Exodus · Chapter 17

The entire congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin by their stages, according to the Word of Hashem, and they encamped at Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM THE WILDERNESS OF SIN, BY THEIR STAGES, ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF THE ETERNAL, AND THEY ENCAMPED IN REPHIDIM. Scripture is stating that they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, where they were encamped after they had set out from Elim, and covered various stages of their journey in accord with G-d’s command. Afterwards, they encamped in Rephidim. Scripture thus relates briefly here that when they first journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, they pitched in Dophkah, and afterwards in Alush, and from Alush they came to Rephidim. This is the meaning of the expression here, by their stages, since there were many stages by which they came from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, and they did not reach it on the first journey. Scripture, however, [omits all these various stages here] because its only concern is to explain their murmuring. At the beginning of their arrival in that wilderness [of Sin], they complained for bread, and now they quarreled [with Moses] over water, [as it is said], and there was no water for the people to drink. When they came to that place and did not find fountains of water, they at once quarreled with Moses. This is the meaning of the expression, Wherefore the people did quarrel with Moses, for the murmurings mentioned in places where Scripture says, and they murmured, mean complaints, i.e., that they were declaring their grievances about their condition, saying, “What shall we do? What shall we eat, and what shall we drink?” But vayarev (and he quarreled) means that they did actually make quarrel with Moses, coming to him and saying, “Give us water, you and Aaron your brother, for you are responsible, our blood is upon you.” And Moses said to them, “Why quarrel ye with me? Wherefore do ye try the Eternal? This quarrel is to test G-d, that is whether He can give you water. If you will hold your peace and let me alone and instead pray to Him, perhaps He will answer you.” And indeed, it was their intent to try [G-d], as Scripture says, And the name of the place was called Massah (Trying) and Meribah (Quarrel), because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because they tried the Eternal, saying: Is the Eternal among us, or not? Then their anger against him relented, and for a day or two, they were supplied by the waters in their vessels. But afterwards, the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, something like the complaints they made whenever they wanted something, saying, Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt? When Moses saw that they thirsted for water, he prayed to G-d and recounted before Him his distress when they first quarreled with him. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that there were two groups: one that quarreled [with Moses because they had no water to drink], and one [that had water which they brought from Alush, the place where they were encamped before coming to Rephidim, but] who tested G-d [to...

"And they journeyed." The text takes a brief path, saying "on their journeys" — for from the Wilderness of Sin they traveled to Dophkah, and from there to Alush, and from Alush to Rephidim. The meaning of "by the command of Hashem, through Moses" is as I noted above.

לשתות העם, that the people could drink. The unusual construction is similar to Genesis 16,3 לשבת אברהם.

ויחנו ברפידים ואין מים, they camped at Refidim and there was no water, etc. According to Bechorot 5 the name "Refidim" is an allusion to רפיון ידים מן התורה, a slackening of adherence to Torah which itself is compared to water. Inasmuch as the Israelites neglected the study of Torah, G'd neglected to provide them with water.

ממדבר סין למסעיהם, from the desert of Sin on their journeys; the Torah used an abbreviation here. The truth, as described in Numbers 33,12-14, is that the way stations after the desert of Sin were: Dofkah, Alush, and Refidim, at which point they found themselves short of water. The reason why two waystations are omitted here is because of the disgrace of Israel who had wished to return to Egypt by the shortest possible route.

ויסעו כל עדת בני ישראל...למסעיהם, “The entire community of the Children of Israel journeyed …on their respective journeys.” The Torah sums up in a few words that Israel made many separate journeys in the desert of Sin culminating in their arrival at Refidim, and this is why the text refers to the word למסעיהם, “according to their journeys.” En route, the people had encamped successively at Dofkah and Alush before reaching Refidim. The purpose of these verses is primarily to serve as background of what happened at Refidim. The journeys through this desert were earmarked by quarrels about lack of bread and subsequently, about lack of water.

The people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test before Hashem?"

מה תנסון TO WHY DO YE TRY [THE LORD] by saying, “Will He be able to give us water in an arid land?”

"And they quarreled." The text mentions "the people" — but not all the people, as it mentioned regarding the manna — for there were two factions: one had no water to drink, and it is this group that quarreled with Moses; the second had water they had brought from Alush, and it is this group that wished to test Hashem, to see whether He would give water, as will be explained. "Give us water" — Moses and Aaron were both speaking, and there is no need to mention Aaron, for I have already explained that Moses did not address Israel except through Aaron. He replied to those who quarreled with him: "Why do you quarrel with me? Let us all cry out to Hashem." And to those who were testing, he said: "Why do you test Hashem?"

מה תריבון עמדי?; do you not know that I do not act arbitrarily but only carry out G’d’s orders? 'מה תנסון את ה?; if you really quarrel with me, this is equivalent to your quarrelling and testing the One whose agent I am. You are only endangering your own lives if you quarrel with G’d! If He becomes angry He will consider that He has to destroy you, seeing that He had demonstrated His power to you in deeds. We find Moses repeating this thought in Psalms 95,9 אשר נסוני אבותיכם בחנוני גן ראו פעלי, “when your fathers put Me to the test, tried Me, though they had seen My deeds.” [when someone who had never had a manifestation of G’d’s power “tests” Him, this is far less serious than when the Jewish people who had ample proof of G’d’s power would do the same. Ed]

ויוב העם עם משה, The people quarrelled with Moses, etc. The quarrel consisted of the people demanding that Moses supply them with water; seeing that it was clear that Moses was not in a position to supply them with water, the request was only the preamble to a quarrel. If the people had really wanted to ask Moses for water they would have asked him to cry out to G'd just as their successors did forty years later in Numbers 21,7 when G'd had sent poisonous snakes against them. In this instance they did not even ask Moses to pray after he had told them not to try G'd by quarrelling with him. Alternatively, they demanded water much as a creditor demands repayment of a debt from his friend. It is somewhat strange that they used the plural תנו when demanding that Moses give them water; after all they spoke only to Moses. We may therefore assume that they included G'd in their demand. This would also explain why Moses accused them of including G'd as someone whom they "tried." When Moses mentioned G'd last, i.e."why do you quarrel with me and with G'd?," he meant that they knew very well that G'd was able to supply anything He wanted; their sin was in doubting whether G'd was in their midst.

