OUR ENEMY AMALEK

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying Tu BiShvat today - the New Year for Trees.

Mazal Tov to Devorah Leah for the engagement of her brother Sruli. Wishing you and the Family many simchos!

Mazal Tov to Hirshy on his success in finding his first hospital position. Wishing you much success in your new vocation Hirshy, and in all areas!

I saw an interesting dvar Torah this week, from the Rebbe's father, about Amalek from our Sedra, Beshalach.

Amalek is one of the prime enemies of Bnei Yisrael.

But Amalek also has spiritual significance for ourselves as follows:

A person can meditate upon the greatness of Hashem and His love, and truly reach a deep understanding and appreciation of the idea. This is reached through our intellectual faculties of chochma (wisdom) and bina (understanding)

Our other intelectual faculty of Daas (knowing) brings this understanding which we know to be true, down into our own emotions, and allows us to intimately connect with this feeling.

Amalek then comes along and attempts to sever this connection and oppose daas.

The word Amalek is connected to the Hebrew word malak which means to sever off the head from the neck.

Daas is also located at the neck in the human body ie it connects the head to the heart (and the rest of the body)

And Amalek wants to prevent us from feeling that which we know to be true.

In fact Amalek is described in the phrase 'One who knows his Master, and willfully rebels against Him'.

We have a mitzva to continually fight against this force.

Interestingly the Rebbe's father shows, using a system of counting (miluyi) and adding (osius) to show that the numerical value of Amalek and Daas are both equal to 474. (See calculation attached)

He also shows how Amalek is also connected to Agag and Haman

The fight against Amalek is an inner battle that we must fight for all generations until the coming of Mashiach, who will eventually eradicate him, and also our own inner one.

Gut Shabbos to all.