ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף תהילים 16:11

The Midrash quoted by Rashi on the verse is well known. (3) When the Torah admonishes in Ki Teytze "remember what Amalek did to you," that warning is a reminder of the conditions under which an Amalek feels encouraged to pounce upon Israel. Israel's own conduct is a provocation . When Joshua is told to choose anashim, i.e. tzaddikim, this is to serve as evidence that there are people amongst Israel who by dint of their lifestyle can face an Amalek without fear, secure in the knowledge that they can count on G-d’s support. Moses assured Joshua that on the morrow he would add the power of prayer to that of the courage of the tzaddikim (5) The visible evidence of Moses’s hands raised in prayer was a psychological prop to the warriors engaged in battle. When Moses’s hands were resting, due to fatigue, this prop was absent inducing fear amongst the Israelites, thus giving Amalek the advantage. Moses’s own physical strength was affected by the knowledge of the weakness of Israel's moral case, as demonstrated by their most recent behaviour. (4+6) Therefore Moses was in need of a physical prop to convey the illusion of superhuman strength and endurance. Viewing Moses’s posture, the Israelites realised that only Moses’s prayer ensured their ascendancy at that particular moment in history. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 29, compares this happening to the incident with the copper snake, which had the power to heal when the Israelites looked at it. (Numbers 21,6-10) That look also symbolised one's faith in G-d and did not mean that the snake had any power at all. (7+8) For the reasons cited, Israel could not achieve more at that time than to weaken Amalek, not destroy it. This campaign could not be compared to the conquest of the Canaanite nations, since here the warriors had to rely on their own strength, though G-d assisted indirectly in order not to ignore Moses’s prayer. On the one hand G-d wanted to prove to Israel that they had been wrong in questioning His Presence; on the other hand, G-d wanted Israel to know that He was still angry at them. For that reason He commanded Moses to "write this in a book and tell Joshua." Only the latter was deemed worthy at that juncture to be told that the ongoing fight against Amalek was indeed G-d’s fight, and that He would not forsake Israel when the latter would come under attack by Amalek. (9) The revelation that Hashem Himself would in future destroy Amalek, warranted that Moses would build an altar which he named "G-d is My banner." This served as proof that G-d had approved the manner in which Moses had acted on his own when Amalek attacked. The very thing that G-d approved of was Moses’s taking the initiative. G-d was aware that if Israel would be left to its own devices, they would not complete the destruction of Amalek, just as they did not complete the destruction of the seven Canaanite nations despite G-d’s warning that leaving any of them alive or in the country, would prove a destabilising influence to Israel's society. (Numbers 33,55) It was Moses who proclaimed "for as long as there is a hand raised against the throne of G-d, He will be at war with Amalek." (Exodus 17,16) It was Moses’s conviction that the importance of wiping out Amalek warranted that G-d personally would continue to take an active part in such endeavours until they would be crowned with total success. This is the reason we read in Samuel I 15,30, after Saul's failure that "Israel's eternity will not be denied." The ultimate success does not depend on any particular leader of Israel who may or may not carry out G-d’s wishes wholeheartedly. (10) Although G-d commands Israel to wage this war of extermination against Amalek, He Himself will complete whatever has not been accomplished by Israel. This is also the meaning of Bileam's statement "Amalek is the first of the nations, therefore its end must be utter destruction." (Numbers 24,20.) When referring to "nations," Bileam means the first nation to rebel against G-d as a nation. Another reason may be that Amalek committed two wrongs 1) They disregarded the agreement made between their respective ancestors Jacob and Esau. 2) They attacked G-d’s chosen people at a particularly sensitive moment. In the words of the Midrash, Amalek put his hands on a scaldingly hot bathtub, meaning right after a clear demonstration of G-d’s power on behalf of Israel. Therefore, both G-d and Israel would share in the task of punishing Amalek. In Parshat Ki Teytze we read about Israel's part, whereas in Parshat Beshalach we read about G-d’s part. These two portions are complementary to one another. This brings us back to our opening Midrash. Once the Messiah will come, Israel will no longer display the usual human inadequacies, i.e. fulfilling G-d’s will only in part. At that time we will be granted G-d’s direct guidance, and will not have to be led by men, who, though G-d’s instruments, are chosen for their relative merit only. In those latter days the salvation will endure eternally, because intermediaries no longer need to be employed by G-d.

One of these was to indulge him as her lord and master and remain purely decorative, whereas the other's function was to bear his children. The fact that Tzilah also bore him a son, was not planned, but rather a result of an attempt at sterilization which had failed. The accomplishments and inventions of the various people listed, show the gradual progress of civilization. With the birth of Lemech's children, there surfaced what promised to be an easier and more comfortable lifestyle, including music, superior tools, etc. This is the result of man having eaten from the tree of knowledge whose appeal had been to the esthetic, the sensual. This may have been the reason that the sister of Tuval Cain, inventor of weaponry, was Naamah, since the aim of warfare is to assure oneself of spoils and a life of comfort based on conquered loot.