תנו לנו מים, “give us water!” although Aaron had not been mentioned in this paragraph at all, the people used the plural mode when addressing Moses, although there had been no need to mention him at all. מה תריבון מה תנסון, “Why do you quarrel? Why do you try the Lord?” Both of these words are spelled without the letter ו. [not in our versions of the Torah scrolls or the printed versions. Minchas shay quotes our author as the source of the above, without commenting. Ed.]

וירב העם, “the people quarreled.” Ibn Ezra points out that the Torah writes “the people,” as opposed to “all the people” in contrast to the previous occasion when they did not have any more food. (16,2) At that time there were two groups of people, one which did not have any more water to drink, and one which had taken along water from Alush The group that had no drinking water quarreled with Moses, whereas the second group, although they did have water in their vessels, wanted to test G’d to see if He could and would supply water for the people. This is why the Torah, instead of using the familiar term וילונו, “they complained,” (with a measure of justification) now uses the term וירב, “they quarreled,” i.e. without justification. Moses therefore answered them by saying: “why do you pick a quarrel with me, and why do you put the Lord to a test?”

The people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why is this — that you brought us up from Egypt, to kill me and my children and my livestock with thirst?"

TO PUT US AND OUR CHILDREN AND OUR CATTLE TO DEATH WITH THIRST. In their complaint, they mentioned the cattle too, thus telling Moses that they need a lot of water and it is therefore necessary to take counsel on the whole matter. This is why it says at the second time [when the incident at the waters of Meribah is recorded], and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. And our Rabbis have said: “They made their cattle equal in importance to themselves. They said: ‘A man’s beast is as his life. If a man travels on the road and his beast is not with him, he suffers.’”Now the reason they mentioned us and our children and did not say generally: “to put us to death with thirst” or “to put to death this whole assembly,” [an expression] which would have included men, women and the little ones, as they said in other places, is that by mentioning the children to him, they emphasized their murmuring against him so that he should make haste in the matter, since the young ones could not suffer thirst at all and they would thus die before the eyes of their parents. This is something like the expression, The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst.

"And they thirsted." When the thirst intensified upon them, they complained against Moses, because he had done them harm by taking them out of the land of Egypt.

ויצמא שם העם למים, The people thirsted there for water, etc. One cannot help wondering why G'd subjected the people to such a trial that they came close to dying of thirst. Most ordinary people would turn heretics if subjected to this kind of trial. Besides, it is even harder to understand Moses who did not take the initiative and offer prayers on behalf of the people and their suffering instead of crying out to G'd that the people were about to stone him in their frustration? Moses' prayer sounds as if he was insensitive to the people's thirst, concerned only with his own death by stoning! It appears that G'd's purpose in subjecting the people to this test was to train them to raise their eyes heavenwards, to pray and to implore G'd in times of need because this is an important principle in matters of faith and attempts to perfect one's personality. You will note that G'd applied this same psychology when He allocated manna to the Israelites on a daily basis instead of giving them a weekly or monthly supply at a time. He also denied them this miraculous bread until they had pleaded with Him for sustenance. As soon as the people pleaded with G'd, He responded positively. In our paragraph we find that the Israelites contented themselves with complaining to Moses; They did not consider that their fate was subject to G'd's personal providence. As a result their situation grew steadily worse so that the Torah describes their thirst as overpowering. The Torah mentions that G'd tested them because they had not seen fit to request help from Him. When they asked if G'd were indeed in their midst or not, they demonstrated that they were not prepared to acknowledge that G'd guided their affairs by special providence. The only way G'd could prove that He was indeed in their midst was to allow the situation to become so critical that the people would learn to turn to Him as a result of the intensity of their thirst. Moses realised all this; this is why he refrained from praying to G'd sooner. When he saw that the situation had become intolerable, he asked G'd: "what shall I do for this people?" He meant "how can I deflect the people's complaint from me personally and have the people turn to You?" Clearly, Moses realised that the solution to the problem did not depend merely on prayer otherwise he would have prayed just as he had done when he faced the Sea of Reeds. He argued further that עוד מעט, if G'd were to allow the situation to deteriorate still further, the natural result of the people's frustration would be that they would stone him. It could well be that eventually and in desperation, the people would finally turn to G'd in prayer but by that time they would have killed him as a leader who had failed them. It was this latter argument which G'd accepted; I have been troubled by the thought that a people who had witnessed so many miracles in Egypt, at the sea, and in the desert did not turn in prayer to the G'd who had performed all these miracles....

