Amalek today

Arutz Sheva ^ | February 25, 2026 | Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu

[Eli Kopter]

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 destroy the seed of Amalek. There is also another commandment not to forget the evil of Amalek, and another commandment to hate him and not allow this hatred to be forgotten (Sefer HaMitzvot 188-189). This is a commandment that is difficult for the descendants of our forefather Abraham, whose role is to bring blessing to the world . Abraham himself was commanded to be the father of a multitude of nations. It is a commandment that appears to be against the Torah, whose “ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace."

Therefore King Saul asked how it is possible to erase Amalek. The Torah is so strict about bloodshed. If a slain person is found and his murderer is not found, the public demands an accounting from the leaders and educators who did not do enough to prevent the murder. Saul weakened in the war against Amalek and did not kill Agag the Amalekite, nor the sheep and cattle.

We Paid for Saul’s Mistake with Our Lives

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TOPICS: Current Events; General Discusssion; History
KEYWORDS:

[Eli Kopter]

Every Jew (And Gentile Believers) should read Parashat Zachor and remember what Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik said about Amalek today. We are facing Amalek today, just as we have been for millenia. The problem is one of recognition. We have a blind spot to evil.

[SkyDancer]

It would be good to also read Numbers ch.31 in its entirety. Read it all!

[nitzy]

You people are more blood thirsty than I could ever imagine.

We know what the ancient Israelites were ordered BY GOD to do to the Amalekites.

Netanyahu is not God. The Iranians are not the Amalekites.

You are simply looking for an excuse to massacre people.

[irishjuggler]

“Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

The fact that Netanyahu uses this as a call-to-arms is pretty shameful. Don’t whine that Israel is falsely accused of genocide when you use s—t like this.

[Tom Tetroxide]

This coming Sabbath (starts sundown the 27th and ends sundown the 28th) is known as Shabbat Zachor (shabbat - sabbath, rest; zachor - remember; Sabbath of Rememberance). This occurs the Sabbath before the Jewish holiday of Purim, which starts this year on the evening of 2 March.

In the Messianic era this will become the biggest and most important holiday of all Jewish holidays. Purim is very connected also to the End of Days and that includes present-day Iran since the story takes place in Shushan, Persia. Keep your eye on Iran from now on!

Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther) literally means, "the revealing of the concealed"). Jewish children and adults wear costumes, similar to the American holiday of Halloween, but give gifts of food (mishlo'ach manot) instead of taking them.


The holiday of Purim is about how Jews foiled Haman's (descendant of Amalek; one of the grandchildren of Esav/Esau) plan to wipe them out and for which Jewish men are commanded by the rabbis to remember the evil of Amalek and to eradicate them from the face of the Earth. When the story of Esther is read in synagogue, every time Haman's name is mentioned he gets booed (love that!). Get those groggers ready!

The Amalekites are the only group of people who had the chutzpah to attack Jews after the 10 Plagues and the ancient Egyptian army getting wiped out after Jews crossed the Red Sea.

The first reading of the Torah is in Parsha Tetzaveh (tetzaveh - "you shall command") from the Sefer Sh'mot (Exodus) 27:20 - 30:10.

The second reading of the Torah is in Parsha Zachor - Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:17-19.

The special Zachor Haftorah (the prophets) reading is Shumel Aleph (I Samuel) 15:2-34, which discusses God's command to King Saul to destroy the people of Amalek.

"Parshat Zachor" is the second of four special readings added during or immediately before the month of Adar (the other three being Shekalim, Parah and HaChodesh).

The day before Purim is the Fast of Esther (Ta'anit Esther).
The day after Purim is known as Shushan Purim that is for Jews who live in walled cities. More about it here.
THE DEATH OF STALIN: THE UNTOLD PURIM STORY A little-known Purim miracle that saved millions of Jews from exile and near-certain death.

Don't forget to make and eat the Hamantaschen!

[Tom Tetroxide]

More about the holiday of Purim here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim

[cowboyusa]

Hamas is Amalek.

[Tom Tetroxide]

Armageddon or Gog? How Will it End? Rabbi Singer Sets the Record Straight
by Rabbi Tovia Singer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoY0VOoCe78

[irishjuggler]

Sure, so killing their women, children and infants is okay by you. Got it.

