The week’s portion ends with the attack of Amalek. Amalek has no reason to attack the Jews. Just pure hatred. And they attack the weakest in society. That is why we have to defeat Amalek whenever they raise their hand against us.
Quick D’var Torah – Amalek at the End of Parashat Beshalach
Parashat Beshalach ends with the attack of Amalek, and it teaches us a crucial—and uncomfortable—lesson.
Amalek has no rational reason to hate the Jewish people. With Pharaoh, we can at least understand the logic. He wanted slaves. He benefited from us economically. When we asked to leave, he couldn’t grasp it—“Why would you leave such a good life as slaves?”—but at least there was something to negotiate.
With Amalek, there is no negotiation. He wants us dead. Period.
Notice the timing. Amalek waits until after Refidim—after the complaints about food and water, after internal dissension. He sees weakness and division and says: now is my moment. And how does he attack? Not head-on. He strikes the rear of the camp—the elderly, the weak, the women and children. His goal isn’t victory in battle; it’s to shatter morale.
That’s why the Torah describes Moshe with his hands raised. When his hands are up, Israel prevails; when they fall, Amalek gains ground. This isn’t magic. It’s psychology and leadership. The soldiers look up and see Moshe standing, invested, present—and they fight harder.
We’ve seen this before in history. During the Blitz in World War II, King George VI and Churchill would appear publicly, even on rooftops, during bombings. Why? To say: I’m here with you. I’m taking the risk too. Leadership matters.
Up until now, God has done almost everything for the Jewish people—Egypt, the plagues, the splitting of the sea. Here, it’s different. With Amalek, we must fight. No miracles. No shortcuts. We have to understand why we’re fighting and take responsibility.
And Amalek doesn’t disappear. He returns in every generation. That’s why we say in the Pesach Haggadah, “Shelo echad bilvad amad aleinu lechaloteinu”—in every generation, there are those who want to destroy us.
There’s a powerful modern illustration of this. In the early 2000s, the TV series Sleeper Cell featured terrorists planning attacks in the U.S. The cast was once asked: What would you do if you met your character in real life?
The American actors said: I’d talk to him. I’d reason with him.
The Israeli actor said: I’d kill him.
Why? Because he wants to kill me. There’s nothing to discuss.
You don’t negotiate with a rabid dog.
That’s the lesson of Amalek—and its modern heirs like Hamas. They didn’t target soldiers; they targeted civilians. They attacked the very communities that believed in coexistence. Aid, concessions, negotiations—none of it mattered.
Amalek is not about territory or policy. It’s about annihilation.
And when faced with Amalek, the Torah is clear: there is no negotiation. We must stand up, understand what we’re facing, and do the job ourselves.
Something to think about.
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