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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Are Amalekites considered Edomites Halachically?
According to the opinion that we may accept converts from Amalek, must they wait until the third generation to marry a Jew, as would an Edomite, being that Amalek also comes from Esav?
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Do you have any source about the connection between אגג and גוג or גוג ומגוג?
I was listening to a shiur that made a very interesting connection between Agag, Homon and the whole Purim story. The rov didn't go as deep as I hoped he would in relation to Agag, and I was wondering ...
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Is/Was Amalek Justified in Causing Suffering?
The Talmud in Sanhedrin (99b) states:
בעיא לאיגיורי באתה אצל אברהם יצחק ויעקב ולא קבלוה הלכה והיתה פילגש
לאליפז בן עשו אמרה מוטב תהא שפחה לאומה זו ולא תהא גבירה לאומה אחרת נפק
מינה עמלק דצערינהו ...
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Is the original nation of Amalek extinct?
Is it inaccurate to say that the nation of amalek is extinct?
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King Agag held captive for one night - Source?
Where specifically does it say that King Shaul held King Agag alive as captive for a single night before Shmuel killed him?
(Looking for something that specifies it was only one night)
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Esav and Yosef the lahava
The gemara says in Bava Basra 123b that Yosef is the lahava and "sitno shel Esav" and the one who befells Esav as the posuk says "bais Yosef lahava".
The same person says in ...
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Should Hamas be treated like Amalek?
Do we say that Hamas's behaviour recently is as bad as Amalek, and therefore we have a mitzvah to completely eradicate them? If so, does that stretch to the whole of Gaza's population or even further?
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Why did Yoav quote the pasuk of Amalek by Edom?
The Gemara (Bava Basra 21b) says that Yoav misread the passuk Deuteronomy 25:19 "Eradicate the memory of Amalek" as "Eradicate the males of Amalek" and thus only killed the males ...
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Question about klala in parshas Ki Tavo
I have a question about one of the klalot in parshah Ki Tavo, which makes this chilling prediction:
The Lord will bring upon you a nation from afar, from the end of the
earth, as the eagle swoops ...
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The victory over Amalek after the Yam Suf, was this "above nature"?
Surely it goes without saying that the miracles of the plagues and the splitting of the sea were "above nature" (Being manifest through יהוה).
Question: was the victory which the Jews had ...
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The three wars against Amalek
i recall reading that there was\will be three wars with Amalek.
The first was with Shaul, the Second with Mordechai and the third will be by moshiach.
Has anyone heard this? Or know where it is ...
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Who is Amalek in 2023
What is the Avodah of remembering Amalek today?
furthermore, what represents Amalek in present day, is it the internal battle between good vs bad?
Please cite any sources quoted (links are preferred)
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In every generation they rise against us - WHO?
We read in the Hagaddah:
וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ. שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ ...
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Why are the enemies of the Jewish people called "Amalek"?
Throughout history many enemies have stood up to attack and destroy the Jewish people, (most recently the Crusades, Holocaust etc) and they are colloquially referred to as "Amalek".
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Wipe out Amalek Round 2
Shaul was commanded to wipe out Amalek and Dovid would've built the beis hamikdosh after conquering the surrounding nations but Hashem wanted Shlomo to do it.
Destroying Amalek is a preparation for ...
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The nature of the specific Pharoah when we left Egypt, and his relation to Amalek?
Who was the specific Pharoah of Egypt when the Jews left Egypt? And also, given "Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and ...
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A non-jew killing Amalek
If a non-Jew kills an amaleiki is he chayev Misa or do we say that the amaleikeim are supposed to be wiped out ,and he would be patur ?
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Malbim on the irrationality/illegitimacy of Amalek
Malbim on Shmuel 1:15:2 writes about the irrationality, or perhaps the illegitimacy of Amalek's war with Bnei Yisrael:
"כה אמר ה' צבאות, הנה התורה בארה בטעם מצות מיחוי זכר עמלק כמה טעמים כמ&...
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Saul vs Amalek: why so few troops from Judah?
I Samuel 15:4:
Saul mustered the troops and enrolled them at Telaim: 200,000 men on foot, and 10,000 men of Judah
There are 12 tribes, so on average they supplied 18k troops. Judah supplied just ...
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Bracha on Mechiat Amalek
Is there a bracha to be made over killing Amalekites? If so, what is the nusach of this bracha?
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Why didn't Moses fight Amalek himself?
"וַיָּבֹא עֲמָלֵק וַיִּלָּחֶם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּרְפִידִם׃, וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּחַר־לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק מָחָר אָנֹכִי נִצָּב עַל־רֹאשׁ הַגִּבְעָה וּמַטֵּה ...
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Jewish Amalekites?
Can an Amalekite convert to Judaism? The Mechilta says no:
Rabbi Eliezer says: The Lord swore by His throne of glory: If a gentile comes to convert to Judaism, he will be accepted. But Amalek and ...
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Blot out the memory of Amalek or kill his descendants?
Can a prophet issue commands that go beyond the Torah?
The Torah says only to blot out Amalek's memory:
The Lord said to Moses, "... I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."...
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Why are "Remember and don't forget Amalek" two separate commandments?
