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Moreover, even if the Amalekites do not volunteer to observe the seven Noahide laws, we are commanded to offer them peace before waging war against them. That is, we offer them the opportunity to adopt the seven Noahide laws and to agree to be subservient to, and pay tribute to, the Jewish people. If they accept these conditions of peace, we do not wage war against them. If they refuse, however, we fight them until they are eradicated. Even if they reconsider afterward and beg for peace, we do not accept; once the war has begun, we fight them until they are eradicated (MT, Laws of Kings 6:1-4; Kesef Mishneh ad loc.).
The poskim disagree about whether an Amalekite who wants to convert to Judaism may be accepted. Rambam (MT, Laws of Prohibited Sexual Relations 12:17) maintains that an Amalekite may convert. Accordingly, the Sages state that descendants of Haman, who was himself of Amalekite stock, taught Torah in Bnei Brak (Gittin 57b, San. 96b). Thus, our forebears accepted converts from the descendants of Amalek.
Others assert that we do not accept Amalekite converts. This is the view of R. Eliezer, cited in the Mekhilta (end of Parashat Beshalaĥ), who relates that God swore by His Throne of Glory that an Amalekite who comes to convert should not be accepted. According to this position, Haman’s descendants were only allowed to teach Torah in Bnei Brak – as the Sages attest – as the result of an error: A rabbinical court accepted a convert without knowing that he is a descendant of Amalek. Alternatively, an Amalekite descendant of the wicked Haman raped a Jewish woman, and those Torah teachers from Bnei Brak descended from her son, who was considered Jewish (Resisei Laila 38:5). 10
^ 10.Rambam maintains that we may accept converts from Amalek. According to him, the halakha does not follow R. Eliezer’s opinion in the Mekhilta (end of Parashat Beshalaĥ) because another opinion – that of R. Elazar Ha-Moda’i – is cited there as well, and because the Gemara’s account of Haman’s descendants runs counter to R. Eliezer’s view. So writes Ĥida (Ya’ir Ozen, Gimel:1). Ĥazon Ish (YD 157:5) states that R. Eliezer’s prohibition on accepting an Amalekite convert only applies during wartime. According to Avnei Nezer, OĤ 508, we may grant an Amalekite the status of ger toshav (a "resident alien," a non-Jew who lives in Israel and adopts the seven Noahide laws), who is subservient to the Jewish people, but he may not become a regular convert.
Others maintain that we do not accept the conversion of Amalekites, interpreting the statement that Haman’s descendants taught Torah in Bnei Brak in various ways. Some explain that the lineage of a non-Jew is determined by the father, and these teachers descended from Haman through a daughter (Mahari Engel, Gilyonei Ha-Shas, Gittin 57b; Maharsham 3:272). Others explain that, le-khatĥila, we do not accept Amalekite converts, but if they are accepted by accident, their conversion is valid (Yeshu’ot Malko, Likutim 15). Others maintain that the conversion is valid only if the mistake is discovered several generations later, but if a convert’s Amalekite origin is revealed immediately, the conversion is invalidated (Shvut Yehuda on the Mekhilta). Others maintain that the teachers descended from an Amalekite who assimilated into another nation and converted afterward. In such a case, it is impossible to know that he is from Amalek, and thus we accept him. Later on, it was revealed through divine inspiration that these teachers were descendants of Haman, but their conversion was still valid (R. Ĥayim Palachi, Einei Kol Ĥai, San. 96b). It is also possible that an Amalekite can divest himself of the status of Amalek by accepting the seven Noahide laws, and then, at a later stage, convert (suggested by Ĥida, Petaĥ Einayim, San. 96b). According to Reponsa Kol Mevaser 2:42, we may accept an Amalekite convert; the Mekhilta only prohibits such a convert from marrying into the Jewish people.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Rosh Yeshiva of Har Bracha and rabbi of the settlement.
Peninei Halakha 18. Torah Verses in the Prayers and in the Berakha of She-asa Li Kol Tzorki
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
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Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
