The brief story of Amalek is perhaps the oddest story in the Five Books of Moses.

Ostensibly, Amalek, whether a terrorist nation or a terrorist who led a nation, truly warrants total destruction. Indeed, the attack by Amalek on the Children of Israel, unsuccessful as it was, was a totally gratuitous effort. Lacking any reason for it, it sought to undermine Israel’s liberation from slavery that had lasted multiple centuries. That said, the destruction of an enemy such as Amalek seems totally appropriate.

Still, it seems, God went so much farther. He told Moses that he would surely “erase the very memory of Amalek from under the heavens.” And Moses added that “the hand is on the throne of God: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Okay, but in “erasing the memory” of Amalek, we are surprisingly told by many authorities that this brief story of Amalek (Exodus 17:8-15) is the single most important event in the Torah, worthy of repetition when Parshat Zcor – the “portion of remembrance” but not the “portion of erasure” — comes yearly. Interestingly, we are never told that the memory of Egypt – a nation that enslaved us for so long and chose to kill all our first-born males — or any of the other enemies we encountered in the desert or upon arriving at the Promised Land should be erased. Nor are we told that our receipt of the Torah at Sinai was the most important event for us. No, Amalek was chosen for this special prominence.

Yet, despite God’s “pledge” – wasn’t it a pledge? – the memory Amalek has obviously not been erased from beneath the heavens. Indeed, in the time of Samuel, so many years later, the nation of Amalek still remained in existence. And, notably, the Prophet Samuel directed King Saul to defeat the remaining Nation of Amalek. Yet in doing so, Saul deliberately declined to kill its King Agag, causing Samuel to himself do so. Still, somehow, even with the king’s killing, Amalek wasn’t eradicated. And so, centuries later, Haman – a claimed offspring of Amalek – attempted to kill off the Hebrews of Persia. Where was God’s promise to erase Amalek from beneath the heavens if Haman existed so much later?

Indeed, we are told that Amalekites continually come along as our gratuitous enemies in every generation – e.g., Stalin, Hitler, Khomeini. Yes, eradicating our gratuitous enemies is a worthy goal. And shouldn’t we want to help carry out God’s intention to preserve His Nation, the Children of Israel. Moses, though, curiously says at the end of the Amalek story, that “God maintains a war against Amalek, from generation to generation.” (Exodus 17: 16). Indeed, a war that, seemingly, has no end!

And whose war is it – God’s or ours? Indeed, wouldn’t God have been doing a better job at it if He, Himself, as presented in the Torah, intended to erase the memory of Amalek? Or does God, rather, intend to simply “maintain a war [with the Children of Israel as His foot soldiers] against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Indeed, the end game, as it were, regarding Amalek is nothing less than peculiar. But, beyond that, what is our role?

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)