Them being Amalek. Haman, from the Book of Esther, was a member of the tribe of Amalek. What drove him? What drives his descendants to this day to war against the Jews and the non-Jews?
This is relevant every day but particularly as we approach Purim, the celebration of G-d Al-mighty's miraculous defeat of Amalek's attempts to infiltrate and co-opt the Persian Government into eliminating the Jews, G-d forbid.
But, were the Jews the only target?
Ponder the following - What if there was a man and his family that was so insistent on his desire to rebel against G-d Al-mighty that he would not only be willing kill everyone else but, as the last man standing, would kill himself, just to give one final grand defiance to G-d Al-mighty?
Well there is such a man - his name is Amalek. He was the doubly bastardized grandson of Esau. His hatred of himself drove him and his progeny to make war against the Jewish people and the entire humanity in every generation.
The Maharam Schiff (1597-1633) writes in his commentary on the Talmud Tractate Chulin that Haman sought to destroy everyone, not just the Jews. The Jews first because that's how Amalek seeks to remove the Light Unto the Nations from the world, enabling Amalek to take the nations down to greater and greater darkness.
Amalek always attacks the Jews first on its way to attacking the rest of the nations. Goebbels said that after finishing the Jews, G-d forbid, the Nazis intended to eliminate all the Poles, Ukranians, Slavs, etc., etc.
But what would they do when they had their select few remaining?
They would eliminate them also. Any human being, even one deep in the ideology of Amalek, carries the Divine Image. To Amalek this is absolutely intolerable. As long as one person remains, even himself, Amalek cannot rest because there is a constant reminder of G-d Al-mighty.
The progeny of Amalek is active today. Contrary to the misinformation presented here and here, Amalek did not go out of existence. Amalek's ideology and methodologies scream loud and clear from the headlines. Amalek's technique from the earliest times is to disguise itself and profess loyalty to various causes. Amalek uses different labels such as the home-grown labels of Communist and Nazi and in other cases hijacks and disguises itself within the infrastructure of others such as the Babylonian destroyers of Jerusalem, in Persia (e.g. Book of Esther), the Crusades, the Catholic Church in the Inquisition and in modern Churches in Liberation Theology and Mosques in Red Islam. In fact, the Rebbe Rashab, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, identified the Communists with Amalek.
Amalek, moreover, tries to disguise his true motivations claiming to be anti-semitic or hating a particular group or groups and targeting them for elimination. Or he will claim that he seeks to create a superior race using eugenics and human elimination techniques such as starvation, war and genocide.
These are all distractions. Amalek will not merely suffice to get rid of the Jews or even everyone else.
Murder is murder but it is more heinous the closer the relationship between the murderer and the victim. The closest relationship possible is one with himself. The most heinous form of murder is suicide. A man just murdered his closest relation, himself! It is the most grievous in the eyes of G-d and of man.
So Amalek, once he murders everyone else, will create a massive murder-suicide event down to the last man standing. At least that is what he aims for.
This answers the query of the innocent observer - how can 'they' (referring to some murderous ideology) do [fill in the blank] if they will also be harmed? Aren't they just harming themselves in the end?
Now we know. They don't mind being harmed.
Many point to the Georgia Guidestones which proclaim a target world population of 500 million. That is just a ruse. 1 is too many for Amalek. The 500 million number is just so the reader can delude himself into thinking he will be one of the 500 million that will remain. He imagines if he is clever enough or prepares enough he will be a survivor, thus diffusing the natural impulse to fight the murderers that made public their plans on the Guidestones and in other books and places.
But the student of Torah knows that Amalek wants to reduce the number to zero, G-d forbid, because Amalek has been going head to head with G-d Al-mighty, the Torah and the Jews for nearly 4,000 years. We've seen and suffered first hand from his goals, his strategy and his methodologies.
Amalek is the opposite of the Jew.
The Jew is prepared at any moment to give up his life to sanctify and promote the glory of G-d Al-mighty in this world.
Amalek, on the other hand, is willing to give up his own life specifically to drive home his rebellion against his Creator, G-d Al-mighty, to bring the greatest darkness to the world.
His target for destruction is, G-d forbid, the Jews, the non-Jews and, ultimately, himself.
This brings us to Purim. When you look at the world and begin to grasp how depraved Amalek is, how exceedingly active he and his progeny are, and how Amalek has co-opted modern governments to be instruments in population reduction through anti-procreation propaganda, birth control, non-reproductive diversions and disorientations, public health measures, abortion, euthanasia, starvation and war, you might make the mistake of thinking that Amalek is unbeatable, G-d forbid.
He sure projects himself that way, just as Haman strutted about, seemingly unstoppable.
But then comes unlimited joy, the joy of knowing that G-d Al-mighty only allows Amalek to flourish in the absence of our doing our job and mission to bring the knowledge of G-d Al-mighty to the entire world and encourage and support the increase in the world's population. And, with a simple change in our mindset and a return to G-d Al-mighty's mission for us, G-d Al-mighty will bring Amalek's plans to dust.
The joy rouses us from our slumber and apathy, which are largely induced by Amalek. The joy gives us the boundless energy to turn the entire world around, out of the clutches of Amalek, to the side of G-d Al-mighty.
Just as G-d Al-mighty miraculously saved the Jews and the non-Jewish people of Persia from Amalek in the Book of Esther, so too He will save the Jews and the non-Jews today.
Action Items:
Attend a live Megillah (Book of Esther) reading on the night of March 16 and the day of March 17.
Jew or non-Jew, the eternal lessons apply to you.
Observe Purim by studying the Book of Esther, giving gifts of money to the poor and giving gifts of food to others and making a very joyful and festive meal with family, friends and strangers.
Sign up at RabbiSmith.org where we are building the spiritual compass and spiritual backbone each one of us needs today!
Happy Purim!
