Shabbat Zachor

Shabbat Zachor (Sabbath of Remembrance) is the Shabbat that immediately precedes Purim. On this Shabbat, we conclude the weekly Torah reading with a special Maftir from Deuteronomy 25:17-19.

Shabbat Zachor (Sabbath of Remembrance) is the Shabbat that immediately precedes Purim. On this Shabbat, we conclude the weekly Torah reading with a special Maftir from Deuteronomy 25:17-19, which describes the attack of Amalek shortly after the Jewish people ascended out of Egypt. Moses commands the people to remember (zocher) Amelek:

"Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God."

The Torah instructs us to remember what Amalek did to us. What did they do? Amalek attacked us from the rear, where the most vulnerable and feeble among us traveled. What Amalek did was abhorrent, disgusting, and inhuman, and we must never forget.

In addition to this, we remember what Amalek did as an introduction to the most joyous season of the Jewish year - Purim and Passover. Purim, followed by Passover, are the two holidays most associated with the salvation and redemption of Israel. In these episodes, the Jewish people are saved and saved yet again. Nevertheless, on Shabbat Zachor we begin this season with the remembrance of what Amalek did to us. What is the significance of this remembrance? And why does its memory persist in every generation?

The remembrance of Amalek is a caution: Just as Haman, a true son of Amalek, tried to destroy all the Jews in exile; so too we are reminded at Passover that in every generation enemies rise up to destroy us, but God is our salvation.

In remembrance of Amalek, we remember that the Seleucid Greeks, and then the Romans, slaughtered our sages by the tens of thousands. We remember the suffering and death of of Messiah at the hands of the Romans and her conspirators, though he did not remain in depth’s grip. We remember the horrors of the Shmad and the slaughter of the Crusades. We remember the expulsions from Spain, England, the Netherlands. We remember Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the pogroms of Russia. We remember Alfred Dreyfus, the anti-Semitism in France and all of Western Europe. We remember the Nazis and the Holocaust. We remember Gush Etzion. We remember the terrorist attacks against Israel, killing the young and old, the faint and weary, the stragglers at our rear. We remember all these things, because even at our time of greatest joy, Amalek is still here. We remember.