Why did Yoshua leave Amalikites alive?

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Why?

[edu]

Rashi comments that he received a prophetic command just to weaken them.
Also don't forget, his war against Amalek was before the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and the Israelites were not yet obligated to fulfill most of the commandments of the Torah.

[muman613]

This article is not an answer to your specific question as to why Yoshua did not destroy Amalek, but it provides some insight into the story.. This is Rav Kooks Torah:

http://ravkooktorah.org/ZACHOR63.htm

Zachor/BeShalach: The Assault of Amalek

Amalek attacked the Israelites at Rephidim, intentionally targeting the weak and those lagging behind. Joshua engaged Amalek in battle, successfully defending Israel against this merciless enemy. Then God instructed Moses:

"Write this as a reminder in the book, and recite it in Joshua's ears: I will completely obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens." (Ex. 17:14)

Why did God command Moses to write down His promise to obliterate Amalek in the Torah? And why did Joshua need to be told verbally? Couldn't Joshua just read what was written in the Torah?

Two Missions

The people of Israel have two national missions. At Mount Sinai, God informed them that they would be a mamlechet kohanim ('kingdom of priests') as well as a goy kadosh ('holy nation') (Ex. 19:6). What is the difference between these two goals?

Mamlechet kohanim refers to the aspiration to uplift the entire world, so that all will recognize God. The people of Israel will fulfill this mission when they function as kohanim for the world, teaching them God's ways.

But the Jewish people are not just a tool to elevate the rest of the world. They have their own intrinsic value, and they need to perfect themselves on their own special level. The central mission of Israel is to fulfill its spiritual potential and become a goy kadosh. If Israel's sole function was to uplift the rest of the world, they would not have been commanded with mitzvot that isolate them from the other nations, such as the laws of kashrut and circumcision.

Two Torahs

God divided the Torah, our guide to fulfill our spiritual missions, into two components: the Written Law and the Oral Law. The written Torah was revealed to the entire world; all nations can access these teachings. God commanded that the Torah be written 'in a clear script' (Deut. 27:8) — in seventy languages, so that it would be accessible to all peoples (Sotah 7:5). The Written Torah was meant to enlighten the entire world.

The Oral Law, on the other hand, belongs solely to the Jewish people. Since this part of Torah was not meant to be committed to writing, it is of a more concealed and less universal nature. In truth, the Oral Law is simply the received explanation of the Written Law, transmitted over the generations. Thus even the Written Torah is only fully accessible to Israel through the Oral Torah. But the other nations nevertheless merit a limited understanding of the Written Torah.

God's Name and Throne

Amalek rejected both missions of Israel. Amalek cannot accept Israel as a mamlechet kohanim instructing the world, nor as a goy kadosh, separate from the other nations with its own unique spiritual aspirations. God promised to 'completely obliterate' ("macho emcheh") Amalek. In Hebrew, the verb is repeated, indicating that God will blot out both aspects of Amalek's rejection of Israel.

Why did God command that His promise to destroy Amalek be written down and also transmitted orally? Since Amalek rejects Israel's mission to elevate humanity, God commanded that His promise to obliterate Amalek be recorded in the Written Torah. The Written Law is, after all, the primary source of Israel's moral influence on the world. And since Amalek also denies Israel's unique spiritual heritage, God commanded that this promise be transmitted verbally, corresponding to the Oral Law, the exclusive Torah of Israel.

When Amalek has been utterly destroyed, the Jewish nation will be able to fulfill both of its missions. This is the significance of the statement of the Sages:

"God vowed that His Name and His Throne are not complete until Amalek's name will be totally obliterated."  (Tanchuma Ki Teitzei 11; Rashi on Ex. 17:16)

What are 'God's Name' and 'God's Throne'? They are metaphors for Israel's two missions: spreading knowledge of God — His Name — and creating a special dwelling place for God's Presence in the world — His Throne. Amalek and its obstructionist worldview must be eradicated before these two goals can be accomplished.

