining about whether G-d is in their midst or not. Then the tribe of Amalek comes and attacks. Moshe tells Yehoshua to prepare an army, and the next day they wage proper war against Amalek (while Moshe stands on the top of the mountain, Aharon and Chur hold his hands up and as long as Moshe's hands are in the air, and the Israelites remember G-d they are victorious). So today is the anniversary of that first victory. The 'tomorrow' of the verse represents an ongoing war with Amalek for eternity (as the next verse says), and we have still not defeated Amalek (nor will we do so until the coming of the Mashiach). It is easy to point at current political trends or personalities and claim that they are the spiritual heirs of Amalek, but I'm never totally convinced. However, we can say that Yom Yerushalayim is certainly the date of a tremendous victory for Israel, which was clearly miraculous (as are all the wars, and even the existence of Israel, but I think the Six Day War was the most open and obvious miracle). May we see many more victories and always remember that G-d is amongst us at all times.
the other cute things about this date is the 'midah' of today (in sefirat haomer). The midah is chesed she'b'malchus. This is the giving aspect of kingship. Take this with a large dose of salt, because I don't actually think it is what the midah means, but it is a neat party trick.
The person who most clearly represented chesed was Avraham. His most positive interaction with kingship was with Malchitzedek. Malchitzedek (aka Shem the son of Noach) was king of Shalem. Shalem was given another name by Avraham - Yireh (G-d will see). The Midrash puts these two words together to make the final name of the city - Yireh + Shalem = Yerushalayim!
So this is the city of chesed and malchus.
Or not.
HAPPY YOM YERUSHALAYIM!

Remember Amalek

This is the latest in my series of shiurim on the Six Remembrances. It is about remembering what Amalek did to us when we left Egypt (and therefore is also connected to Parshat Hashavua). I talk about Amalek, Purim, masks, time, Moshe, atomic half-life, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and patterns in randomness.
Click here to listen to the shiur online
Click here if you want to download the shiur.

Please give me your feedback. You can either post a message or e-mail me at rabbisedley@gmail.com

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Don't forget to check out my parsha blog: www.parshatshavua.blogspot.com. There are several divrei Torah on parshat Beshalach. You can also sign up for my weekly e-mail from there (though for some reason the past two weeks the e-mail hasn't worked - hopefully problem to be corrected by this week).

Shabbat Shalom and enjoy

Rabbi Sedley