Zachor

Yesterday was the last Shabbat before the holiday of Purim, and, as is the practice, parshat Zachor was added to the service. In that reading we hear and remember the actions of Amalek, our eternal enemies, when they tried to eliminate the Jewish people. We read it then because Purim itself commemorates the events when a large number of Jews were in Persia, and Haman, King Achashverosh's Prime Minister, tried to have all the Jews killed. According to our tradition, Haman was a descendant of the tribe of Amalek, as are those like Hitler and Stalin who had, or have, a similar goal.

What made the methods of the Amelekites particularly heinous was that they tried to achieve their objective by attacking from the rear and by trying first to wipe out the slow and the weak. Their aim was to destroy those who could not fight back; their view was that such attacks would demoralize their enemy – the Jews – and eventually make it easier to achieve victory over the entire nation of Israel. That, after all, was their ultimate goal.

It's sad to note that there hasn't been a change in this tactic over the millennia. Except, perhaps, to make it worse. The world will surely note and long remember the use of this tactic over the ages and its employment by cowardly armies that believe they can accomplish their goals best by frightening their enemies into accepting their terms rather than risk a continuation of unpreventable devastation of the defenseless.

Amalek still exists. Whether it is understood literally or figuratively – whether as a limited phenomenon or expansively – in our time these actions are those of terrorists around the globe, but primarily those of jihadists. Every day we hear of a new attack by one or more adherents of ISIS or another similar organization. Typically the attacks are on civilians, including women and children, and often the attacker is willing to give up his own life in order to kill and demoralize. It started in Israel and has spread around the world, but no matter where it occurs, the world blames it on Israel.

The craven and bloody have another tactic as well. While they view themselves as martyrs for a virtuous cause, they do not hesitate to hide among the dissatisfied as well as the satisfied in their own societies. Nor to store their armaments in places that they hope will be free from attack from the enemy even though they use them for offensive purposes. And if they're wrong, if those they attack have the effrontery to fight back, the people on their side who happen to be killed will be martyrs as well, willing or unwilling. And their worst enemies, Israel and the Jews in general, will be viewed as the ones responsible for the carnage. It doesn't matter if the terrorist attack has no relation to the Middle East or to Jews, everyone knows they're the cause.

And there is another tactic used by those who would find a weakness in their opponents and try to capitalize on it. It is defamation and isolation. Where direct attack doesn't work, indirect means are sought. When physical force is ineffective, political force – whether by international denigration or boycott – is worth trying. And by using such “peaceful” methods they may even get the cooperation of those looking for a way to defeat others, but who are too cowardly and too self-righteous to take any risk to do so.

The commandment to zachor, to remember, reminds us not only of past enemies, but of those who flourish now, and of their allies. Different tactics have been employed over time, but the goal has not changed. And the varied tactics that have been adopted are simply to try to find ones that work.

Amalek lives. Amalek continues to try to destroy our people. But if we remember, if we remain alert to the different tactics they may use, we can deal with both the old and the new. And that is a mission that is just as valid now as it was millennia ago. An annual reminder is warranted and welcome.