No Shadow of a Doubt True Simcha

By Kaitlin Pollack / Class of 2024

Every year, on the Shabbat before Purim, we read a special Torah portion from the book of Devarim, in which we are instructed to recall Amalek's sin and drive it from the face of the world We read this portion, known as Parshat Zachor, to commemorate the thwarted plans of Haman (a descendant of Amalek) to destroy all the Jews

The text reads:

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt; how he met you on the way and cut down all the weak who straggled behind you when you were weary and exhausted; and he did not fear G-d. Therefore, when the L-rd your G-d will relieve you of all your enemies around you, in the Land which the L-rd your G d gives you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven Do not forget”

(Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

What’s interesting about Parshat Zachor, however, is that of the six events which we are commanded to remember each day, only Parshat Zachor is read out loud in shul for everyone to hear It’s quite peculiar for there to be so much emphasis placed on one mitzvah of remembering a nation that doesn’t even exist anymore. What’s the significance?

According to Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the gematria of the work Amalek is the same as the word Safek or doubt This embodies Amalek; their goal was to tamper with the pure faith of the Jewish people and the divinely inspired Jewish intellect by infusing a sense of doubt into our thoughts Amalek made an effort to lessen our faith and fervor as we headed toward Har Sinai to receive and embrace the Torah.

Fulfilling this mitzvah is a way to actively fight against Amalek By doing so, one essentially eliminates any doubt and uncertainty that Amalek tried to instill in us, and instead strengthens our faith and the words of Hashem The timing in which we read Parshat Zachor is also critical to our understanding of the Mitzvah

Yes, Haman was a descendant of Amalek, so celebrating Purim is fulfilling that part of the mitzvah, but we accomplish much more than that We go straight from Zachor to Purim: a day of remembering to a day of mitzvot, a day of action. The mitzvot of Purim are related to joy, love for one ' s fellow Jew, and solidarity among our nation These are the most effective weapons against Amalek It is obvious that light will ultimately triumph, and that we may contribute to that victory by performing good deeds. By doing these mitzvot we eliminate the safek that Amalek tried to instill in us, and instead we strengthen our beliefs and our unity as a nation

Chag Sameach!

By Jeffrey Zelmanovich / Class of 2023

It was in the times of Rebbe Dovid of Dinov that the true spirit of Purim came to life. What started out as a perfectly normal Purim day for the Rebbe and his Chasidim turned worrisome Rumor was spreading that Ovdei Kochavim, the nonJews of the city of Dinov, were planning a Pogrom However, unlike Haman, their plan wasn’t as random The men purposely picked the night of Pesach, as each Jew would be at their seder with their entire family around Again, just like any other Purim for Rebbe Dovid, he and his students were on a different level, both spiritually and mentally Despite this rumor, nothing stopped the Rebbe and his Chasidim from doing what needed to be done The Rebbe called out for each of his men to come dance and sing in order to prove a message All the men that he called did as they were told and went to the center of the quarter, where the men who planned the Pogrom would be. With all their might, the Rebbe and his men were dancing and singing like Mashiach had arrived The non-Jews were in shock and realized the holiness of the Jewish people The Rebbe asked the leader of this evil group, “Who hates us, who planned this attack?” He responded, “Certainly not me, and I'm sure the rest of my group didn’t either.” The simcha of the Jews inspired even our enemies to respect and leave our beautiful nation alone Until the end of Purim, this group joined Rebbe Dovid and his Chasidim in dancing One important message that can be gleaned from this beautiful story is that when we are true to our beliefs and proud of our identity, we foster even more respect from the nations around us Oftentimes we may believe that behaving, dressing and acting like the other nations will save us from being hated This story demonstrates the opposite When we gather together and are proud of who we are, without fear, we in turn are understood and respected and in this case even spared from death