What to Remember

 

The holiday of Purim, celebrated this week, commemorates the downfall of the wicked Haman, who sought to “kill off, destroy and massacre” all the Jews in the king’s domain. Haman’s plan was ultimately thwarted, but we remember not only the happy ending but the great danger that preceded it.

 

In keeping with this, the last Shabbat before Purim (that is, last week’s Shabbat) is called “Shabbat Zakhor” because the Torah reading on that day ends with the commandment of Deut 25:17-19:

 

Remember (Zakhor) what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt—how he fell on you along the way, attacking the weakest among you, those who were straggling at the rear, when you were tired and weary; he lacked all common decency. When the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God gives you to keep as a homeland, blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens—do not forget!

 

The connection of these verses with the celebration of Purim is straightforward enough—except for the last sentence. There we are commanded to “blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens—do not forget!” How can we be commanded to blot out Amalek’s memory and in the same breath be told “do not forget”? Is it possible to simultaneously erase a memory and preserve it?

 

Actually, this is just a mistake in translation. It is true that Hebrew zekher sometimes means “memory” or “memorial.” But this word has another meaning as well: zekher can also mean a person’s name. Thus, when God reveals his name to Moses on Mount Horeb, He concludes by saying, “this is My name (shem) forever, and this is My appellation (zekher) for all generations” (Exod 3:15). Similarly, the expression “a righteous man’s zekher is for a blessing” (Prov 10:7) means that when one person wishes to bless another, he or she may do so by invoking the name of a righteous person (“May you be like Abraham,” “May you be like Sarah”).

 

So, when the Torah commands Israelites to “blot out the zekher of Amalek,” it means: blot out his name. This is the equivalent of saying: eliminate him and all his descendants, so that there will no more be anyone who bears the name of Amalek.

 

To which it is necessary these days to add that Amalek is not a symbol of non-Jews in general, but only of those (usually few) people who are actually intent on doing us harm. Right now, with anti-Jewish incidents on the rise in the U.S. and Europe, it is especially important not only to go after the guilty parties, but likewise to denounce anyone who seeks to excuse their actions or diminish their significance. And such people really do exist. But what sometimes gets a little less publicity is the support offered Jewish communities by their non-Jewish neighbors, in fact, by governments and public officials.

 

One of the dumbest things I sometimes hear in Israel is “the whole world is against us.” If we are incapable of distinguishing our true enemies from others who are not at all hostile, in fact, from people who are consistently friendly toward Jews and Judaism, then all we are doing is preventing those real enemies from being identified as such. Something to think about on this Purim in particular.

 

Happy festival!