The treacherous attack of Amalek, striking against the weak and helpless, was not a one-time enmity, some grievance from our distant past. For all generations, Moses passed on the message of our struggle against Amalek.
"God said to Moses, 'Write this as a reminder in the Book, and repeat it in Joshua's ears: I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.' ...God shall be at war with Amalek for all generations." (Exodus 17:14,16)
Erasable Writing
The evil of Amalek invaded every aspect of our world. Even holy frameworks were not immune to this defiling influence. They, too, require the possibility to be repaired by erasing, if necessary.
The Talmud teaches that scribes should not add calcanthum (vitriol or sulfuric acid) to their ink (Sota 17b; see Yoreh Deah 271:6, Pitchei Teshuva ad loc 17). Calcanthum-enhanced ink cannot be erased by rubbing or washing. All writing - even holy books - must have the potential to be erased, as they may have been tainted by sparks of evil.
A Torah written by a heretic has been totally contaminated, and must be completely burned by fire (Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah 6:8). Usually, however, holy objects only come in light contact with evil, as when Esau's angel touched Jacob's thigh (Genesis 32:26). Therefore, it is sufficient to ensure that the scribal ink is not permanent, so that writing has the potential to be erased.
The Unique Torah of Rabbi Meir
Yet, we find one scribe who did add calcanthum to his ink: second- century scholar Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Meir was a unique individual. The Talmud states that there was no one equal to Rabbi Meir in his generation. His teachings were so extraordinary, his colleagues were unable to fully follow his reasoning. Because of Rabbi Meir's exceptional intellect, the sages did not decide the law according to his opinion (Eiruvin 13a-b).
The Talmud further relates that 'Meir' was not Rabbi Meir's true name. He was called 'Meir' because "he would enlighten [meir] the eyes of the sages in Halacha." What was the source of Rabbi Meir's unique light? His special status stemmed from the fact that his soul aspired to the enlightenment of the Messianic Era. Thus, we find that the Jerusalem Talmud referred to Rabbi Meir as "your messiah." (Kilayim 9:3)
For Rabbi Meir, there was no need to avoid using calcanthum. His Torah belonged to the future era when Amalek's evil will be eradicated. On the contrary, he took care to enhance his ink, reflecting the eternal nature of his refined enlightenment.
Rabbi Akiva, on the other hand, taught that scribes should not avail themselves of calcanthum. In the current state of the world, everything must have the potential to be erased and corrected - even that containing holy content. Only in this manner will we succeed in totally obliterating Amalek and his virulent influence. Then, we may halt the spread of evil traits in all peoples, the source of all private and public tragedy.
Uniting the Oral and Written Law
The influence of Amalek had a second detrimental effect on the Torah. God commanded Moses to communicate the struggle against Amalek in two distinct channels. Moses transmitted this Divine message in writing - "Write this in the Book" - and orally - "Repeat it in Joshua's ears". This refraction of Torah into divergent modes of transmission indicated that it had lost some of its inner unity.
Consequently, the Talmud teaches that a scribe may not write from memory - not even a single letter (Megillah 18b). Our world maintains a deep-seated division between the written and the oral. Only with the obliteration of Amalek and the world's redemption will we merit the unified light of the Torah's oral and written sides.
Once again, we find that Rabbi Meir and his Torah belonged to the future age, when this artificial split will no longer exist. Thus, when Rabbi Meir was in a place with no books, he wrote the entire book of Esther from memory (ibid).
During the holiday of Purim, when we achieved an additional obliteration of Amalek (with the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek), the Torah regained a measure of its original unity. The generation of Mordechai and Esther accepted upon themselves the Oral Law, just as the Written Law had been accepted at Sinai (Tanhuma 58:3).
[Adapted from Igrot, vol. III, pp. 86-7 (1917)]
"God said to Moses, 'Write this as a reminder in the Book, and repeat it in Joshua's ears: I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.' ...God shall be at war with Amalek for all generations." (Exodus 17:14,16)
Erasable Writing
The evil of Amalek invaded every aspect of our world. Even holy frameworks were not immune to this defiling influence. They, too, require the possibility to be repaired by erasing, if necessary.
The Talmud teaches that scribes should not add calcanthum (vitriol or sulfuric acid) to their ink (Sota 17b; see Yoreh Deah 271:6, Pitchei Teshuva ad loc 17). Calcanthum-enhanced ink cannot be erased by rubbing or washing. All writing - even holy books - must have the potential to be erased, as they may have been tainted by sparks of evil.
A Torah written by a heretic has been totally contaminated, and must be completely burned by fire (Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah 6:8). Usually, however, holy objects only come in light contact with evil, as when Esau's angel touched Jacob's thigh (Genesis 32:26). Therefore, it is sufficient to ensure that the scribal ink is not permanent, so that writing has the potential to be erased.
The Unique Torah of Rabbi Meir
Yet, we find one scribe who did add calcanthum to his ink: second- century scholar Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Meir was a unique individual. The Talmud states that there was no one equal to Rabbi Meir in his generation. His teachings were so extraordinary, his colleagues were unable to fully follow his reasoning. Because of Rabbi Meir's exceptional intellect, the sages did not decide the law according to his opinion (Eiruvin 13a-b).
The Talmud further relates that 'Meir' was not Rabbi Meir's true name. He was called 'Meir' because "he would enlighten [meir] the eyes of the sages in Halacha." What was the source of Rabbi Meir's unique light? His special status stemmed from the fact that his soul aspired to the enlightenment of the Messianic Era. Thus, we find that the Jerusalem Talmud referred to Rabbi Meir as "your messiah." (Kilayim 9:3)
For Rabbi Meir, there was no need to avoid using calcanthum. His Torah belonged to the future era when Amalek's evil will be eradicated. On the contrary, he took care to enhance his ink, reflecting the eternal nature of his refined enlightenment.
Rabbi Akiva, on the other hand, taught that scribes should not avail themselves of calcanthum. In the current state of the world, everything must have the potential to be erased and corrected - even that containing holy content. Only in this manner will we succeed in totally obliterating Amalek and his virulent influence. Then, we may halt the spread of evil traits in all peoples, the source of all private and public tragedy.
Uniting the Oral and Written Law
The influence of Amalek had a second detrimental effect on the Torah. God commanded Moses to communicate the struggle against Amalek in two distinct channels. Moses transmitted this Divine message in writing - "Write this in the Book" - and orally - "Repeat it in Joshua's ears". This refraction of Torah into divergent modes of transmission indicated that it had lost some of its inner unity.
Consequently, the Talmud teaches that a scribe may not write from memory - not even a single letter (Megillah 18b). Our world maintains a deep-seated division between the written and the oral. Only with the obliteration of Amalek and the world's redemption will we merit the unified light of the Torah's oral and written sides.
Once again, we find that Rabbi Meir and his Torah belonged to the future age, when this artificial split will no longer exist. Thus, when Rabbi Meir was in a place with no books, he wrote the entire book of Esther from memory (ibid).
During the holiday of Purim, when we achieved an additional obliteration of Amalek (with the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek), the Torah regained a measure of its original unity. The generation of Mordechai and Esther accepted upon themselves the Oral Law, just as the Written Law had been accepted at Sinai (Tanhuma 58:3).
[Adapted from Igrot, vol. III, pp. 86-7 (1917)]