ויצמא שם העם למים, “The people thirsted for water there.” When their thirst became intolerable, the people ganged up on Moses, wanting to know why, seeing that things were worse for them than in Egypt, he had bothered to take them out of there? Nachmanides describes what happened somewhat differently. As soon as the people arrived at Refidim and found that there were no wells of drinking water there, they immediately started a quarrel with Moses, and this is the reason why the Torah reports that the people quarreled with Moses without giving any specific reason. Their demand for water is self-explanatory. This time, as opposed to previous occasions, they demanded water from him, claiming that it was his responsibility to provide this for them. Moses answered them that they had addressed their complaint to the wrong party, seeing that it had not been he who had led them out of Egypt, but that they were in fact putting G’d to the test, seeing that it was He Who had taken them out of Egypt. He suggested that if they would stop pestering him and instead would pray to the Lord, their needs would soon be taken care of. We know that Moses was correct in accusing them of putting G’d’s ability to provide water for them to the test, as it is written in verse 7 ועל נסותם את ה' לאמור היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין, “because of the people putting G’d to the test, wanting to know if the Lord is among us or not.” When Moses realized how thirsty the people were, he himself brought their prayer to G’d, and he told G’d how the people had quarreled with him and had accused him of being responsible for their sorry condition. אותי ואת בני, “me and my children.” On this occasion the people did not speak in general terms as previously, saying להמיתנו, “to cause our deaths,” or “to kill the whole community,” but they added their children as additional victims, all in order to make their complaint appear more urgent. When children have to die in the presence of their parents this is a more tragic situation. את בני ואת מקני, “my children and my herds.” The reason why they mentioned the herds, separately, was to remind Moses that a great deal of water was needed, seeing that the animals consumed a lot of water. This is why the Torah makes a point that after Moses struck the rock lots of water gushed forth, enough for both the people and their herds. (Numbers 20,11)

Moses prayed before Hashem, saying, "What shall I do for this people? A little more and they will stone me!"

עוד מעט YET A LITTLE means, if I wait but a little more they will stone me.

"And he cried out." The text speaks figuratively: the many quarrels they have made against me, and they complain about me — and were they able, they would stone me.

עוד מעט וסקלוני, “if this continues a little longer they are liable to stone me.” Moses did not mean this literally. What he meant was that the people were so embittered that if they had been able to, they would have stoned him.

Hashem said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and your staff with which you struck the river — take it in your hand and go."

עבר לפני העם PASS BEFORE THE PEOPLE and see whether they will stone you! (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 23) Why have you uttered a slander against My children? וקח אתך מזקני ישראל AND TAKE WITH THEE OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL as witnesses — that they may see that it is by your agency that the water will come forth from the rock and that people may not say that there had been springs there from time immemorial (Mekhilta). ומטך אשר הכית בו את היאר AND THY STAFF, WHEREWITH THOU SMOTEST THE RIVER — What is the force of the words “wherewith thou smotest the river” — they are apparently superfluous? But these are added because the Israelites had said of the staff that it was intended only for punishment: by it Pharaoh and the Egyptians had been stricken with many plagues in Egypt and at the Red Sea. On this account it is stated here: take the staff wherewith thou smotest the river — they shall see now that it is also intended for good (Mekhilta).

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: PASS ON BEFORE THE PEOPLE. This is similar in usage to the following expressions: he [Joseph] caused them to pass into cities; and I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not. Thus the meaning thereof here is: “go away from them to another place,” [as will be explained further]. Perhaps this is similar to the expressions: and he [Ahimaaz] overran the Cushite; and he [Jacob] himself passed over before them, meaning that he [Jacob] went in the forefront of them. The purport of this verse is that the people were in Rephidim, and the rock from which the waters were to come was in Horeb, this being Mount Sinai, according to the opinion of the former ones, or in my opinion, some city near the mountain, as I will yet explain. Moses therefore had to go first before the people, to pass on from Rephidim to Horeb — a distance of one more parsah [a Persian mile] or more — from the camp before them. It was for this reason that G-d said to him, Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel… and go. That is to say, “Go until you will see Me stand before you upon the rock in Horeb.” Now Moses hit the rock, and water came out of it. Scripture however does not relate that the congregation and their cattle drank, as it does in the second incident [at the waters of Meribah], for it is self-understood that they did so. It is clear that the people did not go to Horeb to drink, since they did not arrive in front of Mount Sinai until afterwards in the third month. Instead, they sent their young men and their cattle there to draw water and bring it to them, as is customary in camps. It appears likely to me that the waters — cold flowing waters — came out from the rock in Horeb and flowed to Rephidim, and there the people drank them. This is Scripture’s intent in saying, He brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers, and it is further written, He opened the rock, and waters gushed out; they ran, a river in the dry places. The verse stating, Behold, He smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed, also applies to the rock in Horeb, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture. The second rock in Kadesh, [instead of gushing forth water], became cleft with a sort of spring welling forth waters, and therefore Scripture states, That is ‘the well’ whereof the Eternal said unto Moses, etc., and Israel said in the Song, ‘The well,’ which the princes digged, for it was like a well that was dug. It is for this reason that Scripture says there, and the congregation drank, and their cattle, which means that there they drank from it at that place immediately, but here [in Horeb], overflowing rivers came from it and they drank of it in their homes at their will. Now although according to the tradition of our Rabbis, it was all Miriam’s Well, it is possible that on the first occasion [in Horeb] and during all their forty years’ wandering, the wa...

"And He said." Some say: because he had said, "A little more and they will stone me," Hashem told him to pass before the people who were quarreling with him, to make known that he would now give them water. "And take with you from the elders of Israel — and your staff with which you struck" — by command.

עבור לפני העם, and their complaints will cease when they see that you are making an effort to provide their needs. ומטך אשר הכית בו את היאור, your staff with which you had smitten the river so that the Egyptians had given up looking for water to drink, will now perform the opposite function and provide you with drinking water. והלכת. from the camp to the rock.