[cowboyusa]

Do you think that if President Trump was PM of Israel, that anything in Gaza would be left standing?

[irishjuggler]

President Trump is not PM of Israel, but you guys think Israel is the special, Biblically-enshrined 51st state, and Netanyahu is President of the United States. What a joke. You don’t see me worshipping Ireland. Their country and leadership suck.

[Tom Tetroxide]

[cowboyusa]

Listen, Irishjerk. The USA is my Nation always, Israel is an ally. Read my posts here, AND DON’T YOU EVER WHERE MY LOYALTIES LIE. That is the one thing I would beat a persons ass bloody for. Scmuck.

[af_vet_1981]

President Trump is not PM of Israel, but you guys think Israel is the special, Biblically-enshrined 51st state, and Netanyahu is President of the United States.

False

Israel is special Biblically enshrined but separate from the nations. Bibi Netanyahu is Prime Minister, and a fairly good one as prime ministers go. He is not the King of Israel. You might pay more attention to Ireland, a nation that was not providentially blinded but has turned away from the LORD God of Israel anyway.

Leviticus 20:
[24] But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
[25]Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
[26] And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

Of course if you truly believed Jesus is the Messiah, you would keep His commandments, especially the Second Greatest Commandment. If you were intellectually curious you might put two and two together to see where the Second Greatest Commandment comes from and who it applies to, and supplement that with the Apostle John's reference to it in his epistle.

[af_vet_1981]

At first glance, the commandment to wipe out Amalek appears opposed to the spirit of the entire Torah.

Not when one searches the Bible: it is unmistakable.

Bible, King James Version
51 matches.
Gen.14
[7] And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.
Gen.36
[12] And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.
[16] Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.
Exod.17
[8] Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
[9] And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
[10] So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
[11] And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
[13] And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
[14] And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
[16] For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Num.13
[29] The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
Num.14
[25] (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
[43] For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.
[45] Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
Num.24
[20] And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
Deut.25
[17] Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
[19] Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
Judg.3
[13] And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
Judg.5
[14] Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.
Judg.6
[3] And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
[33] Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
Judg.7
[12] And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
Judg.10
[12] The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Judg.12
[15] And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
1Sam.14
[48] And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.
1Sam.15
[2] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
[3] Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
[5] And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
[6] And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
[7] And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
[8] And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[15] And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
[18] And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
[20] And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
[32] Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
1Sam.27
[8] And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
1Sam.28
[18] Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.
1Sam.30
[1] And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
[13] And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
[18] And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
2Sam.1
[1] Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;
[8] And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.
[13] And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.
2Sam.8
[12] Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
1Chr.1
[36] The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek.
1Chr.4
[43] And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.
1Chr.18
[11] Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
Pss.83
[7] Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

[af_vet_1981]

You people are more blood thirsty than I could ever imagine. We know what the ancient Israelites were ordered BY GOD to do to the Amalekites. Netanyahu is not God. The Iranians are not the Amalekites. You are simply looking for an excuse to massacre people.

The Israelites are not God either, neither was King Saul. Since you know the commandment to kill the enemies of Israel why are you siding with the islamic revolutionaries who kill the Iranians and try to annihilate Israel and the United States ? The Iranians are appealing to the United States and Israel to free them from the tyranny of the islamic revolutionaries. And yet, you take the side of the islamic revolutionaries ...

I seem to recall that you did admit that muhammed was a false prophet and the koran is not the word of God, correct ?

[irishjuggler]

Ooooh, tough guy behind a keyboard. I’m really scared. Israel is your ally, not mine. I remember the USS Liberty. I remember Jonathan Pollard.

[irishjuggler]

Why don’t you come out of retirement and join the Israeli air force... kamikaze division.

[af_vet_1981]

Why don’t you come out of retirement and join the Israeli air force... kamikaze division.

What did your family do during World War Two ?

[cowboyusa]

I’m sure that if He resident Trump attacks Iran that you will turn against have him; and let the left hav everything. Stand aside cuck, the REAL MEN will defeat the godless demonic left.