Bnei Yisrael had experienced an entire year of the most incredible
miracles any human being would ever experience in their lifetime. And as they begin their journey to Eretz
Yisrael, they encounter their first battle, with the only nation who is
unafraid to attack: Amalek.
And we know the story: Moshe
tells Yehoshua to gather an army and go fight Amalek while Moshe sits on the
mountain, inspiring the people with his hands raised heavenwards.
I want to ask 3 questions:
1)
The
medrash shares that the rest of world was TERRIFIED of attacking Am Yisrael at
this time, and only Amalek was not. Why
weren’t they afraid of attacking the Am Hashem after all they had heard about
Yetzias Mitzrayim?
2)
When
Bnei Yisrael go to battle, typically the King goes in front, leading us into
battle. Why doesn’t Moshe lead the people into battle? Why does he send Yehoshua?
3)
This
battle is clearly significant in the eyes of Hashem. It is so significant that
HKBH declares that in future generations we must destroy Amalek. Why, then,
does Hashem allow us to fight this war with Amalek as a totally natural,
regular battle? We have so many
instances where Hashem creates miracles in battle throughout Tanach, and
certainly with Egypt. Why doesn’t
He defeat Amalek handily, with a miracle, in this case?
I want to share with you an explanation of Rav Yosef Tzvi Rimon,
Rav of the
Gush Etzion Regional Council, Alon Shvut Darom, and Rosh Kollel at Yeshivat Har
Etzion.
There is a
medrash: The medrash in the Mechilta
D’Rashbi writes that it would be impossible that Moshe would stand back and do
nothing and just send Yehoshua in his place. Rather, we have a mesorah, that
the children of Eisav will only be defeated by the children of Rachel, and
Yehoshua is from the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Yosef.
But what does
that mean? Why?
Explains Rav
Rimon, the answer to all of these questions lies in the fundamental nature of
Amalek. As we know, the central tenet of
the ideology of Amalek is “Asher Karcha BaDerech”, they just Happened Upon Am
Yisrael. Amalek believes that there is
no Creator who controls the happenings in the world. Rather, the world is a place of MIKRE, random
events orchestrated by NO ONE.
Amalek sees
Krias Yam Suf and says, “yeah, but maybe there was a really strong wind at JUST
THE RIGHT TIME!” The ten plagues were
aberrations of nature that took down the Egyptians, which was great luck for
the Jews.
No matter
what Amalek sees happening around them, they declare it all as natural
phenomena.
And the
children of Rachel, and Yosef in particular, have just the OPPOSITE
APPROACH. For Yosef, EVERYTHING in his
life occurs because it is what HKBH has planned for him.
From his
first days in Potiphar’s house, the Torah tells us he notices that God is with
Yosef. How does he know? Rashi explains: “Shem Shamayim Shagur B’Fiv”. It must be that Yosef would mention Gd all
the time. Otherwise how would Potiphar connect his success to Hashem.
When Yosef is
given ONE SHOT to come before Pharaoh, and Pharoah says, Yosef, I need your
help to interpret my dreams, how does Yosef respond?
(טז) ]וַיַּעַן
יוֹסֵף אֶת פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר[ בִּלְעָדָי אֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶה אֶת שְׁלוֹם
פַּרְעֹה:
This isn’t
me! G-d will offer an answer for
Pharaoh.
When he
reveals himself to his brothers, Yosef tells them:
(ה) וְעַתָּה אַל
תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה
שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם:
Don’t worry,
don’t be sad that you sold me here.
Because Hashem sent me here to provide for the family!
With
everything thing that HAPPENS to Yosef, he finds the ability to see the Yad
Hashem, the hand of HKBH placing him in that position.
And Yosef
doesn’t just remain steadfast in his belief that the events in his life, he has
an impact on those around him. As
Pharaoh himself exclaims: “Have you ever seen a person SheRuach Elokim Bo! A Man of God!”
With this explanation,
we have the answer to our questions:
1)
Why was Amalek the only
nation who wasn’t afraid to fight Am Yisrael?
Because the other nations saw the Yad Hashem, they saw that Hashem was
pulling the strings in the entire experience of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Amalek’s essence is to DENY even the most
overt examples of hashgacha pratis.
There was NO MIRACLE, NO EVIDENCE of Hashem’s hand in the world that
would convince them.
2)
Why is it SPECIFICALLY
the children of Yosef, namely Yehoshua, who is tasked with fighting Amalek? Because while Amalek’s ENTIRE GOAL is to show
the world that there IS NO GD. It is
Yosef’s lifework to bring that AWARENESS of Hashem to the world.
Rav Rimon
also points out so poignantly that so many years later, when Amalek emerges
once again in the story of Purim, with the rise of Haman, it is no surprise
that there is another descendant of Rachel, Mordechai from the tribe of
Binyamin, who is tasked with fighting him back.
And after
all, the entire story of Purim, a story in which God is never mentioned and
remains hidden at all times, is a struggle over just this question:
–
Haman casts LOTS, PURIM,
to determine on which RANDOM day he will destroy Am Yisrael.
–
And it is Mordechai who
stands up and says, there is nothing Random about the world or about our future
as a people. As he tells Esther, “If you
don’t stand up for us, don’t you worry, HKBH will find His own way to save us.”
Once again, a
story of the children of Rachel who are the ultimate foil to Amalek, the son of
Esav.
And this also
explains the answer to our last question:
Why is the war with Amalek a NATURAL WAR? Why doesn’t Hashem destroy them with a
miracle?
And the
answer, of course, is that the entire battle with Amalek is about teaching the
world to see Hashem’s hand NOT ONLY IN THE MIRACULOUS, BUT EVEN IN WHAT WE CALL
NATURE. So, it is SPECIFICALLY in a natural, otherwise “regular” war, that Bnei
Yisrael must defeat Amalek. Proving once
again that HKBH can be found EVERYWHERE.
Rav Rimon
makes on last comment that I thought was so pretty and ties this all
together: When we speak about which
cities read the megillah on what we call Shushan Purim, we say it is cities
that had a wall B’Yimos Yehoshua Bin Nun.
Such a strange thing?! After all,
Yehoshua lives hundreds of years before the story of Purim. What does Yehoshua have to do with
Shushan Purim!?
But now we
understand: Because Mordechai &
Yehoshua fought the same battle with Amalek!
And if anything, in Yehoshua’s battle, there is a small sign of what can
happen when we know who is really in control:
(יא) וְהָיָה
כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים מֹשֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכַאֲשֶׁר יָנִיחַ יָדוֹ
וְגָבַר עֲמָלֵק:
The Torah
tells us that when Moshe raised his hands Bnei Yisrael would be
successful. And when they went down,
Amalek would be winning.
Says the
medrash:
Moshe’s hands
didn’t make miracles. Rather, when the
people saw his hands, it reminded them that HKBH was with them, it reminded
them who is really in charge, and in that zechus, in that merit, Hashem,
indeed, took control.
It is the
battle that Yehoshua fought so many generations earlier, that was the
inspiration for Am Yisrael in the future, led by Mordechai, to teach that same
lesson to the world once again. That
even in a world that can feel at times left on its own, a world that feels it
is without a conductor, we all have the ability to see just how involved He is
every day of our lives.