On the joyous festival of Purim we celebrate G-d’s hidden intervention to thwart the original “Final Solution” that never was. From a superficial glance, the events of Purim seem to have occurred with the aid of human intervention and clever political machinations; yet chazal understood what becomes evident when one analyzes the story with a critical eye. Despite the veneer of normalcy, none of the events relating to the Purim story make any sense. Neither the initial plunge into a period of dark hester panim (Divine concealment), nor the eventual miracle of Divine Providence brought about by our collective repentance can be explained with such superficiality. And in the historical aftermath of the Holocaust, Purim takes on a context that cannot be ignored. We can conceptualize on some level, what Haman’s nightmare decree might have looked like had he (Heaven forbid) fulfilled his genocidal ambitions. Purim was our miraculous salvation from a Persian Holocaust of the Jewish people.

Purim reflects the fullest expression of Jewish joy. And the true simcha derives not only from our survival from the terrible decree, but from our eternal belief that we remain under G-d’s providence, despite the tribulations of a long and terrible exile. Purim confirms our eternally binding covenant with The Almighty. Purim is proof that the nation of Israel lives.

On Purim day, even the wine we drink attains a higher level of sanctification. We seek clarity in a most atypical manner, as we go beyond what we would normally imbibe. Purim remains the one time each year when we abandon an aspect of our seichel, to pursue a clarity that can only be obtained in the midst of slight intoxication. Yet despite the Halachic imperative to be joyous, we need to be cognizant of Purim’s critical lessons that often get lost in a haze of intoxication and silly “Purim Torahs”:

Lesson #1: The lesson of  Amalek’s persistence, and how our ancient arch-rivals arise in every generation to annihilate us. Many Jews refuse to see the enemy for who he is. The most deluded within our camps keep returning to the vomit of Arab lies and duplicity, out of a sick need to believe that there are Arab/Islamic moderates who actually want to live in peace with us. Pragmatic, politically ambitious “right-wingers” sell the mythos that most Israeli-Arabs are peaceful. And perpetuating the lie blinds Jews to the terrible truth. Amalek cannot coexist with us. Others seek artificial friendships and alliances with the leaders of Jordan and Egypt, out of the naive belief that we now have a shared enemy. They refuse to see that ISIS is not a new enemy. The atrocities that they are committing are things that we have already seen from the “moderates” of Fatah. ISIS simply represents the most “successful” and efficient expression of such barbarism. ISIS is articulating Muhammad’s original platform. And those who refuse to see the enemy, will never defeat him.

Lesson #2: The lesson of Jewish vengeance and violence against evil, and the looming Halachic requirement which asserts that one day we will destroy all manifestations of our oldest and most barbaric foe. Let us not forget that the story of Purim culminates with victorious armed battles that we waged against those who were looking forward to slaughtering the Jewish people. We killed a great many anti-Semites. This is unpleasant for the supposed humanists of our camp to accept, since they wish to grant humanity to those who deny ours. They would prefer to believe that the Torah speaks metaphorically. And of course, we have the Torah’s lesson that collective punishment is the only answer with the impossible to rehabilitate or re-educate Am Lak; a people whose desire to lap up Jewish blood reflects a terminal spiritual disease. Amalek represents those who cannot do repentance because their evil is total; both in the intensity of its expression and its pervasiveness in the society. Such lessons are articulated with somber warning in the reading of Parshat Zachor:

“Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt-how, undeterred by fear of G-d, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in the rear. Therefore, when the L-rd your G-d grants you safety from all you enemies around you, in the land that the L-rd your G-d is giving you as a hereditary portions, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under Heaven. Do not forget! (Deuteronomy 25: 17-19) JPS Hebrew English Tanakh

And why are we still dealing with the ideology of Amalek today? Here we have an early example of false morality resulting in terrible repercussions for the Jewish people The seed of Agag lives today, because King Saul failed to heed what the prophet Samuel explicitly instructed him to do. His failure to destroy Amalek in entirety, allowed the ideology to live on. As such, Amalek isn’t a particular nation anymore, but a poisonous doctrine that any people can adopt. As Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, of blessed memory explained:

“Amalek is obviously more than a Bedouin tribe. He is more than a particular group, nationality or people. He is Everyman gone berserk, who has shed his Divine image for that of Satan. Any nation which declares that its policy is to destroy the Jewish people is Amalek, for it has emblazoned on its banner the slogan of impassioned hatred: “Come let us destroy them as a nation, that the name Israel may no more be remembered.” (Reflections of the Rav, Abraham Besdin, pag 180.)