עבור לפני העם, "pass before the people, etc." Perhaps G'd was aware that the thirst amongst the people was very great and that they would be in danger of their lives very shortly. This is why He told Moses to pass in front of them on a path which suggested to them that he went to find water in order to quench the fire of their thirst. He was not to take a route unknown to the people and not visible to them. He was also to take along the elders to confirm the people's impression that Moses was going in search of water and not to isolate himself in prayer. אשר הכית בו את היאור, "with which you have struck the river Nile." This in itself would be a remarkable miracle seeing that the very staff which had made the water of the Nile fetid, undrinkable, and turned it into blood, would now produce water for the Israelites to drink. This would also deflate the irreligious heretics who denied the fact that Moses' staff possessed miraculous powers.

וקח אתך מזקני ישראל, “and take with you some of the elders of Israel.” They were to be witnesses to the miracle that was to occur when, in response to Moses hitting the rock, a supply of water would materialise. The presence of these elders would prevent the people from claiming that the location (near Sinai) from which this water originated was one where fountains of water were located. Even though Aaron hit the rock, Moses was credited with supplying the water. אשר הכית בו את היאור, “with which you had struck the river Nile;” [and turned its water into blood. Ed.] Moses was to demonstrate that his staff was not only an instrument with which to produce harmful effects. Actually, it had not been Moses who had struck the Nile but Aaron. (Exodus 7,19) The fact is that whatever Aaron did in Egypt, he did as the disciple of his master, Moses. This time, instead of denying water through his staff, he produced water by means of it.

ומטך אשר הכית בו את היאור, “and your staff, the one with which you smote the river Nile, etc.” At that time the staff became an instrument of afflictions; But this time — קח בידך והכית בו, “take in your hand and strike with it” — the same staff will become instrumental in producing blessings, i.e. water. The rock will turn into a lake as described in Psalms 114,8. A Midrashic approach: (Pessikta Zutrata) there are three things each of which can serve as instrument of disaster or as instrument of bliss. They are: the staff of Moses, the incense, and the Holy Ark. We have evidence that incense was instrumental in halting disaster from Numbers 17,12: “Aaron put on the incense in the midst of the congregation and made expiation for the people....until the plague was checked.” On the other hand, the same incense (even inside the Sanctuary) brought death upon Nadav and Avihu, the two older sons of Aaron (Leviticus 10,1). The Holy Ark became the cause of death of Uzza and the people of Beit Shemesh as we read in Samuel I 6,19, and it could be a source of blessing (Samuel II 6,11) to Oved Edom Hagitti as we read there: “and the Ark remained in the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Oved-Edom and his whole household.” The staff of Moses which consisted of a material known as sanpiryon, smote the river Nile, brought plagues on the Egyptians. But it also produced water from the rock at Refidim, renamed Massa u-merivah. Thus far the Midrash. You should take note of the fact that no person (prophet) other than Moses ever performed any miracle with that staff. Seeing that this staff was the instrument of the first of the miracles, it was entrusted to Moses, the first of the prophets. Even Joshua who received this staff from Moses never used it to perform miracles with. He only used a staff called כידון, such as when G’d said to him: “lower the כידון which is in your hand in the direction of Ai” (Joshua 8,18). The reason for this is that the staff in the hand of a ruler is a symbol of his authority and power as we know from Ezekiel 19,14: מטה עז שבט למשול, “a strong rod is a scepter to rule.” Kidon, on the other hand, is not a symbol of power, authority, etc. Every warrior carries one with him when going into war. The difference between the staff of Moses and a כידון is similar to the difference between Moses’ level of prophecy and the level of the prophetic power of Joshua. As is common knowledge, the numerical value of the word והמטה, is the same as the numerical value of the letters in the name of G’d א-ד-נ-י, i.e. 65. The numerical value of the word וכידון is the same as the numerical value of the word המלאך, i.e. 96. The prophecy of Moses was one that did not require an intermediary such as a מלאך in order to be translated into reality. Joshua’s level of prophecy was of the level that required the assistance of the angel who returned to the Jewish people after the death of Moses. Moses had opposed his presence in Exodus 33,2 where G’d had proposed that the angel accompany the people instead of His own פנים, Essence, and 33,15 where he had refused to be satisfied with that level of divine presence. As mentioned, after Moses’ death this angel reappears in Joshua 5,14 saying עתה באתי “now I have come.” The difference between the two levels of prophecy is like the difference between heaven and earth. One is active, the other is passive, a mere recipient. This is why as long as Moses was alive the Israelites were able to eat heavenly bread as G’d had said: “here I am going to make it rain bread from heaven for you” (16,4). Once Moses had died and the people came under the leadership of Joshua they ate bread which had been produced on earth as we know from Joshua 5,11. Once we appreciate this we understand why Moses appointed Joshua to fight the terrestrial battle against Amalek while he himself fought the battle against the celestial representative of Amalek in the “higher” regions. He tried to defeat Amalek and uproot him from earth once and for all. Our sages (Baba Batra 75) illustrated the difference between the power of Moses’ prophecy and that of Joshua as the difference between “the face of the sun and the face of the moon.” The meaning of this statement is that Moses’ prophecy was of the “active” type whereas the prophecy of Joshua was of a “passive” nature.” The sun is an active luminary whereas the moon is a passive luminary.

