Parashat Tetzaveh: Don’t Behave Like Amalek!

Let’s begin with a story from the Babylonian Talmud, about a gentile who passed behind the study hall when this verse was being read: “And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a quilted undercoat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aharon your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.” (Exodus 28:4)

When the gentile heard the voice of the teacher reciting the verse about the garments; the breastplate and the ephod, an idea popped into his head.

“Said he, ‘For whom are these?’ ‘For the High Priest,’ he was told. Then said that gentile to himself, ‘I will go and become a convert, that I may be appointed a High Priest.’ So he went before Shammai and said to him, ‘Make me a convert on condition that you appoint me a High Priest.’ But he repulsed him with the builder’s cubit which was in his hand.” (Shabbat 31)

Hillel VS Shammai

Shammai was right – the gentile’s request was presumptuous and insulting. Afterward, that man went to Hillel, and surprisingly, Hillel converted him and then sent him to prepare for the role by studying the Torah. Through his studies, the convert understood that even the greatest of Israel could not enter the Holy of Holies and that the role of High Priest was reserved for kohanim only. Now, after he had learned a little, integrated into the yeshiva, made friends, and understood something of the spiritual world of Judaism, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity given to him and said to Hillel: “O gentle Hillel; blessings rest on your head for bringing me under the wings of the Divine Presence!”

Hillel overcame his wounded ego, contained the gentile’s impudence, and created a process through which the gentile himself understood that his request was inappropriate. But now he was already part of the people of Israel, connected to the study of the Torah, and happy about the opportunity offered him. Hillel teaches us to combine justice and compassion, to see the person before you, and most importantly, to make decisions from a place devoid of ego, from a feeling of love and responsibility rather than superiority.

Remember what Amalek did to you

On the Shabbat before Purim, also called Shabbat Zachor, we customarily read, in addition to the weekly Torah portion, the verses about Amalek from the book of Deuteronomy. There is a deep connection, in my opinion, between Hillel’s humility and the profound meaning of these verses.

“Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt – how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. He did not fear God. Therefore, when your God יהוה grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that your God יהוה is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

A superiority that has corrupted many nations

The Amalekites tried to exploit their superiority, attacking Israel without provocation, and doing so from behind, where all the elderly and others who had difficulty walking were. Why are we commanded to remember this? And what does it mean to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven? A wide variety of answers can be found among different commentators. I was especially touched by that of German Orthodox rabbi Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism.

Rabbi Hirsch claimed that remembering Amalek is remembering the temptation that exists in forceful superiority, a superiority that has corrupted many nations. We mustn’t get confused when we see people who worship power and death. Upon us, says Rabbi Hirsch, is imposed a mission to behave differently, to conduct ourselves with Hillel-like humility and to overcome coarseness and violence. Our mission in the world is to erase this Amalek-like behavior!

Lior Tal Sadeh is an educator, writer, and author of “What Is Above, What Is Below” (Carmel, 2022). He hosts the daily “Source of Inspiration” podcast, produced by Beit Avi Chai.

For more insights into Parashat Tetzaveh, listen to “Source of Inspiration”

Translation of most Hebrew texts sourced from Sefaria.org
Main Photo: Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen, and Levites in ancient Judah.\ Wikipedia