HaRav Shmuel Eliahu is Chief Rabbi of Tzfat. At first glance, the commandment to wipe out Amalek appears opposed to the spirit of the entire Torah. There is a positive commandment from the Torah to ...

The greatest enemy of the Jewish people was the nation of Amalek. When the Jewish people left Egypt, Amalek attacked the weak and weary stragglers at the rear of the Jewish camp. They were the first ...

Throughout history, the Jewish nation has faced many enemies who sought to harm it, annihilate it, or impose harsh decrees on it. Amalek, however, represents a different kind of evil – one that made ...

The worst mistake Israel made before October 7th wasn’t a failure of intelligence; it was a failure of imagination. This has been one of the most painful realizations as findings from probes into the ...

Many people are preparing their Purim carnivals, skits and spiels. I wish they would stop, just for a moment. All that energy devoted to the kids and to having fun is good, but there is more to ...

In last week's Torah portion we were told, "Va-yavo Amalek": Amalek came upon the Israelites [Exodus 17:8]. Think of it. Mere weeks after their miraculous liberation from Egypt and release from ...

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One of the frequent memes in the vexing debate about how to restrain Tehran from getting a nuclear bomb is the religious figure of Amalek. My colleague Jeffrey Goldberg, in trying to explain Israeli ...

Amalek. It's a biblical tale of destruction that has been invoked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and featured in a drill hip hop song that's garnered millions of streams. Most recently ...

Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, “I’ll bet you don’t know what day this is.” “Of course I do,” he replied, slightly offended, and left for work. At 10:00 a.m., the doorbell ...