Remember that which Amalek did to you on the way as you were leaving Egypt. He met you on the way…(Deut. 25:17-18)
One of the 613 mitzvahs of the Torah is to erase the memory of Amalek. We even have a Torah reading designated once a year, on the Shabbat before Purim, so we can fulfill this mitzvah as a community.
But since Sennacherib, king of Ancient Assyria, forcibly displaced all the tribes of the Middle East, it is impossible to identify an Amalekite. How does the mitzvah remain relevant today?
It is relevant because every mitzvah has both a physical and a spiritual manifestation. The physical side of this particular mitzvah does not currently apply, but its spiritual side is alive and well.
Indeed, Amalek remains the perpetual nemesis of Israel until the Moshiach arrives and vanquishes Amalek forever. Because Amalek is an enemy that lives within each of us.
Amalek was the nation that met the Jewish people as they broke out of their bondage in Egypt through miracles and wonders, as they charged with all the fire and enthusiasm of a freshly-born nation towards Mount Sinai and the Promised Land.
The nations of Canaan trembled in dread and fear. But the tribe of Amalek was not moved. They attacked. They lost the battle. Yet they were successful in bringing the temperature down for all involved.
That is the spiritual, internal Amalek we tackle every day: The chill factor.
That's also the inner meaning of the words “He met you…” (אשר קרך)--the original Hebrew words can also be read as “He chills you.”
And where does Amalek meet you and chill you?
“…on the way…”
Just as you are getting somewhere, just as you are making your Exodus towards a life in the Promised Land, a life filled with the beauty of Torah and a celebration of your soul, just then, a chilling voice speaks from inside. It says:
"You're a rational person. Just because you heard G‑d’s voice with your own ears and saw the fire upon the mountain with your own eyes doesn't mean you must suspend your common sense and act unreasonably.
"Just because the universe is so vast and you so small, just because the complexity of any detail of this universe boggles your mind, just because all that you perceive is endless in astounding wonder, in beauty, in majesty...doesn't mean you must suddenly uproot your concept of yourself and your world that has served you so conveniently all these years.
"Chill. Don't allow anything into your heart that doesn't fit into the neat little boxes of your mind. Keep those boxes. Just discard whatever does not fit. Stay where you are, snug and unmoved."
Already, you are back to before the place where you began. Back in slavery. Slavery to an Egypt of your own mind.
Amalek, you see, is a great-grandchild of Abraham. He knows the one Creator of heaven and earth as well as you do. He simply is not fazed, not moved, not budged in the slightest—even if he would see an open miracle with his own eyes.
And Amalek is a grandson of our brother, Esau, a genius in rationalizing anything he wants to do. You can't use your mind against him—he's hijacked it already.
What does he do with your own mind? Your divine soul has a bridge from your mind to your heart. Amalek freezes over that bridge. He ensures that no light can cross over, no fire will burn in your heart, no impetus will move you. So that you're stuck on the road in a sports car with no engine, a bird without wings, a gazelle without legs. Helpless prey for the beasts of the wilderness.
And yet, there is a hard-proven strategy to defeat Amalek:
Always keep walking straight ahead. Don't allow Amalek a foothold in your mind, not even to push him back.
That's the only way to keep a fire burning in your soul. Fan its flames with the Torah wisdom of great sages, fuel it with the passion of your mitzvahs, and yet more mitzvahs, whatever mitzvahs come your way.
Don't measure them. Don't stop to think why, what, how. Just do.
If a voice inside confronts you along the way, and asks, “Why this mitzvah? Aren't there better ones?” slam your foot on the gas and don't look back. Avoid Eve's primordial error: Don't stop what you're doing to answer back to a snake.
It doesn't matter how rational that voice might sound—if it cools you down, it is out to destroy you. It is Amalek, your blood-sworn enemy, nemesis of Israel, until Moshiach arrives.
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