Dear Friends,
This is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembrance, which always falls on the Shabbat just before
Purim, when we read how Haman sought to destroy the Jews. On this Shabbat, Jews around the globe
read from Deuteronomy a few verses which describe how the biblical Amalek attacked the Jews as we
journeyed, killing the young and old.
The Torah teaches, “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt.” (Dr.
25:17)
On this Shabbat, established by the early sages well before the Inquisition or the Holocaust, this was our
day to remember what tyrants had one to us. The verse recalls both Pharaoh and Haman, and later
rabbinic sages posited that Haman, himself, was a descendent of Amalek. Thus, they all were rolled into
one.
Today, however, we know tyrants all too well – not only in later Jewish history, but in our very own day.
We only have to look around the globe to see how demagoguery and violence have elevated seemingly
elected officials to dictator positions – in Russia, Belarus and China. Moreover, we see how truly elected
leaders usurp power and disembowel their own democratic institutions, in India, Israel, where
Netanyahu has been trying to strip the courts of their oversight power, and in the United Stats, where
Trump has fired inspectors general, justice officials, and more.
It is vital to realize that the Torah’s warning to Remember Amalek is not merely a high school lesson in
history, but it is a call to vigilance in every age and locale. An old adage argues that power is not given,
rather, it is taken. That may be true, but when people acquiesce to authoritarian power anywhere, then
power is both given and taken.
Note the central theme of the Purim story: Mordechai and Esther teamed together to stand up to
Haman, and redeem their people. Similarly, until October 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis
were in the streets weekly, protesting Netanyahu’s government overreach. Similarly, in the United
States, Americans have stood up to power manipulations in the past, and do so, still today.
This is not a political message. It is the theme of this week’s Torah portion, and it is the central
argument of Purim: Remember what despots did to us in the past. Do not let it happen again!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
This is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembrance, which always falls on the Shabbat just before
Purim, when we read how Haman sought to destroy the Jews. On this Shabbat, Jews around the globe
read from Deuteronomy a few verses which describe how the biblical Amalek attacked the Jews as we
journeyed, killing the young and old.
The Torah teaches, “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt.” (Dr.
25:17)
On this Shabbat, established by the early sages well before the Inquisition or the Holocaust, this was our
day to remember what tyrants had one to us. The verse recalls both Pharaoh and Haman, and later
rabbinic sages posited that Haman, himself, was a descendent of Amalek. Thus, they all were rolled into
one.
Today, however, we know tyrants all too well – not only in later Jewish history, but in our very own day.
We only have to look around the globe to see how demagoguery and violence have elevated seemingly
elected officials to dictator positions – in Russia, Belarus and China. Moreover, we see how truly elected
leaders usurp power and disembowel their own democratic institutions, in India, Israel, where
Netanyahu has been trying to strip the courts of their oversight power, and in the United Stats, where
Trump has fired inspectors general, justice officials, and more.
It is vital to realize that the Torah’s warning to Remember Amalek is not merely a high school lesson in
history, but it is a call to vigilance in every age and locale. An old adage argues that power is not given,
rather, it is taken. That may be true, but when people acquiesce to authoritarian power anywhere, then
power is both given and taken.
Note the central theme of the Purim story: Mordechai and Esther teamed together to stand up to
Haman, and redeem their people. Similarly, until October 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis
were in the streets weekly, protesting Netanyahu’s government overreach. Similarly, in the United
States, Americans have stood up to power manipulations in the past, and do so, still today.
This is not a political message. It is the theme of this week’s Torah portion, and it is the central
argument of Purim: Remember what despots did to us in the past. Do not let it happen again!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
