SPIRIT

Assessing Our Lives
O

ne of the most bewil-
dering command-
ments in the entire
Torah shows up at the end of
this week’s parshah. Ki Teitzei
opens by describing some of
the complex Jewish
laws regarding warfare.
From the earliest days
of our Jewish people,
even the most dis-
turbing aspects of life,
such as slavery, capital
punishment, or (dare I
say it) disobedient chil-
dren, were expected to
be pursued in an eth-
ical manner. Precisely
in situations like these,
God demands actions
befitting a holy people.
This leads to the problem of
Amalek. Amalek was one of
Esau’s grandsons — part of the
family of Abraham, but on the
outside after Jacob seized the
blessing to continue the line of
our patriarchs. In Jewish cus-
tom, the name Amalek is spo-
ken with disdain, evoking a sim-
ilar (if less emotional) reaction
to hearing Haman or Hitler. It is
this very parshah in which the
name Amalek is enshrined as
a pariah for all time: “You shall
blot out the memory of Amalek
from under heaven. Do not for-
get!” (Exodus 25:19)
The immediate reason given
for this harsh commandment
is that soon after escaping from
slavery in Egypt, it was the
Amalekites who first attacked
our people in the wilderness.
Even the manner of the attacks
was reprehensible — lying in
wait and picking off the strag-
glers. Rather than engaging in
ethical warfare, Amalek tar-
geted the slowest and weakest.
Rabbinic literature described

Amalek as “like a leech eager for
blood,
” and “like a fly looking
for sores to feed on.
”
No matter how insidious
Amalek may be, the command-
ment itself seems problematic.
Are we supposed to blot
out the name Amalek, as
if it didn’t exist? Or are we
supposed to remember it?
Perhaps we are to remem-
ber to forget his name?
Reflecting on this passage
within the context of 2021,
it makes more sense to me.
Part of the human condi-
tion is figuring out how
to handle the aftermath of
difficult moments. Putting it
behind us could be consid-
ered repressing something
important. But dwelling on it
could be considered neurotic. In
the wake of a pandemic, what
will be the most effective way
for any of us to learn and grow
from the experiences we have
had, from all we’ve lost?
This parshah arrives just as
we are walking through Elul, a
full month dedicated to prepar-
ing for the High Holidays. We
are meant to show up to Rosh
Hashanah with an open, honest
assessment of ourselves. What
has hurt us? What has limited
us? What has agitated us? What
has disappointed us?
And then Yom Kippur pro-
vides us a chance to enter 5782
with a clean slate. Not a brand
new slate, but a clean one. The
path is somewhere between
remembering and forgetting
— a place that is, as our Torah
portion reminds us, confusing
and mystifying. But ultimately
accessible.

Rabbi Mark Miller is senior rabbi at

Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Mark
Miller

Parshat

Ki Teitzei:

Deuteronomy

21:10-25:19;

Isaiah 54:1-10.

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42 | AUGUST 19 • 2021

TUESDAY EVENINGS at the Bais Yaakov Auditorium
14390 W. 10 Mile Road, Oak Park
DINNER
7:00 PM
PRESENTATION
7:30 PM
STUDY
8:00 PM

tuesday, august 24