The potential resides within every committed Jew-hater, yet only those that fully articulate their Jew hatred attain this unique level of evil. Sometimes Amalek wears a cross, other times he goose-steps in a brownshirt screaming “zieg heil”. The communist Amalekite denied the concept of a G-d, and thus deified the worst expressions of man. Today’s version of Amalek speaks Arabic, yet he shares the same ideology. It is no coincidence that Nazi propaganda is treated with the same reverence by Arabs/Muslims that the Koran holds for many believers.

What are the signs of Amalek?

Rabid Jew hatred- Amalek’s religion is an ideology of killing Jews. Their self-interests are sacrificed for the mission. Feeding the masses, helping the indigent, healing the sick within their own camp? All sacrificed in order to slaughter Jews. Education? The sole education is the demonization of the Jewish people. While the Arab tyrants continue to abuse and exploit their own people, they can always redirect their ire towards the Jewish people.

Barbarism- The Germans annihilated 6 and 1/2 million Jews with bullets, bayonets, gas chambers, crematoria, and “scientific” human experimentation. The Mufti’s offspring are trying to finish the job. With their own words they often describe in monstrous detail how they crave Jewish blood, and we have seen them use their teeth and talons to pull apart living Jews. True to form, the modern day Amalek targets and slaughters women and children, even babies sucklings at the teat. The weak stragglers receive no reprieve. They are the first to go.

Purim Festivities?

In 2011, Arabs infiltrated the town of Itamar in Samaria and butchered the Fogel family, may G-d avenge their blood. Shortly after the horrible tragedy, the public school down the block from me was having their annual Purim carnival. The raucous mirth was particularly disturbing in the wake of the slaughter, where Arab degenerates stabbed an infant and small children, as readily as they slaughtered their parents. The callous people who run the school probably never considered toning down the festivities. In all likelihood, they didn’t even mention the slaughter to their students, which would be contrary to the culture of “peace” that they are brainwashing the schoolchildren with. After all, the Ministry of Mis-education portrays Arabs as ordinary people who want to live in peace with Jews, not as modern day nazis capable of stabbing infants and children. They prefer that Purim remain the vulgar display that it has become among large sections of the populace. Essentially a reenactment of the feast that caused us problems in the first place. A sign of descent into spiritual depravity; a Jewish Carnevale.

(As an aside, one could tear kriyah at what has become of many of the daughters of Israel today, who grow up in homes devoid of Torah. Just enter any shop and take a look at the choice of available outfits for girls these days. How any father could let his daughter go out in such sexually provocative costumes which both sexualize and exploit them is beyond me, and it speaks volumes about where this country is heading. But I digress.)

In every generation, Amalek wars with Am Yisroel. Evil exists. Use your senses and Jewish kup to draw the obvious conclusions. The Arabs and the Islamic world have eagerly taken the crown of Amalek from the Nazis of yesterday. And Persia is still making trouble for us in 2015. A nuclear armed Iran is every bit the genocidal threat that Haman’s original decree was. And while I have never praised Netanyahu before, if indeed he defies the anti-semitic Achashveirosh of our times and presents his speech to Congress, he deserves praise for exposing Iran’s genocidal intentions. Not so much to convince the anti-Semites of the world who deny the obvious ( I don’t are much for meaningless PR), but rather because it represents a semblance of Jewish strength to the anti-Semites who would aid Amalek. And let the discerning reader keep an eye out for those anti-Semites (i.e. democrat politicians, members of the “Black Caucus”) who boycott Netanyahu’s speech. Their actions will speak volumes. And they should all be called out.

The message of Parshat Zachor and Purim is clear and unambiguous. Agag still lives. In every generation.

A freilichin Purim to everyone. Drink with dignity and self-control to attain the desired state of “ad d’lo yada”. But don’t lose sight of the underlying lessons of Purim. And of course, have your loved ones hide your car keys. Stay off the roads! Chag Sameach.

[Jewish Press]