אילוסטרציה לימוד תורה
אילוסטרציה לימוד תורהצילום: נתי שוחט/פלאש90
In this week's Parsha, we learn about the Amalekite ambush of the most vulnerable Jews in the Midbar (desert). This brief portion provides some very important insights into Amalek. As Rav Shamshon Refael Hirsch, zts"l, explains, the Torah here also sheds light on the very mission of the Jewish People - being charged with the duty to serve as the very antithesis of Amalek.
Amalek attacked the Jews as a means of warring against our Divine Patron - Hashem Himself. That war against G-d Himself and His people has never ended, and even as identification of the biological progeny of Amalek has apparently become far less definitive, the murderous Arab terrorist attacks on Israel can be judged Amalek by their actions - attacking the weak, committing murderous atrocities, showing no compassion.
And the spiritual heirs of those ancient enemies of Hashem abound.

Granted, offering contemporary Amalek-related observations tends to evoke expectations of application of Torah sources against a particular adversary. As necessary as it is to authentically identify the spiritual progeny of Amalek - actively rescuing the most susceptible victims from Amalek's influences is no less needy of our thoughtful vigilance. The challenge of countering Amalek nowadays presents golden opportunities to save untold numbers of Acheinu Bnei (u'Bnot) Yisroel.

In this vein, we must bear in mind a crucial distinction presented by Reb Elchonon Wasserman HY"D. In his Kovetz He'oros, Yevomos, Aggadah, Ch. 10, he provides keys to identify modern day "Spiritual Amalek" ("Zera-Amalek" in his terminology). In doing so, he delineates sharply between Zera-Amalek themselves, and their deluded victims. "Zera-Amalek" are the proponents and propagandists, crusading against Hashem Himself - for rish'us le'hach'is (evil for purposes other than benefit, literary: "for spite," e.g. evil for the sake of evil itself) (ibid., 10:2-3). On the other hand, the unfortunate masses - who have fallen victim to the pernicious influences of said anti-G-d influencers - are not Zera-Amalek themselves (see ibid., para. 6). The latter are those who most need our help.

By extending ourselves to save the actual - and, more readily, the potential - victims of Spiritual Amalek, we not only discharge our obligations of Lo ta'amod al dam rei'echah, etc. - and advance authentic ach'dut in Klal Yisroel - we also, arguably, lay the groundwork for the Final Redemption.

The Ramban at the end of this week's Parsha, (Beshalach 17:9, end), explains that Moshe Rabbeinu invested such epic effort into this war against Amalek because of this: Everything that Moshe and Yehoshua would inflict on Amalek - at that time - would similarly be accomplished by Eliyahu (HaNavi) and Moshiach Ben-Yosef against the descendants of Amalek in the future.

This lesson is to be shared with every Jew to encourage us to perform our modest share of work in the timeless war against Zera-Amalek, in every generation. The more we can accomplish in our humble way, the more of a merit we will have in the ultimate eradication of Amalek - by Hashem - as promised in our parsha.

The physical Amalekite dangers are fought bravely by our brothers in the IDF who risk and give their lives for the Jewish people's survival and safety. How are we to save and safeguard Jews from spiritual Amalekite dangers? Firstly, we need to understand how Amalek is so successful in targeting the weaker Jews.

Rav Naftoli Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, known as "the Netziv," (D'varim 25:18) reveals the modus operandi of Amalek. Amalek targets Jews who are spiritually (and physically) vulnerable. How so? They're enabled - in targeting the weak - by the "Apikorsim within." He elucidates the passuk "... ve'yazanaiv be'choh kol ha'nech'esholim ..." - explaining the word be'choh to indicate "through you" - meaning: via the unbelievers within -- who collaborate with Amalek in targeting the most susceptible Jews.

Accordingly, in order to protect the most vulnerable Jews, we need to identify those anti-Torah elements within who are collaborative with Zera-Amalek, whether Jewish pro-LBGT organizations or those who fight Orthodox Judaism.

Even if we don't necessarily have the ability to eliminate the threat posed by those pervasive elements, we certainly can - and must - ensure that we don't enable, support, or tolerate them in our midst.

Admittedly, the playing field vying to qualify for the criteria of Zera-Amalek [as articulated by Reb Elchonon, for example, warring against HaShem, advancing evil "for spite"] is not sparsely-populated.
We refer to the book, Externalization of The Hierarchy (NYC: Lucia Publ. Co.), which on pg. 544, declares " the gradual dissolution - if in any way possible - of the Orthodox Jewish faith" as a premier goal (reiterated on page 551).
The movement behind the book, broadly referred to as "the New-Age Movement," is actively advancing those declared ideals. How so? Untold numbers of "New-Age" healers, practitioners, lecturers, and writers -- have - for decades - been infiltrating Orthodox communities throughout the western world. Take the New-Age book Alternative Medicine In Halacha, against which leading Rabbis have warned, since its publication almost eight years ago (https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2025/02/ban-by-over-dozen-rabbonim-against-new.html). These New-Age proponents purvey a pagan brew of far-eastern religion, occultism, re-branded Avoda-Zorah, and pervasive absurdism - all under a pseudoscientific veneer of legitimacy. Thereby, they misrepresent their ideas, practices and attitudes as compatible with Judaism.
Additionally, some of these influencers actually have admitted their goal of drawing Torah Jews away from Torah. Far more have confirmed beyond a doubt it, via their own public actions and statements. The truth of all this is evident to anyone who has carefully observed the New-Age movement burgeoning within Orthodox communities over the past 25 years.
One lesson we can derive from the Divine Directive in this week's parsha to Moshe and Yehoshua to weaken Amalek - rather than to eradicate them (Rashi 17:13) - may be as follows: We often will find that we cannot totally eliminate, although we mus try, the physical and spiritual threat of Zera-Amalek. However, that is by no means a reason to evade our responsibility to save whom we can. Limited abilities are not an exemption, but an obligatory task to accomplish whatever we possibly can.

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter is Executive Director of Help Rescue Our Children