(Silver from the Land of Israel, pp. 135-137. Adapted from Midbar Shur, pp. 312-316.)

[muman613]

http://ravkooktorah.org/BESHALACH_65.htm

Beshalach: The Influence of Amalek

The treacherous attack of Amalek, striking against the weak and helpless, was not a one-time enmity, a grievance from our distant past. God commanded Moses to transmit the legacy of our struggle against Amalek for all generations:

"God told Moses, 'Write this as a reminder in the Book, and repeat it in Joshua's ears: I will totally obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens....' God shall be at war with Amalek for all generations." (Ex. 17:14, 16)

Erasable Writing

The evil of Amalek invaded every aspect of the universe. Even holy frameworks were not immune to this defiling influence. Therefore, they too require the possibility to be repaired by erasing, if necessary.

For this reason, the Talmud (Sotah 17b; see Yoreh Dei'ah 271:6) rules that scribes should not add calcanthum (vitriol or sulfuric acid) to their ink, since calcanthum enhanced ink cannot be erased by rubbing or washing. All writing — even holy books — must have the potential to be erased, as they may have been tainted by sparks of evil.

An extreme example of a holy object that has been totally contaminated is a Torah scroll written by a heretic. In such a case, it must be completely burned by fire (Shabbat 116a; Yoreh Dei'ah 281:1). Usually, however, holy objects only come in light contact with evil, and it is sufficient to ensure that the scribal ink is not permanent, so that the writing has the potential to be erased.

The Unique Torah of Rabbi Meir

However, we find one scribe who did add calcanthum to his ink: the second-century scholar Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Meir was a unique individual. The Talmud states that there was none equal to Rabbi Meir in his generation. His teachings were so extraordinary that his colleagues were unable to fully follow his reasoning. Because of Rabbi Meir's exceptional brilliance, the Sages were afraid to rule according to his opinion (Eiruvin 13a-b).

The Talmud further relates that Rabbi Meir's true name was not Meir. He was called Meir because "he would enlighten ('me'ir') the eyes of the Sages in Halachah." What made Rabbi Meir's approach to Torah so unique? His teachings flowed from his aspiration to attain the future enlightenment of the Messianic Era. Because of this spiritual connection to the Messianic Era, the Jerusalem Talmud (Kilayim 9:3) conferred upon him the title 'your messiah.'

Rabbi Meir had no need to avoid using calcanthum, since his Torah belonged to the future era when Amalek's evil will be eradicated. On the contrary, he took care to enhance his ink, reflecting the eternal nature of his lofty teachings.

Rabbi Akiva, on the other hand, taught that scribes should not avail themselves of calcanthum. In the world's current state, everything must have the potential to be erased and corrected, even that which contains holy content. Only in this way will we succeed in totally obliterating Amalek and his malignant influence. Then we will halt the spread of evil traits in all peoples, the source of all private and public tragedy.

Uniting the Oral and Written Law

The influence of Amalek had a second detrimental effect on the Torah. God commanded Moses to communicate the struggle against Amalek in two distinct channels. Moses transmitted God's message in writing - "Write this in the Book" — and orally — "Repeat it in Joshua's ears." The refraction into divergent modes of transmission indicated that the Torah had lost some of its original unity.

Consequently, the Talmud rules that a scribe may not write from memory, not even a single letter (Megillah 18b). Our world maintains a entrenched division between the written and spoken word. Only with the obliteration of Amalek and the redemption of the world will we merit the unified light of the Torah's oral and written sides.

Once again, we find that Rabbi Meir and his Torah belonged to the future age, when this artificial split will no longer exist. Thus, when Rabbi Meir found himself in a place with no books, he wrote down the entire book of Esther from memory.

In the time of Mordechai and Esther, when we gained an additional measure of obliterating Amalek (with the defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek), the Torah regained some of its original unity. That generation accepted upon itself the Oral Law, in the same way that the Written Law had been accepted at Sinai (Shabbat 88a).

(Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 127-129. Adapted from Igrot HaRe'iyah vol. III, pp. 86-87 (1917).)