- RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
There are profound matters hidden in the Four Parshiyos. These four Shabbosos of the year are exceedingly holy days. Why do we lain these four parshiyos from the Torah instead of performing the actual mitzvah? What good does laining the parshah do to fulfill the mitzvah? Specifically, Parshas Zachor, which, according to most, is a Mitzvah D’oraisa, and Parshas Parah, which according to some, is a Mitzvah D’oraisa?
The נתיבות שלום explains that the purpose of all the mitzvos of the Torah, the taryag mitzvos, is to create a connection between a Yid and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Every time a Yid performs a mitzvah, it brings him closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The same is true with the four parshiyos, as they are meant to bring one closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The neshama of the mitzvos of the Torah is eternal, and even when Klal Yisroel are unable to perform those mitzvos, they can never be nullified. The core of the mitzvah, the root of the mitzvah, is always there, and Klal Yisroel can connect to it through the laining of the parshiyos.
The purpose of Parshas Zachor, regarding the eradication of Amalek, is to bring d’veikus to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Amalek is the shoresh, the root, of klipos, evil spiritual powers in the world. All of the evil in the world comes from it. The posuk says, “מלחמה לד' בעמלק מדור דור”, that the Name of Hashem, and the kisai, the Throne, of Hashem, will not be complete until all traces of Amalek are wiped out, for as long as there is even a remnant of Amalek remaining in the world, Hashem’s Name and kisai are not complete. Included in this idea is that a Yid cannot come to a complete d’veikus to Hashem as long as Amalek is in the world. As long as there is Amalek in the world, מדור דור, for all future generations, the klipah of Amalek holds back the proper d’veikus that one should have to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Fighting Amalek is a battle for Hashem, a battle to come close to Hashem. The fulfillment of the mitzvah of mechiyas Amalek will bring the world to its purpose, that a Yid is connected to Hashem.
Every day of the year, there is a mitzvah to remember what Amalek did to us, and once a year, there is a mitzvah to lain Parshas Zachor. The פנימיות, the core of the mitzvah, that we have every day is that one must work on eradicating the evil within himself. We must hate evil and seek to eradicate it so that we can have true d’veikus to Hakadosh Hu. Once a year, we renew our commitment to this. We read Parshas Zachor aloud from the Torah, and we make a firm determination that we will truly seek to root out all evil in the world so that we can be zoche to true d’veikus to Hashem. Repairing a part of the neshama cannot be done on a weekday but must be done on Shabbos Kodesh. The Zohar Hakadosh tells us that Shabbos is the day of the neshama. Shabbos was given to repair our neshamos; thus, these four parshiyos are specifically lained on Shabbos Kodesh, for that is the day one can be zoche to repair his neshama through mitzvos. Shabbos is the day of the neshama – a day for us to connect to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
