TORAH PORTION
I.:Sbana
Tova
Of Enemies
And First Fruits
SHLOMO RISKIN
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ur obligation to
destroy our arch-
enemy Amalek con-
cluded last week's Torah
portion, and the drama of
the bringing of the first
fruits opens this week's por-
tion. The relationship bet-
ween both passages always
seemed to me to be tenuous
indeed.
However two most
unusual weddings in which I
was involved this summer
highlight to what extent the
refractions from the light of
one portion serve to illumi-
nate the other.
Ki Tavo, our portion this
week, commands the
Israelites to bring produce of
the first fruits to the site of
the future Holy Temple. We
read of the special tithes
given in the " . . . third year
to the Levite, and to the for-
eigner, orphan and widow so
that they may eat their fill
in your settlements." (Deut.
26:12) Apparently our early
history was supposed to
teach us the obligation to act
with largesse and sensitivi-
ty, especially towards the
"weaker vessels" of society.
Now who is Amalek, and
why is there a command to
destroy his memory?
If there is a pattern to the
entire narrative history of
the Jewish people, the mean-
ing of our existence has to do
with the creation of a just
society acting with compas-
sion and walking in the
ways of God.
Opposed to this universal
dream of justice stand the
forces of Laban, Esau,
Pharoah and Balak. But all
pale against the brutality of
Amalek, who attacked the
old, weak and infirm of
Israel because he had no fear
of God (Deut. 25:18).
The Bible commands:
"Remember what Amalek
did to you on the road as you
were leaving Egypt. When
they met you on the way
. . ." Amalek simply happen-
ed upon the Israelites and he
set upon them simply be-
cause they were defenseless.
Had ideology, no matter
how twisted, been associated
with Amalek's hate, one
could, at least theoretically,
deal with the evil head-on.
An ideology of evil can be
Shlomo Riskin is chief rabbi of
the city of Efrat and dean of
Ohr Torah Institutions of
Israel.
confronted, challenged, ex-
posed, and perhaps its
adherents gradually per-
suaded to desist from their
ways. But if the evil is based C
on nothing but the sheer
thrill of destruction, then
there is no ideology to
challenge.
If the essence of biblical
humanity means compas-
sion and loving kindness,
then Amalek is the polar op-
posite of everything human.
That is why he must be
destroyed.
How are we to wipe out his
memory?
In addition to destroying
such evil, we must never
adopt his ways. After arriv-
ing and conquering the land
which God has promised us,
we farm the fields. The uni-
Shabbat Ki Tavo:
Deuteronomy
26:1-29:8
Isaiah 60:1-22.
versal necessity of growing
food becomes the means for
serving God as we bring the
miracle of the annual
harvest to the priest in the
Holy Temple.
But our requirements are
not just ritualistic, for dur-
ing the six farming years of
each sabbatical cycle, it is
our divine duty to set apart
produce for the poor, the for-
eigner, the widow, the or-
phan, so that they too can
live. We see then that the
people we are commanded to
help are precisely those
whom Amalek attacked, the
poorest, frailest, least able to
defend themselves against
attack.
Just as Amalek represents
evil incarnate, Israel must
become good incarnate.
Israel must blot out the
memory of Amalek, for if
not, Amalek will attempt to
blot out Israel. This is why
the laws of the first fruits
and the command to feed the
poor and frail follow the
command to destroy
Amalek's memory. I
understood this connection
for the first time a number of
weeks ago.
On the night of Tu B'Av,
10 Russian couples were get-
ting married in Efrat in a re-
ligious ceremony. The
grooms and brides were of
all ages, even grandparents
who had been living
together for many years but
because of the anti-religion
laws in the USSR, had never