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Yakov Ben Behora
It is in this week's parshah that Amalek makes his debut onto the world scene, and as the anti-thesis of the Jewish people. In fact, his attitude and attack are so eternally offensive that God Himself took an oath to be at war with Amalek until his demise at the end of days.
However, though most people think of this as war in the desert, outside and away from Eretz Yisroel, in truth, it was a war ABOUT Eretz Yisroel.
The Gaon from Vilna explained why:
The war against Amalek is in every generation, and against... Amalek of the heart, that is, the evil inclination, and the spirit of Amalek-the adversary of Israel... This is Samael and his hosts, whose main power is in the gates of Jerusalem when its lands are desolate…The strength and rulership of Amalek's spirit is in the gates of Jerusalem, as mentioned above, but only when there is destruction and desolation near the gates and in the unwalled areas of Jerusalem... This delays the connection between the Jerusalem of below and Jerusalem of above... The war against the desolation is waged not only by setting up tents of Ya'akov and dwelling places of Israel in their respective places, but also by planting its land and fulfilling the commandments dependent on it. (Kol HaTor, Chapter 7)
Thus, Amalek uprooted himself to wage war against the Jewish people in the desert to keep them there, that is, to prevent them from coming to Eretz Yisroel, settling the land, and developing it. The unification of the Jewish people with the land promised to their ancestors has the direct effect of increasing holiness in the world, and eliminating evil. To survive, Amalek had to stop that process in its tracks; he has continued to do so over the generations until this very day.
According to the Shem M'Shmuel, Balak and Bilaam, when they tried to curse the Jewish people, had attempted the same goal for the same reason as Amalek, (Shem M'Shmuel, Balak). Thus, it is not surprising to learn that, according to the Zohar, the combination of their two names produces two words: Amalek, and Bavel (Babylonia, in English)-the location of the first Jewish exile from Eretz Yisroel.
Like Amalek, their spiritual ancestor, Balak and Bilaam had understoodthat the Jewish people moving into Eretz Yisroel had the power to bring history and evil to their respective ends. Thus, for them, like Amalek, their survival depended upon keeping the Jewish people in exile.
And thus now, after thousands of years of exile, during which Eretz Yisroel had remained desolate and almost uninhabitable, we have to ask the question, who's keeping us out now? As we witness the re-building and re-populating of the land of Tanach, we have to honestly ask ourselves, against whom is the real battle today, if not Amalek-on whatever front he is waging it?
To return home to Eretz Yisroel and to end her desolation-physical and spiritual-is to win the war against Amalek. To fulfill the mitzvos dependent upon the Land is to push the spirit of impurity from her borders, and eventually, from the world itself. The war against Amalek first began in the desert in Moshe Rabbeinu's time. Let it end, once and for all, in ours.
Rabbis in Midrash
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
