Page 4 - HaMizrachi #27 Purim USA 2021

TORAT MIZRACHI

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and everywhere. The acceptable inter- Therefore, it is incumbent on statesmen great advantage of open, pluralistic and
national norm in military interaction is and leaders to comprehend the chal- democratic “live and let live” society
that one army confronts another, and lenge of dealing with Amalek. 3 must not become our greatest weakness.
only combatants in uniform fight against The forces of good cannot prevail if we
their counterparts. Civilians are beyond It was Mordechai who had this clarity of are not armed with robust moral clarity.
the pale of ideological and military con- moral vision and courageous temerity
flict. An Amalek mindset operates dif- to stand up to Haman. It was his and Parashat Zachor is the perennial
ferently. It is specifically the civilians, Esther’s heroic leadership, with assis- reminder of this need. Purim is the
the non-combatants, who are the aim tance from Above, that prevented the primer of how to contend with this
of their terror. total annihilation of the Jewish people. evil and how each player has their
part to play. The Hamans of the world
Hamas and Hezbollah have terrorized What would have happened to Europe, will always attempt to win over the
Israeli civilians just trying to get on with and beyond, if not for the heroic leader- Achashveroshes – to isolate, delegit-
their lives. Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the like ship of Winston Churchill in the 1940s? imize, punish and persecute the Jews
have done the same in cities around Charles Krauthammer, America’s sorely and the Jewish State. The Mordechais
the world. Iran today, ancient Persia missed preeminent columnist, argued and Esthers must display clarity and
of yesteryear, is the greatest supporter that Churchill’s role in confronting courageousness in confronting this
of international terror and has its own Nazism was so indispensable that it evil in the face of fierce opposition and
diabolical aspirations for nuclear hege- made him the most important person impossible odds. And the ultimate role
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mony. 9/11 showed us just what warped of the 20th century. What enabled is played by the Almighty, behind the
minds of terror could conjure up. There Churchill to be the right statesman at scenes, masking the indispensable face
seems to be no limit to the immoral the right time was his absolute clarity of Providence in the drama of human
perversion and distortion of heart and of vision of what Nazism stood for and and Jewish destiny.
mind. aspired to achieve and what the right
response was to that evil.
Terrorism, as fitting for an Amalek-type
ideology, exists outside the moral con- From countless articles in the 30s, it is 1 The Netziv (HaEmek Davar, Exodus 17:14), dis-
sensus and international convention of evident that he, more than anyone else, tinguishes between the nation of Amalek which
no longer exists and the ideology of Amalek
normative political, military and societal understood and articulated the looming which persists to this day.
living. threat. In 1935, many branded him as 2 Regarding Israel: “Israel is holy to G-d, the
an extremist sowing panic and viewing first of His grain…” (Yirmiyahu 2:3). Regard-
Yet if one thing is clear, understandable the world in simplistic, black-and-white ing Amalek, in Bilaam’s prophecy: “When he
and proven about Amalekite antisemi- terms. By 1940, none of his critics could saw Amalek, he took up his parable and said,
tism it is this – it begins with the Jews doubt him. In our nuclear age, Chur- “Amalek was the first of the nations, and his
but never ends with them. chill’s brand of leadership, courage and fate shall be everlasting destruction” (Bamidbar
24:20).
clarity of vision is more critical than
One can be sure it will spill over to all ever. 3 Rambam (Laws of Kings and Their Wars 1,1).
fair-minded, good people around the Based on the Talmud (Sanhedrin 20b), the mitz-
world. Buildings and planes in New York, Yes, life is very nuanced and complex vah of remembering and confronting Amalek
is a mitzvah on לארשי ללכ – the Jewish people
trains in Madrid, buses in London, night and must be viewed with great sophis- as a collective – and is to be implemented by
clubs in Bali, schools in Toulouse, stores tication. And yes, this Amalek-type the king.
in Paris and coffee shops in Sydney are hatred is rooted in a small minority with 4 Charles Krauthammer, Things That Matter:
all fair game. Radical Islamic terror is the majority being good, peace-loving Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics
the latest incarnation of Amalek’s global people. Nevertheless, we have to be very (2018), p. 22.
mission. mindful that our own nuanced sophis-
tication does not cloud our vision in Rabbi Doron Perez is Executive Chairman
The Leaders’ Crucial Role dealing with this scourge of evil. The of the Mizrachi World Movement.

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