Why did the Rambam list these as two distinct commandments:
P189- Remember what Amalek did to the Israelites. [Deut. 25:17]
N59- Don't forget what Amalek did to the Israelites. [Deut. 25:19]
Aren't ...
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Agag's mother being bereaved
Inspired by this answer.
If the only one of Amalek left alive was Agag, then how was his mother to be bereaved among women (I Shmuel 33)? The Malbim seems to say that she will be so from that point ...
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Why did Amalekites fear the Jews at Purim fights?
In the last question, I asked "who-did-the-jews-fight-on-purim-if-nobody-could-oppose-them".
On the second thought, the Amalekites are known with their natural hatred for the Jews, as they ...
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Do the 3 Mitzvos of entering Israel apply to the Second Temple?
וכן היה רבי יהודה אומר ג' מצות נצטוו ישראל בכניסתן לארץ:
להעמיד להם מלך ולהכרית זרעו של עמלק ולבנות להם בית הבחירה (Sanhedrin 20b)
Rabbi Yehuda says: Three mitzvot were commanded to the Jewish ...
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Mordechay's decree: "kill women and children, AND/OR plunder their possessions"?
I'm a bit confused here, so maybe the title is not worded well.
Achashverosh let Mordechay write the letters to his own wording:
"ואתם כתבו על־היהודים כטוב בעיניכם בשם המלך"
And you may ...
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Can descendants of Amalek become Jewish?
We are commanded to "blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven". Deut 25:19 Haman was a descendant of Amalek [Esther 9:24]. Descendants of Haman studied Torah in Bnei Brak. [Sanhedrin 96b, ...
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Does the mitzvah of eradicating Amalek supersede Shabbos?
The Sefer Chinuch 604 tells us we have a mitzvah to wipe out Amalek.
למחות זרעו מן העולם - שנצטוינו למחות זרעו של עמלק ולאבד זכרו מן העולם, זכר ונקבה, גדול וקטן, ועל זה נאמר (דברים כה יט) ''תמחה את ...
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What is the horn of Amalek?
Tehillim 75:11 states:
וכל־קרני רשעים אגדע תרוממנה קרנות צדיק
All the horns of the wicked I will cut; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Rashi explains that the horns of the wicked ...
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What about the accomplices of Amalek?
We are directly ordered to kill Amalek (once the chance presents itself) so that 'the name of Amalek not be mentioned even with reference to an animal by saying "This animal belonged to Amalek" '.
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Source that the world was created for amalek
Numerous Midrashim list different things that the world was created for the purpose of such as Klal Yisrael, Bikkurim, Torah, Challah, and Maasros all of which are called "ראשית" (first).
I remember ...
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Is remembering Amalek, erasing the name of Amalek, or both, considered mitzvot?
Chabad says that
We find a range of opinions concerning how often the mitzvah of remembering Amalek...
My rabbi (an Aish graduate) told me that wiping out Amalek's name is the mitzvah. Which is ...
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Why does the gemarah use Amalek as a mnemonic siman?
I don't know if there is any meaning that can/should be attached to the mnemonic signs in the gemarah. I usually assumed they are chosen based on being easy to remember. In Bava Batra 46b the gemarah ...
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Menorah a way to wipe out Amalek and tool which helps us not to 'cool off'?
This year one will read the Torah portion of Tetzaveh and the special designated Torah reading for the Shabbat prior to Purim, known as Shabbat Zachor, together.
Rabbeinu Yehuda Aryeh DiModina (Yid ...
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Exodus of Israelites, war against Amalekite, blot them out
I am reading about the Israelites time in the desert during their exile from Egypt. What did God mean when He said (Exodus 17:14): "I will blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven"?
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How are there so many Amolekites in Shmuel Aleph Chapter 30? [duplicate]
In Shmuel Aleph Chapter 15, the Novi tells us that Sho'ul and Shmuel wiped out all of the Amolekites (Sho'ul killed most of them and Shmuel finished them off). The Midrash (I can't remember where ...
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The Amalekite youth's capital punishment
In Samuel 2 chapter 1, the Amalekite lad tells David the news that King Saul is dead and that Saul had asked him to take his life. David sentences the youth to death.
The pesukim suggest that the ...
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Why didn't Mordechai kill Haman?
Some background:
It is a mitzvah to destroy Amalek (Rambam mitzvah #188, Chinuch mitzvah 604).
The Chinuch seems to understand that this is both a mitzvah upon the Jewish people and upon every ...
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Yehoshua and the Destruction of Amalek
I was just reviewing the Rashi on the parsha and I was struck by a couple very unusual juxtapositions.
17:14 reads "... Write this as a remembrance in the Book and place it in the ears of Yehoshua, ...
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Antoninus was an Amalakite?
The Seffer HaChinuch #425 writes
וכענין שמצינו חכם אחד שאמרו זכרונם לברכה (ע''ז י, ב) שהיה מבני בניו של עמלק והוא אנטונינוס
I am aware that medrashic tradition traces Antoninus to Edom, as we ...
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David's Amalekites [duplicate]
In I Samuel 15, it records that King Saul wiped out all of Amalek, besides the king who was killed after a short period of time.
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and ...
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Who are the amalekites today? [duplicate]
I am wondering which nation are the amalekites today. I have heard that they are either Germany or Russia. I think Russia, but also others have said that amalek had assimilated into a few nations, ...
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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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