What will happen with the Torah of our God, and how faithful are His testimonies, and how commendable are His sayings! For the Scripture mentions four ways of a person that vary: sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up, and all of them are active positions. And do not find it difficult to switch between them. Regarding lying down, the reason for lying is similar to "He will not harm you while you lie down" (Psalms 5). Our sages in the Talmud distinguished between "lying" (shokhev) and "lying down" (nishkav), while in the context of the Torah, both refer to lying down. And the testimony is found in Genesis 19, "Behold, I lay last night with my father." Now, lying down refers to awakening, as most of the time, when a person sleeps, he lies down. Thus, the verse in Genesis 28 states, "And he lay in that place," without mentioning that he also slept. The one who is asleep is similar to the dead. Therefore, it is written in 1 Kings 1, "And David lay down." Now, sitting is the resting posture of a person in one place, as if it is half-standing. Standing, on the other hand, refers to being fully erect, as in Leviticus 25, "And the house shall be raised up." Walking is the movement from one place to another, which is the opposite of sitting and lying down. It is like a stretched line from the head to the feet. However, in the book of Psalms, it is written, "He neither walked, stood, nor sat." It does not mention lying down because most of the time when a person lies down, he sleeps. In the Torah, it is written, "You shall speak of them when you lie down," like in Ecclesiastes 36, "I spoke to my heart, even with my mouth." All his activities, regardless of the position, he was commanded to meditate on His Torah. Thus, it is written, "And you shall meditate on it day and night." King Solomon (peace be upon him) said in Proverbs 6, "When you walk, it shall lead you; when you lie down, it shall watch over you, and when you awaken, it shall speak with you." Whether you are standing or sitting, these words teach us that God is one, and there is nothing besides Him. Therefore, it is written in Deuteronomy 6, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." If you desire to stand in this worldly life and in the world to come, love the Name. And at the end of the book, I will reveal to you this secret, for it is the foundation of all wisdom. For the Name alone is the Creator of all and knows the parts of everything in the path of all, for the parts are changing, and the human soul alone, as given by God, is like a ready tablet upon which to write. And in this writing on the tablet is the divine script, which is the knowledge encompassing those born from the four roots, the knowledge of the spheres, the Throne of Glory, the secret of the Divine Chariot, and the Supernal Knowledge. Then the soul will be attached to the glorious God while still in the human being, and likewise, when it separates its power from its body, which is its palace. And it is not proper for an intelligent person to seek in this world only what will be good for the world to come. Do you not see that it is written in matters of forbidden relationships, "I am the Lord who distances you from forbidden relationships"? Then one will be among those who cleave to the glorious Name, as the words of Asaph say, "But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me" (Psalms 73). And higher than that, for behold, your distant ones shall perish, as David says, "For You will not abandon my soul to the grave" (Psalms 16). When my flesh descends there, for the grave is the burial place that is in the depths of the earth, as in Psalms 139, "And I lie down in Sheol, behold, You are there." And David says, "You will make known to me the path of life" (Psalms 16). And so says the poet, "But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol" (Psalms 49), and the word will take me up to a high place, as in Genesis 5, "And he was not, for God took him" (referring to Enoch). And as it is written, "And after glory, you shall take me" (Psalms 73). And it is written, "And sanctify yourselves today, and do not approach a woman" (Exodus 19). Therefore, one who lies with his wife is impure. And it is forbidden for him to pray until he washes himself. This was also mentioned by the sages of the Mishnah, that it was the custom of the people of Israel during the Second Temple period to wash a garment or skin if even a drop fell on it. One should not eat sacred meat. The Scripture emphasizes the stringency regarding menstruation, childbirth, and the Nazirite's consecration. When the days of his vow are completed and he desires to resume drinking wine, he must bring a burnt offering, a sin offering, a peace offering, and shave off his hair at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, as a way of disgracing himself, for he has distanced himself from his sanctity and descended from his elevated state. Likewise, a woman who has given birth shall bring a one-year-old lamb. The owner of a field shall give tithes, first fruits, forgotten sheaves, corners of the field, and the dough offering. The owner of a vineyard shall observe the prohibition of orlah (uncircumcised fruit trees), the additional tithes, and the consecration of the first fruits. Similarly, the owner of a flock shall give the first shearing, the first-born, and the tenth. And one shall partake of peace offerings, the thigh, the breast, the foreleg, the cheeks, and the stomach alone, as it is written, "Each person shall give according to what he has, according to the blessing of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 16). The meaning is that it is fitting to give according to what the Lord has given him, and this is the criteria. In the end, Elijah the man of God and also Elisha shall testify to this.