עבור לפני העם, “pass before the people, etc.” Nachmanides understands the word עבור here as an instruction to walk ahead of the people, as in Samuel II 18,23 ויעבור את הכושי, “he overtook the Kushi.” We have to remember that the people were encamped at Refidim, whereas the rock from which the water would gush forth was located at Mount Chorev, also known as Mount Sinai, or that Refidim was a small town near the bottom of that mountain. I will still have occasion to describe the topography in detail. At any rate, it was a distance of approx. 4 kilometers from the camp to where that rock was located, and Moses at the head of the elders would walk there in full view of the people. Moses would have the vision of an angel on top of that rock, indicating that he had arrived at the correct spot. In our verse here, as opposed to a similar phenomenon almost 40 years later, the Torah, though reporting that the rock produced water, did not mention that this water was adequate for the people’s herds. (verse 6) Nonetheless, it is quite clear that there must have been enough water, not only this, but the people did not have to trouble themselves to march to Mount Chorev in order to be able to drink that water. Otherwise, why would the Torah have to tell us in chapter 19 that the people reached the edge of that desert on the first day of the third month and apparently encamped near the foot of Mount Chorev on the third day of that month. It seems pretty clear that the waters from Mount Chorev flowed to Refidim and arrived there in pristine condition for the people and their herds to be able to drink from. The other rock, at Kadesh (Numbers 27,14) apparently produced a cleft in the rock, which resulted in the rock being like a natural spring, people streaming to it to drink from it directly, as from a fountain. It was this well which the people immortalized in their song in Numbers Here the waters flowed directly past the people’s huts or tents so as to make it most convenient for them. Even though both sources of water are part of the concept of בארה של מרים, “the well granted the people through the merit of Miriam,” it is likely that right up until the fortieth year they benefited from the water which originated at Mount Chorev, whereas in Numbers, the people’s conducted merited a certain measure of punitive action, so that the continued accessibility of their water was less convenient than previously. The expression באר חפרוה שרים, “a well which had been excavated by nobles,” may reflect that subtle distinction. ומטך אשר הכית בו את היאור, “and your staff, the one with which you smote the river Nile, etc.” Even though it had not been Moses personally who had smitten the river with his staff, but Aaron, (Exodus 7,19) seeing that Moses had instructed Aaron to do this, he is the one considered as having initiated it. The reason the staff is described in its relation to having converted water to blood, and nothing is said about any of the other miracles in which Moses’ staff had been featured, is that G’d wanted to show that this very staff which had been the source of harm, would now be playing the role of being an instrument that orchestrated something beneficial.

"Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock at Horeb; you shall strike the rock, and water will come out from it, and the people will drink." Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

והכית בצור AND THOU SHALT SMITE THE ROCK — It does not say here “thou shalt smite על הצור”, upon the surface of the rock, but בצור, right into the rock — from this it follows that the rod must have been composed of a kind of hard material the name of which is sapphire, and the rock was split by it (Mekhilta).

BEHOLD, I WILL STAND BEFORE THEE THERE UPON THE ROCK IN HOREB. Since the wonder with the water in this place was now to become a permanent feature as long as they would be in the wilderness, as our Rabbis have said, this was why the Divine Glory was revealed upon it at this place, just as it says concerning the manna, And in the morning, then ye shall see the Glory of the Eternal, since it remained a continuous wonder.

"Behold, I." The meaning is: you will find Me there. That is: My power and My might will be at Horeb — "and you shall strike the rock" — which has no water in it. The text takes a brief path, not mentioning "and the congregation drank, and their livestock."

והכית בצור ושתה העם, this will teach them that the staff is not an instrument which performs certain functions naturally, being unable to change its functions. It will show you that the staff is an instrument carrying out the will of its owner. This is why it can be used to perform opposing functions on different occasions.

הנני עומד לפניך, "I will be standing there before you, etc." The word לפניך refers to the place Moses was standing on when G'd spoke to him, whereas the word שם immediately afterwards refers to the rock. G'd emphasised that the whole earth is filled with His glory on a permanent basis and that He does not have to change location. However, there are sites where His presence is more manifest than in others. Alternatively, the degree in which G'd manifests Himself in certain locations is determined by the preparation that location has undergone in order to be a site fit for G'd to reveal Himself.

בחורב, והכית בצור, although the people were encamped at Refidim, Moses went all the way to Mount Sinai to find the rock that would produce water.

הנני עומד לפניך שם על הצור בחורב, “here I shall stand in front of you there by the Chorev (mountain).” This rock at Refidim was the same rock which we encounter almost 40 years later at Kadesh. This was also the source of the well of Miriam which traveled with the Israelites through the desert during all those years (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 1,2). The very word הנני used by G’d prior to the rock erupting in a well was the same as that used by G’d prior to releasing the manna from heaven. Just as the manna became a daily feature for the remainder of their trek through the desert until Moses’ death, so the well which appeared here for the first time became the Israelites’ constant companion at least until the death of Miriam. Furthermore, just as the giving of the manna had been preceded by a revelation of G’d’s glory (16,7), so the miracle of the rock erupting as a well was also preceded by a revelation of the glory of G’d seeing it was an ongoing miracle just as was that of the manna (compare Nachmanides). והכית בצור, “strike at the rock!” the Torah did not say that Moses was to strike “on the rock,” i.e. על הצור. This proves that the staff was made of an extremely hard material, sanpiryon. It would not be broken on impact with the rock.

הנני עומד לפניך, “behold, I shall stand before you, etc.” seeing that the miracle which was about to occur was one that would be part of their daily experience for the length of time they would be in the desert, similar to the miracle of the manna, it was appropriate that just as the miracle of the descent of the manna was introduced with a visible manifestation of G’d’s glory, so this miracle too should be introduced by a similar visible manifestation of G’d’s glory.

