Defeating Amalek: A Timeless Battle Against Evil

Between the crossing of the Red Sea and the giving of the Torah, two nations approached Israel: one for negativity, the other positively. "Jethro came" – "Amalek came." Both heard about the Exodus from Egypt, but drew opposite conclusions. Jethro joined the people and formed an alliance, while Amalek fought them.

Israel faced them: "Go and fight Amalek," "and Moses went out to meet his father-in-law," ultimately driving Amalek away, and "sending Jethro to his land."

In Amalek's battle, Moses built an altar as a memorial of the covenant Hashem made with Israel to combat Amalek and destroy them. With Jethro's arrival, he brought sacrifices to eat together with the Israelites to forge bonds of friendship.

Thus, immediately after Hashem's revelation in Egypt and the Exodus, two opposites gathered at the table of the Israelites: a Gentile Midianite priest who converted and joined the covenant with Hashem, providing Moses with advice on teaching the Torah, and a Gentile, also a descendant of Abraham, declaring war not only on territory but on Hashem and His anointed. In the Torah, it's established that he is the worst and most dangerous people, warranting eternal war declared upon them.

The Torah hints at the connection between these events: Against Amalek it is said, "Choose for us men" (Exodus 17:9, to fight him), and following Jethro's visit, "Moses chose... capable men" (Exodus 18:25).

Why the need to choose people? Moses couldn’t handle it alone. Of Amalek, it is said, "Moses' hands were heavy" (Exodus 17:12), and with Jethro, "for the thing is too heavy for you" (Exodus 18:18). The Torah uses the same language. With Amalek: "I stand on the top of the hill" (Exodus 17:9), and with Jethro: "all the people stand over you" (Exodus 18:14). With Amalek: "until the sun set" (Exodus 17:12); with Jethro: "until evening" (Exodus 18:22).

What is the Torah teaching us with this comparison? We see that specifically in the war story, a law is inscribed in a book—a part of the Torah is given, while in the judicial matter, appointments of leaders of thousands and hundreds are made, typically seen in warfare. In the battle against Amalek, Moses delegated power through Joshua and Hur, and in judgments—through leaders of thousands and tens.

The main innovation of the giving of the Torah is that Hashem made a covenant with the entire people. In previous generations, there were individuals like Enoch, Shem, and Eber, who knew Hashem. It was understood that anyone who reached the degree to know Hashem was in covenant with Him. What was unclear was that even a simple person, a young girl, a maid at the sea, all could enter into the covenant with Hashem.

Moses knew Hashem since He revealed Himself at the burning bush, achieving very high degrees. But before the giving of the Torah, Hashem wanted to teach him how to pass on the responsibility of the covenant to the entire nation, not just Moses' generation, but future ones as well.

Human ideas can sometimes be very inspiring. The leaders of the French Revolution were sure they were bringing the world equality; the Soviet revolutionaries believed humanity would enter a "communist paradise." They didn't initially consider how things might spiral out of control or how much violence and evil might result along the way. Similarly, today's progressive visionaries hope for an imagined good, ignoring the evils created in its pursuit. "When you cut down trees, splinters fly." This was originally a communist proverb, favored by modern "liberals."

The Torah, as the divine plan for the world, includes dealing with failure, regression, sin, and mistakes. Precisely because it is divine and eternal, it acknowledges the reality of evil and sin and provides ways to address them. But how do we ensure that Hashem's will is always known and acted upon? Here, Moses must appoint judges to continue his legacy. This is Jethro's advice.

Moses could not supposedly do this on his own, because he was engrossed in the Torah from divine articulation, lowering himself from that level seemed inconceivable. Allowing another person, without direct divine speech, to decide what is forbidden or permitted? But this is how the Torah taught us—to be eternally within the people of Israel and to become a message for all humanity, we must also listen to the convert and their perspective. Jethro, too, descended from Abraham, wanted to be part of the Torah, and later his tribe, the Kenites, settled among the Israelites. He sought the Torah's eternity by having it transmitted by people not at the level of Moses, divine as he was.

The leaders of tens are the army of Israel, the army that transmits the Torah. We are all Hashem's hosts, not just Moses who performs miracles with his staff.

This is precisely the nature of the war against Amalek. When the divine presence is with the people, Israel triumphs. When Moses guides them, they are on the right path. But Israel is on a long journey, unable to rely on always having a prophet like Moses or even similar. Hence, "Moses' hands were heavy." He selects Joshua and Hur, commissioning others to fight, commanding the war against Amalek as an eternal mission, even hundreds of years into the future, because the world will always bear absolute evil, which is the part of Amalek. It is part of the Torah's message that there is a segment that must be eradicated. Moses, following Hashem's command, passes this to future generations through the commandment to obliterate Amalek.

The first law Moses wrote in a book, even before the giving of the Torah, was the war against Amalek. Facing Amalek, Moses did not establish an army or appoint leaders of tens; instead, he wrote the Torah, where it is stated that Hashem wages war against Amalek from generation to generation. This is the weapon against Amalek—the knowledge of the Torah's plan, which is the eternal good; hence, its bearers have the right to eradicate the perpetual evil.