ref: Shai Held: Combating Cruelty: Amalek Within and Without
Laurie Maskin: Memory or Baggage? The Sacred Duties of Remembering Amalek Shabbat Zachor 2016
(י) כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֥א לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וּנְתָנ֞וֹ יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ בְּיָדֶ֖ךָ וְשָׁבִ֥יתָ שִׁבְיֽוֹ׃
(10) When you take the field against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive,
- aWhen you capture a woman who you want to marry
- Primogeniture, even if you don't like the oldest son's mother
- Wayward and defiant son
- Rules for impaling criminals
- Rules for finding lost articles
- Ban on cross-dressing
- Find a bird's nest
- Parapet on your roof
- Mixing wool and linen
- How to divorce by saying wife was not a virgin
- Both parties to adultery to be put to death
- Rape in town or in the fields
- Personal hygiene
- Leaving parts of vineyard for the poor
- Dealing with slaves
- Respect for the needy
- Levirit marriage
- Honesty in business dealings
And then we get to the end of the portion
...and then:
Doesn't this seem a bit harsh? Why the children? Why the entire people?
What did Amalek do?
Story of how when Moses' hands were up the Israelites did well, when he lowered them Amalek did well.
(יד) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה כְּתֹ֨ב זֹ֤את זִכָּרוֹן֙ בַּסֵּ֔פֶר וְשִׂ֖ים בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ כִּֽי־מָחֹ֤ה אֶמְחֶה֙ אֶת־זֵ֣כֶר עֲמָלֵ֔ק מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
Why are Amalekites treated differently than Edomites or even Egyptians?
Amalek's attack came out of the blue; no cause.
Attack came just as God's promise about to be realized.
The ultimate crime: attacking the old and the weak just as they are escaping to freedom.
Whereas the pareshah talks about being fair to the weak and defenseless, Amalek did exactly the opposite.
We don't abhor Amalek alone; we abhor what Amaleik stands for. Archetypical evil
Amalek comes on the scene just after the Israelites are having a major moment of doubt
Talmud: Rabbi Eliezer: "If anyone from any of the nations of the world comes to convert to Judaism, they must accept him, but from the House of Amalek, they must not accept him.
Amalek is pure evil. (think Isis)
But in treating his descendants such, are we losing our own humanity?
The idea of Amalek must be blotted out metaphorically. There's a piece of Amalek within each of us. This is what must be blotted out
Amalek is said to be descended from Esau (and also the progenitor of Haman). Therefore, aren't good and evil brothers?
Final takeaways
Not only are Jews commanded to wipe out Amalek, who is the descendant of Esau, but
each Jew has to wipe out that negative part that is called Amalek hidden in her heart. So long as the descendants of Amalek are in the world – and each of us is also an "Olam Katan", a small world, so when the power of evil in each of us arises (that which leads us to sin) Amalek is still in the world – the reminder (to wipe out Amalek) calls out from the Torah. Kedushat Levi, Chasidic Master
The battle against the Evil Inclination is not like other battles, where one can have a decisive, permanent victory over a given enemy. Even if one defeats the Evil Inclination a hundred times, and leaves it alone by itself for even an instant, it immediately gains the upper hand. Therefore a person must be engaged in battle against the Evil Inclination her whole life. If one lets her hands down, Amalek prevails. Korban heAni
Amalek is numerically equivalent to safek, doubt. Whenever one considers doing a positive thing, Amalek introduces doubt into one’s mind (“Why start or support that project—aren’t there much more important ones?') Chasidic Source