A Life Lesson from the Torah
As we are approaching Purim, we remember the mitzva of erasing the memory of Amelek. What’s puzzling is that the Torah says “...you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!” (Devorim 25:19) Why would we forget!? Hashem promised us that His Torah will not be forgotten (see Rashi to Devorim 21:31). Hence, if the verse would have said, “you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek ” it would be sufficient. Why does the Torah need to add, “don’t forget”?
Hashem created this world where many things in it have both physical and spiritual components (i.e., a person has a body and a soul) Our seforim kedoshim - such the writings of Rav Tzdok and others—that delve into deeper meaning of the Torah, teach us that Amalek has two components—the physical and the spiritual. The physical one is the nation of Amalek (the Amalekite people), and the spiritual one is an Amalekite force that acts in a similar fashion as the Amalekite people.
And that force can act inside a Jewish person. Just like the Amalekite people’s goal was to remove our joy in being a Jew and fulfilling the will of our Father in Heavens, so too, the Amalekite force that can enter our heart persuades us to learn and do mitzvos without joy. Regarding that evil force, the Torah says, “don’t forget!” because it’s so easy to forget.