He called the name of that place Nisita and Matsuta, because the children of Israel had quarreled, and because they had tested before Hashem, saying, "Is the Shechinah of Hashem among us or not?"

"And he called" — Moses, or the narrator. "Massah and Meribah" — on account of the two matters mentioned. The rule of the Holy Tongue is that when two things are mentioned, it always begins with the second — which is the nearer — as in: "And I gave to Isaac, Jacob and Esau" (Joshua 24:4), and afterward: "And I gave to Esau" (ibid.); so here too, Massah is mentioned first, then Meribah. The text then returns to explain the naming Meribah in connection with the quarrel of the Israelites with Moses, and the meaning of Massah as their testing of Hashem. The meaning of the testing is: "Is Hashem in our midst?" — will He do all our needs? This second faction provoked Hashem more than the first; hence it says, "You shall not test Hashem your God as you tested Him at Massah" (Deut. 6:16).

היש ה' בקרבנו אם אין, “if the Lord is in our midst or not?” Actually instead of the word אם אין, “if nothing,” we would have expected the expression אם לא, “if not?” This is the way the Torah expresses such alternatives in 16,4 for instance, where G’d had explained that the daily manna ration was designed to test whether the Israelites had faith in Him “or not.” The Torah was concerned to allude to the attribute אין, which is also known as יראה, an attribute second to which is the one called יש, or in more familiar terms חכמה (compare commentary on 16,24). This is the reason you find the name ה' immediately next to the word יש to show you how closely these two attributes are associated with one another. Yaakov had first realized this after his dream with the ladder when he awoke and said אכן יש ה' במקום הזה, (Genesis 28,16). This is the attribute Solomon had in mind when he said in Proverbs 8,21 להנחיל אוהבי יש “and to let those who love Me inherit יש.” You have learned already that the two emanations (attributes) חכמה and יראה cannot really be separated from one another. The teachers of the Mishnah have already alluded to this when they said (Avot 3,17) “where there is no יראה there can also not be any חכמה, and where there is no חכמה, there cannot be any יראה. The two attributes are inseparably intertwined with one another. Israel’s sin at Refidim was that they tried to separate חכמה and יראה. This is a sin of a heretical nature. This is why they were punished immediately by the attack of Amalek who represents heresy of the worst kind.

היש ה' בקרבנו?, if He is going to give us water.

Amalek came and waged war against Israel at Rephidim.

ויבא עמלק THEN CAME AMALEK — Scripture places this section immediately after this preceding verse (they said, “Is the Lord among us or not?”) to imply, “I am ever among you and ready at hand for every thing you may need, and yet you say, “Is the Lord among us or not?” By your lives, I swear that the hound (Amalek) shall come and bite you, and you will cry for Me and then you will know where I am!” A parable: it may be compared to a man who carried his son upon his shoulder, and went out on a journey. The son saw an article and said, “Father, pick up that thing and give it to me”. He gave it to him, and so a second time and so also a third time. They met a certain man to whom the son said, “Have you seen my father anywhere?” Whereupon his father said to him, “Don’t you know where I am?” — He, therefore, cast him off from himself and a hound came and bit him (Midrash Tanchuma, Yitro 3).

"And he came." The nation Amalek — he is the one who dwells in the land of the Negev (Num. 13:29).

ויבא עמלק, at the sound of the people’s being frustrated with thirst. This is what Moses meant when he recalled the incident 40 years later in Deuteronomy 25,18 describing the Israelites’ state of mind at the time as ואתה עיף ויגע, “you were tired and worn out.” We find the expression עיף linked to water also in Job 22,7 לא מים עייף תשקה, “You do not give the thirsty water to drink.” (Eliphaz accusing Job) We also find the word applied to earth itself in Isaiah 32,2 בארץ עיפה, “in a languishing land.”

ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל, Amalek came and fought with Israel, etc. G'd punished the people for having neglected Torah which is compared to both fire and water (compare Jeremiah 23,29: "Behold My word is like fire"). The fiery sword and the thirst for water were the punishment which fitted the crime.

ויבא עמלק, “Amalek came;” where did Amalek come from? Our verse must be understood in terms of what we have been told in Genesis 36,6, where Esau and all his clans are reported as having moved away from the land of Canaan, after the reconciliation which included Esau’s ceding the claim to the land of Canaan to his brother Yaakov’s descendants. At that time Rashi explained that Esau, aware of the promise and curse G-d had made toAvraham at the covenant between the pieces in Genesis chapter 15, the promise of taking over the land of Canaan had been made conditional on Abraham’s descendants having been strangers and part of that time even slaves, for 400 years. Esau decided then to forego the promise in order to escape the curse of the 400 year wait. His descendants, one of whom was his grandson Amalek, realised that the 400 years had elapsed and that by now the only thing that was left was the promise. He therefore decided that as the older son of Yitzock’s descendant, to stake his claim by force. He was also aware that his grandfather had been motivated to leave the land of Canaan as he had looked like a great fool for having sold his birthright, which had given Yaakov, as the firstborn, a claim to the land of Canaan. [He believed the time was ripe then, especially while the Israelites were in no man’s land, land that they had no claim to, would not enjoy preferential treatment by G-d in such an encounter.]

And Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. In the Yalkut, it concludes that Amalek is similar to a fly, etc., a parable of a king who surrounded a vineyard, etc. The explanation of the parable and its reasoning follows what we wrote above in the portion of Genesis on the verse sin crouches at the door (Genesis 4:7), that the evil inclination is compared by our Sages (Berakhot 61a) to a fly whose mouth is too weak to pierce healthy flesh, but when the fly finds some abscess or boil where there is already a slight opening in the flesh, there it will settle and widen the breach. Similarly, the evil inclination does not have the power to confront the completely righteous person who is perfect in all His deeds and has not opened any doorway at all to sin and impurity. However, for one who comes to defile Himself and creates openings, there the evil inclination will settle to widen the breach until violence rises up beyond repair. And our Sages said (Yoma 39a) regarding Do not defile yourselves with any of these: If a person defiles Himself a little, they defile Him greatly, etc. And there we elaborated on this topic because that is its proper place. So Amalek, as long as Israel was whole with God, and there was also peace among them, then he could not harm them at all. And when he saw them at Massah and Merivah over the quarrel of the children of Israel who were fighting [merivah] among themselves — for all the encampments before the giving of the Torah were with complaints and disputes, as Rashi explained in Parashat Yitro (19:2) — and because they tested God, as they were also quarreling with God, then Amalek found an open door and an opened source for sin and impurity, and Amalek came. He added impurity to their impurity through homosexual relations, as it is written who happened upon you on the way (Deuteronomy 25:18). And all this he did so that God would completely remove Himself from them, for His holiness is only in a place where there is a fence against immorality. Because of this, he was able to fight against them, for then their hands weakened completely because they had no miraculous salvation since God had departed from them. They also had no natural salvation where one might help his fellow, for their hearts were divided from one another. Therefore it says, And he called the name of that place Massah and Merivah, because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because of their testing God, saying, “Is God among us or not?” And immediately, Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. For Rephidim contains the letters of “perudim” [separated ones] and the letters of “rafu yadayim” [weakened hands], and one depends on the other. For through these two types of separation — that they separated from God and the division of hearts among them — they came to the weakening of hands. For this reason, there was no water for the people at Rephidim, because they weakened their hands from the Torah, which is compared to water, and therefore they lacked water generally. Water was given to them only at the rock in Horeb, the place of receiving the Torah. For this reason, they compared Amalek to a fly, for he could not harm Israel as long as they did not open a door for him. This is what they said in the parable about a king who enclosed a vineyard and said, “Whoever breaks through the fence will be bitten by the dog,” etc. This means that by opening the fence and making a breach in it, one opens a door for the dog to enter there. Similarly, Amalek came and attached himself to Israel because they themselves breached their fence. And so Haman, who came from the seed of Amalek, came against Israel with these claims, saying There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed (Esther 3:8). That is, scattered from one another and separated from the Divine Presence. And perhaps it alludes to weakness of hands that they weakened their hands from the Torah which was given from hand to hand, and from prayer which is through the lifting of hands, and from the attribute of acts of kindness which is something given from hand to hand. And evidence for this is from what it says, and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, in order to strengthen these three pillars upon which the house of Israel is established. And these three pillars were upheld by the three shepherds: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, in whose merit God gave them manna, the well, and the clouds of glory. The manna was in the merit of Moses, for the Torah was only given to those who ate the manna. And the well, which supplied all their needs, was in the merit of Miriam who supplied food for the children, as it is said, and they kept the children alive. And the clouds of glory were in the merit of Aaron, who was occupied with the service of the sacrifices which caused the Divine Presence to dwell among Israel, and the cloud of the Lord was upon the Tabernacle. And when Amalek heard of Aaron’s death, and that the clouds of glory had departed, then he came to fight with them, as is found in the portion of Chukat (Numbers 21:1). And from there is evidence that Aaron’s merit stood for Israel to save them from Amalek, who was always a strap of rebellion for Israel. Therefore, in this war, Moses wanted his hands to be steady through reminding them of the merit of these three pillars. And therefore Moses stood in the middle with the merit of receiving the Torah in his hand, and Aaron and Hur supported his hands from this side and that side, because Aaron had the merit of the service in his hand, and Hur, the son of Miriam, had the merit of acts of kindness in his hand. And his hands were firm until the sun set. For Amalek came upon them in the days of Moses, which was the time of their morning and the beginning of Israel’s radiance, and afterward in the days of Mordecai and Esther when Haman from the seed of Amalek rose against them, which was the time of evening of Israel’s sun, as Rashi explained on the verse and in the evening he divides the spoil — this refers to the days of Mordecai (Genesis 49:27). Therefore it says And his hands were firm until the sun set, because the merit of Moses stood for Israel also in the days of Mordecai, as our Sages said (Megillah 13b): When the lot fell to Haman in the month of Adar, he rejoiced greatly because Moses died in it, but he did not know that in Adar Moses was also born, see the Yalkut of Megillah. This implies that Haman thought Moses was dead and his merit had ended, but he was mistaken because since Moses was born in Adar, this merit stood for Israel in that month. Therefore it says And his hands were firm until the sun set. And for this reason they established these three pillars there: Torah, as it says (Esther 9:27) They confirmed and accepted — they confirmed what they had already accepted. Service, through the fasts which were considered like sacrifices, and their cry, which is the service of the heart. And the sending of portions, which is acts of loving-kindness. Another explanation of “until the sun set.” Until the evening of Moses’ sun, as it is written Take vengeance for the children of Israel against the Midianites, afterward you shall be gathered to your people (Numbers 31:2). And even though he heard that his death was dependent on this vengeance, nevertheless, he did not delay in doing this thing because he desired the house of Jacob, to see their vengeance from their enemies in his lifetime. Therefore it says until the sun set, for his hands were so firm to avenge the children of Israel that he did not even mind the setting of his sun, meaning his death, and it is as if he gave his life for them. There is also a hint to the days of the Messiah, as our Sages said (Devarim Rabbah 3:16) The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm (Nahum 1:3) — in the whirlwind [sufah] refers to Moses, as it is said and placed him in the reeds [suf], and in the storm refers to Elijah who ascended in a storm. And they learned from this that Moses will also come with Elijah when the Messiah comes, about whom it is said His throne shall be as the sun before Me (Psalms 89:37). Therefore it says his hands were firm until the sun set, until the Messiah will come and like the light of morning when the sun rises.

