The tribe of Amalek attacked a weary and tired Israel at Rephidim, cruelly cutting off those weak and lagging behind. Joshua engaged Amalek in battle, successfully defending Israel against the merciless enemy. Then God told Moses, "Write this as a reminder in the Book, and place it in Joshua's ears: I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens." (Exodus 17:14)
Why did God command Moses to write in the Torah His promise to obliterate Amalek? Does God need a reminder? Also: why did Joshua need to be told? Couldn't he just read what was written in the Torah?
The people of Israel have two national missions. At Mount Sinai, God informed them that they would be both a "kingdom of priests" and a "holy nation". (Exodus 19:6) What is the difference between these two functions?
The goal of a "kingdom of priests" refers to the aspiration to uplift the entire world, so that all will recognize Him. The people of Israel will fulfill this mission when they function as priests to the world, teaching them God's ways. But the people of Israel are not just a tool for refining the world. They have their own intrinsic worth, and they need to perfect themselves on their own special level. The central mission of Israel is to fulfill its spiritual potential and become a "holy nation". If Israel's only purpose was to perfect the rest of the world, they would not be commanded with so many mitzvot, isolating them from the other nations.
God divided the Torah - divine instructions how to reach our spiritual goals - into two parts: the Written Law and the Oral Law. The written part of the Torah was revealed to the whole world. All nations can approach and comprehend these teachings. God commanded that the Torah be written "in a clear script" - in 70 languages, to be accessible to all peoples. (Deuteronomy 27:8, Sota 7:5) The Written Torah was meant to enlighten the entire world.
The Oral Law, on the other hand, belongs solely to the people of Israel. Since this part of Torah was not to be committed to writing, it is naturally more concealed and less public. In truth, the Oral Law is simply the received explanation of the Written Law, transmitted through the generations. Thus, even the Written Torah is only fully accessible to Israel, through the Oral tradition. But the other nations nevertheless merit an external light of the Written Torah.
Amalek refutes both missions of Israel. Amalek cannot accept Israel as a "kingdom of priests", who instruct the world, nor as a "holy nation", separated from the other nations with unique spiritual goals. God promised to "totally obliterate" ("macho emche") Amalek. The verb is repeated, for God will uproot both of Amalek's denials.
Why did God command that His promise to destroy Amalek be both written down and transmitted orally to Joshua? Amalek rejects Israel's function to uplift the world, so God commanded that His promise be recorded in the Written Torah - the source of Israel's moral influence on the world. And Amalek denies Israel's own special spiritual heritage, so God commanded that His promise also be passed on verbally to Moses' disciple - "place it in Joshua's ears".
When Amalek has been utterly destroyed, and Israel will be able to fulfill its charges, God's Throne and God's Name will be complete.
[Based on Midbar Shur, 312-316]
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Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
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Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
Why did God command Moses to write in the Torah His promise to obliterate Amalek? Does God need a reminder? Also: why did Joshua need to be told? Couldn't he just read what was written in the Torah?
The people of Israel have two national missions. At Mount Sinai, God informed them that they would be both a "kingdom of priests" and a "holy nation". (Exodus 19:6) What is the difference between these two functions?
The goal of a "kingdom of priests" refers to the aspiration to uplift the entire world, so that all will recognize Him. The people of Israel will fulfill this mission when they function as priests to the world, teaching them God's ways. But the people of Israel are not just a tool for refining the world. They have their own intrinsic worth, and they need to perfect themselves on their own special level. The central mission of Israel is to fulfill its spiritual potential and become a "holy nation". If Israel's only purpose was to perfect the rest of the world, they would not be commanded with so many mitzvot, isolating them from the other nations.
God divided the Torah - divine instructions how to reach our spiritual goals - into two parts: the Written Law and the Oral Law. The written part of the Torah was revealed to the whole world. All nations can approach and comprehend these teachings. God commanded that the Torah be written "in a clear script" - in 70 languages, to be accessible to all peoples. (Deuteronomy 27:8, Sota 7:5) The Written Torah was meant to enlighten the entire world.
The Oral Law, on the other hand, belongs solely to the people of Israel. Since this part of Torah was not to be committed to writing, it is naturally more concealed and less public. In truth, the Oral Law is simply the received explanation of the Written Law, transmitted through the generations. Thus, even the Written Torah is only fully accessible to Israel, through the Oral tradition. But the other nations nevertheless merit an external light of the Written Torah.
Amalek refutes both missions of Israel. Amalek cannot accept Israel as a "kingdom of priests", who instruct the world, nor as a "holy nation", separated from the other nations with unique spiritual goals. God promised to "totally obliterate" ("macho emche") Amalek. The verb is repeated, for God will uproot both of Amalek's denials.
Why did God command that His promise to destroy Amalek be both written down and transmitted orally to Joshua? Amalek rejects Israel's function to uplift the world, so God commanded that His promise be recorded in the Written Torah - the source of Israel's moral influence on the world. And Amalek denies Israel's own special spiritual heritage, so God commanded that His promise also be passed on verbally to Moses' disciple - "place it in Joshua's ears".
When Amalek has been utterly destroyed, and Israel will be able to fulfill its charges, God's Throne and God's Name will be complete.
[Based on Midbar Shur, 312-316]
--------------------------------------------------------
Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.