Questions tagged [amalek]
Ancient adversary of Israel and enemy of God from the offspring of Edom. They are prophesied to meet eternal ruin and Israel is commanded to erase their memory from beneath the heavens.
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Is it said anywhere in the Jewish scriptures that 'Amalek' means "wrung, twisted neck"?
I have read somewhere that the meaning of the word Amalek is "wrung, twisted neck" which symbolizes his difficulty to make correct judgements, as for that both the head and the heart and the ...
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Are the Jewish people commanded to commit genocide?
We are being confronted more and more each day with the subject of genocide. Lately, comparisons are being drawn between possibly refusing Syrian Muslim refugees, or Muslims in general, entry into the ...
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When was the war with Amalek?
It seems from its placement in Chumash that the (first) war with Amalek occurred between the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Sinai. (Is that the case, or did it occur at another time?)...
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Being Mekayem a zecher
According to the gemara (Megilla 29b, S"A O"C 685) there is a mitzvah to read the special reading of Parshat Zachor on a particular Shabbat (before Purim). This mitzvah is listed as one of the 613. I ...
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Regarding Amalek, Was King Sha'ul weak or blind?
I'm a bit puzzled regarding King Sha'uls (Saul) conversation with Shmu'el (Samuel) upon his return from the war against Amalek. We know that Sha'ul didn't fulfill G-d's commandment to destroy ...
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Why Can't Moshe's Hands Perform Miracles?
The Torah (Shemos 17) describes a battle between Israel and Amalek in Refidim, and says that when Moshe's hands were raised, the Israel would be winning, but when he lowered his hands Amalek would ...
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Who did Yehoshua weaken with the sword?
The verse says (Shemos 17:13): And Yehoshua weakened Amalek and his nation in accordance with the sword.
Who did he weaken exactly - what's the difference between Amalek and his nation? Or is there a ...
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Amaleik, Refidim and Disunity
The Torah says that the Amaleik came and battled Israel at Refidim.
I read in a book called, "Up, Up, and Oy Vey by Simcha Weinstein, page 65, that according to the sages, the Jews were actually ...
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Had B'nai Yisra'el not sent the spies, would they have had to fight against Amalek?
Rashi on Devarim 1:8 says that if it weren't for the sin with the spies, we would have never needed armaments.
Bamidbar 14:25 tells us that Amalek lived in the valleys, and Devarim 25:29 states that ...
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The Spies Mentioning Amalek
When the spies come back, all of them (aside from Yehoshua Bin Nun and Calev Ben Yefuneh) return with negative reports of the land. Among these reports is a reference to Amalek: ��Amalek dwell in the ...
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Do Amalekites not have souls?
I remember reading once (in Sender Zeyv's novel Ten Lost), that some Jewish sources say that Amalekites don't have souls. Obviously, this might not be so reliable, coming from a work of fiction, so I'...
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Treating with Amalek
The nation of Amalek sets itself apart as being eternally at war with Gd, (Ex. 17:16). We are commanded to eradicate the memory of Amalek from the world, (Deut 25:19). Yet Maimonides codifies an ...
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Were Amalek offered a peaceful exit?
Inspired by this:
The Rambam in Hilchos Melachim 6:1 writes:
אין עושין מלחמה עם אדם בעולם, עד שקוראין לו לשלום--אחד מלחמת הרשות, ואחד מלחמת מצוה
War is not waged with anyone in the world until they ...
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Why does Samuel turn to leave and then kill agag?
In Samuel I 15:27 Samuel turns to leave then Saul admits guilt, asks for forgiveness, and prostrates, and then Samuel summons Agag and kills him.
It seems that had Saul not stopped Samuel, he would ...
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Why was King Shaul commanded to kill all the animals of Amalek?
In the Haftorah for parshas Zochor we read that Hashem commanded King Shaul not only to destroy all the Amalekites, but also all their animals. Why was there a need to destroy also the animals?
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