The Shabbat prior to Purim is always celebrated as Shabbat Zachor, a testament to the unprovoked attack by Amalek upon the Israelites, as recounted first in Exodus 17:8-16, and again in Deuteronomy 25:17-19. The passage from Deuteronomy, read on this Shabbat, commands the Israelites to “remember” the cruelty of Amalek, giving this Shabbat its name (zachor means remember). According to the Talmud, Haman, the antagonist of the Book of Esther, was a descendant of Amalek; retelling the tale of Amalek’s attack this week serves as preparation for Purim.
Ironically, while Deuteronomy asks the Israelites to remember the attack, it also commands the Israelites to erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven. At first glance, these commands seem at odds with one another. How can we remember Amalek’s treachery once the memory of Amalek is gone?
Our sages suggest that the elimination of the Amalekite line and its holdings suffices to fulfill the command to blot out the memory of Amalek. However, if the Torah simply wanted the utter destruction of Amalek, it could have said so. Instead, it specifically demands erasing the memory of Amalek, even as it commands us to remember Amalek’s crime. Observing these apparently contradictory commands may offer us a lesson on the nature of wickedness and guilt.
Frequently, we associate crimes with their perpetrators, making malevolence feel more remote than it should. Once we’ve identified a wrongdoer—be it the Amalekites, Haman, the Nazis, even—it becomes too easy to separate ourselves from them, disregarding the possibility that, should we follow in their footsteps, we could just as easily be guilty of similarly heinous crimes.
Therefore, the Torah demands that we remember the crime and consign the memory of its culprit to the dustbin of history, reminding us that all humanity, rather than a single perpetrator, are capable of unspeakable evils.
Thus, do we remember the cruelty of those who mercilessly assaulted our ancestors, and, in so doing, pledge to eschew their disregard for the welfare of others.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel