“You shall Obliterate their names from that place...” (12,3)
Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains on an allusionary level this is referring to the spiritual conflict between good and evil. We as physical beings are only privy to see the physical world around us. However, the only reason the physical world has any value, is because it has a spiritual counterpart that is associated with it, which gives it value and potency. For example, the verse states regarding the exodus from Egypt, “They saw Egypt traveling behind them.” If the Torah was referring to the Egyptian army that was pursuing the Jewish people, it should have referred to them in the plural (i.e. Egyptians). Rashi cites Chazal who explain that the verse is referring to the archangel of Egypt that was pursuing the Jewish people. Ultimately when the archangel of Egypt was incapacitated/destroyed, the Egyptian people no longer exist. The physical world is only a reflection of its spiritual counterpart.
Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh continues that the way evil is obliterated in the world is by incapacitating and destroying the spiritual forces that correspond to that evil. When the Torah commands us to “obliterate their names (of idolatry)” it is in fact referring to the ability of the Jew to destroy the spiritual counterparts of evil by acting within the context of the Torah. When the Jew increases and intensifies his good deeds, he will be able to destroy the evil that is obvious and concealed in the world (the power of satan). When the Jew sanctifies G’d’s Name he intensifies the power of holiness and purity in the world – thus weakening and dispelling the evil forces from existence. However, when the Jew transgresses and violates the Torah, he empowers the nether forces/evil and undermines the Altar of G’d.
