"They stood at the foot of the mountain." Rav Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa said: This teaches that HKB”H forcefully held the mountain over them like a barrel, and He said to them: “If you accept the Torah, fine; if not, your burial will be there!” Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: From here stem strong grounds for a notification of coercion regarding the acceptance of the Torah. [Rashi explains: If they are legally accused of not having fulfilled what they had accepted upon themselves, they can claim that they accepted it under duress.] Rava said: Nevertheless, they accepted it during the times of Achashverosh, as it is written (Esther 9, 27): “The Jews fulfilled and accepted”—they fulfilled that which they had already accepted.
Why did Yisrael accept the Torah willingly and lovingly after the miracle of Purim, whereas they failed to do so at Matan Torah? The Sefas Emes (Purim 5645, 5654) provides us with a wonderful explanation. At Matan Torah, Yisrael had been poisoned by their earlier encounter with Amalek. The Purim miracle, however, resulted in the hanging of Haman and his sons, and a decisive victory over the descendants of Amalek. By eradicating the presence of Amalek and its klipah, they effectively expunged its poisonous influence and were able to accept the Torah willingly and lovingly.
Thus, we see unequivocally that the klipah of Amalek interfered with Yisrael receiving the Torah. As mentioned above, at Har Sinai HKB”H said to Yisrael: "ועתה אם שמוע תשמעו בקולי"—and now, if you hearken well to Me—hearkening to the voice of Hashem is a marvelous segulah for fulfilling the precepts of the Torah. As Rashi explains: If you accept it (the Torah) upon yourselves now, it will be pleasant to you from now on. Hence, on Purim, when Haman, his children, and his devotees—descendants of Amalek—were thwarted and utterly defeated: “The Jews fulfilled and accepted” the Torah sincerely with ahavah! Thus, it is evident that accepting upon ourselves the obligation to live and abide by all the mitzvos of the Torah is a marvelous segulah for eradicating the klipah of Amalek.
We now have cause to rejoice! For, we can now understand the profound methods of Chazal. They employed the mnemonic עמלק alluding the four halachos we have discussed: ע'רב מ'לוה ל'וקח ק'בלן. As explained, they represent the four fundamental principles involved in the service of Hashem that portend the elimination of the klipah of Amalek—the archenemy who had the audacity to attack Yisrael shortly after the exodus from Mitzrayim in an effort to prevent them from serving Hashem with these principles. In the merit of living by these principles, we will be victorious and succeed in fulfilling the mitzvah of “mechias Amalek.” Then the name of HKB”H and His throne will be complete with the arrival of the righteous redeemer—swiftly, in our times! Amen.
