(ד) .... אבל שבעה עממין ועמלק שלא השלימו אין מניחין מהם נשמה שנאמר כן תעשה לכל וגו' רק מערי העמים לא תחיה כל נשמה וכן הוא אומר בעמלק תמחה את זכר עמלק....
However, if either the seven nations or Amalek refuse to accept a peaceful settlement, not one soul of them may be left alive as ibid. 20:15-16 states: 'Do this to all the cities that ... are not the cities of these nations. However, from the cities of these nations,... do not leave a soul alive.' Similarly, in regard to Amalek, Deuteronomy 25:19 states: 'Obliterate the memory of Amalek.'
1) The Rambam appears to include Amalek with the "seven nations". Who are these seven nations and why are they mentioned here?
2) The first line of the source above seems to be a contradiction with what we have learned so far. What is that apparent contradiction?
Kessef Mishneh: Included in [the concept of] "making peace" is the acceptance of the seven [Noachide] laws. For if they accepted these seven laws, they would no longer be included in the category of the "seven [idolatrous] nations" [which Bnei Yisrael are commanded to annihilate when they enter the land], nor in the category of "Amalek"; they would be considered like [any other] fit Noachides.
3) Why is the acceptance of the "7 Noachide laws" so important?
4) Acceptance of the "7 Noachide laws" changes the type of war - from a national war to a cultural war. Why is this so?
(7) And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
Esther Rabba 8:5
"Mordekhai told him of all that had happened to him (karahu)" – He said to Hatakh: Go and tell her (Esther), "The descendant of 'karahu' has come upon you" – as it is written, "They met you (karekha) on the way."
5) The Midrash of Esther Rabba makes a connection between the sources in Deuteronomy (Devarim) and Esther to explain the difference between the Jewish People and Amalek. What is that difference?
Yalkut Shimoni Esther, 1056
"Tomorrow I shall do as the king has said" – why did Esther say "tomorrow"? Because all descendants of Amalek are destined to fall "on the morrow," as it is written, "Tomorrow I shall stand atop the hill." (Yalkut Shimoni Esther, 1056)
6) Once again, Chazal connect 2 verses in Shemot and Esther in relation to Amalek. What is that connection?
Bereishit Rabba 85:1
The brothers were busy selling Yosef; Yosef was busy with sackcloth and fasting; Reuven was busy with sackcloth and fasting; Yaakov was busy with sackcloth and fasting; Yehuda was busy with finding a wife. And the Holy One was busy creating the light of the king Mashiach. (Bereishit Rabba 85:1)
7) How does this Midrash explain Judaism's approach to life?
Yalkut Shimoni, 261
Rabbi Levi said: To what could Israel be compared? To a person who had a son; he carried him upon his shoulders and led him through the marketplace. The son saw things that he liked, and he said to his father: "Buy it for me" – and he bought it for him, a first time and a second time and a third.
The son saw someone and said to him, "Have you seen my father?"The father said to him: "Silly boy – you are riding on my shoulders, and everything that you ask for I give to you, and you ask this person, 'Have you seen my father?'"What did the father do? He cast him off his shoulders – and a dog came and bit him. So it was when Israel came out of Egypt: the Holy One surrounded them with seven clouds of glory…; they asked for manna and He gave to them. Once He had provided all of their needs, they began to wonder and ask, "Is God in our midst, or not?" (Shemot 17:7). The Holy One said to them, "You question My Presence? By your lives, I tell you that a dog will come and bite you" – and what did this refer to? This was Amalek.
8) What is the sin of the Jewish People as conveyed in the Midrash?
(7) In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
9) How did Haman decide on which day to wipe out the Jewish People?
10) What does this say about Amalek's approach to life?
11) With all this in mind, what is one reason we are commanded to wipe out the memory of Amalek?
Based on a Sicha by Rabbi Yehuda Amital zt"l http://www.vbm-torah.org/purim/pur66-rya.htm