Never Again Is Now

17: You must remember what Amalek did to you traveling after you left Egypt.

Why? Why is this the one thing we can never forget? Chances are, I’m not going to run into an Amalekite in at my work. My neighbors aren’t Amalek (even the one who steals my parking spot).

So why is the Torah so obsessed with this memory? And not just for the present; because the Torah is eternal, this means that in 1,000 or 2,000 years, we’ll still be commanded to remember something that happened even more thousands of years ago.

The truth is, just because something happened long ago doesn’t mean it doesn’t effect us today. People like to say that “time heals all wounds,” but that’s not actually true. Time doesn’t heal – what it does is push things deeper, letting us suppress them for longer, so we can function on the tasks of the day. But what happened in the past still shapes who we are.

This is exactly what Amalek represents. They didn’t just attack us physically; they tried to break us psychologically. Right after we left Egypt – right after God himself proved beyond a doubt that He runs the world, Amalek shows up and tries to instill doubt. Maybe you’re not so special. Maybe this whole redemption thing isn’t real and maybe you’re not really the chosen people. Amalek’s attack wasn’t just a one-time event; it was an attempt to make us question our identity. And that battle never ends, even more so today.

Amalek isn’t a nation – it’s an idea, a force in the world that tries to convince us that nothing really matters. That the past doesn’t matter. That the future doesn’t matter. That what you do today doesn’t have long-term consequences.

But the Torah teaches us the exact opposite, by reminding us of this Mitzvah to remember. The past does matter – it shaped us into who we are. The future does matter – our actions today ripple affect not just on ourselves, but on future generations as well (no pressure).

So when the Torah tells us to remember Amalek, it’s not just about recalling a historical event. It’s about recognizing that we are shaped by our history, and that what we do now will shape the future. We don’t just live in the present moment; we carry the past and build the future with every choice we make.

That’s why remembering Amalek is critical, because forgetting the past doesn’t erase it.

It just makes it easier for history to repeat itself.

Shabbat Shalom!