ויבוא עמלק, Amalek came;” it is difficult to understand why Amalek, if he was keen on attacking the Israelites, had waited until after they had been so miraculously saved from the Egyptians. He would have had a much easier target when the seventy people making up Yaakov’s family were on their way to Egypt. The answer may be that when G–d said to Avraham (Genesis 15,13) ועבדום וענו אותם, “they will serve them and they (their masters) will abuse them,” that as soon as Avraham would die this prophecy would be come applicable to Yitzchok and upon Yitzchok’s death it would devolve on Yaakov and his children. Amalek may have reasoned that if he were to wipe out Yaakov and family, this curse would devolve upon him. He therefore waited until the 400 years were up according to his calculation, before attacking the descendants of Avraham.

Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, wage war against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand at the top of the hill, with the staff through which miracles were wrought from before Hashem in my hand."

בחר לנו CHOOSE OUT MEN FOR US — for me and for you: he (Moses) placed him (Joshua) on the same level with himself. They (the Rabbis) derived from here the teaching: let thy disciple’s honour be as dear to thee as thy own. And whence may we derive the next statement in thee well-known passage: and thy colleague’s honour as dear to thee as the reverence due to thy teacher? Because it is said, (Numbers 12:11) “And Aaron spake to Moses, “I beseech thee, my lord” — but surely Aaron was older than his brother and yet by addressing him as “my lord” he treated his colleague (Moses) as his teacher! “And the reverence due to thy teacher as the reverence due to God” — whence may this be derived? Because it is said, (Numbers 11:28) “[And he (Joshua) said (to his teacher, Moses)] “My lord, Moses, כלאם”, destroy them (כַּלֵּם) from out of the world! they who rebel against thee deserve to be destroyed just the same as though they had rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He (Mekhilta). וצא הלחם GO OUT, FIGHT — go out from the cloud and fight against him (Mekhilta), מחר TO-MORROW, at the time of the battle, I will take my stand. בחר לנו אנשים CHOOSE US MEN — brave men, and men who fear sin (אנשים does not mean merely men — males, but men fit for war and at the same time God-fearing) — choose these so that their merit may stand them in good stead (cf. (Mekhilta). Another explanation: בחר לנו אנשים Choose us men who know how to make witchcraft of none effect; he said this because the sons of Amalek were wizards (cf. Rashi on v. 12)

AND MOSES SAID TO JOSHUA. It would appear from here that from the day he came before him, Moses called him Joshua, and so it is also written: And Joshua heard the noise of the people. Scripture which states in the case of the spies, And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua, must then be referring to the beginning, [when Joshua first came to minister before him]. The verse informs us that this Hoshea the son of Nun, who was chosen to be among the spies, is the same one that Moses called Joshua. Our Rabbis commented [that Moses gave him this name of Yehoshua, which is a compound of Y-ah (G-d) and hoshea (help), because] he in effect prayed for him, “May G-d help thee that thou mayest not follow the [evil] counsel of the spies.” The intent of this comment is to state that because of this event of which Moses knew in advance, i.e., that Joshua was destined to go with the spies, he called him by that name [Yehoshua — Joshua] at the outset. We may also say that at that time [when the spies were chosen], Moses designated that name in front of the assembly, i.e., that his name henceforth be not Hoshea but Joshua. The reason that Moses commanded Joshua to fight with Amalek was so that he [Moses] might pray with the raising of hands on the top of the hill. He went up there so that he might see the Israelites engage in battle and train his sight on them to bring them blessing. They too, upon seeing him with his hands spread heavenward and saying many prayers, would have trust in him, and they would thus be endowed with additional valor and strength. In Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer, we find additionally: “All Israel went outside of their tents, and they saw Moses kneeling on his knees, and they did likewise. He fell on his face to the earth and they did likewise. He spread his hands heavenward, and they also did so. [From here, you learn the principle that] as the public reader of prayers recites, so do all the people respond after him. And thus the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Amalek and his people to fall by the hand of Joshua.” But if so, [i.e., if Moses’ hands were spread heavenward], the sense of the expression, with the rod of G-d in my hand, must be that when Moses went up to the top of the hill and saw Amalek, he stretched forth his hand with the rod to bring down [upon the Amalekites] strokes of pestilence, the sword and destruction, just as it is said in the case of Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand. From the moment Moses began to pray and his hands were spread heavenward, he held nothing in his hand. Moses our teacher did all this because Amalek was an enduring nation and very powerful. The Israelites, on the other hand, were not accustomed to battle and had never seen it, just as Scripture says, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war. In addition they were faint and weary, as it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy. Therefore, he [Moses] feared them, and it became ...

"And Moses said to Joshua." He was the grandson of the chieftain Elishama son of Ammihud, who was the standard-bearer of Ephraim. The text calls him here Joshua — the name Moses gave him at the episode of the spies. "Choose for us" — it is the way of the language to speak thus: "choose for yourself" (2 Sam. 24:12); "remain here for us" (Ex. 24:14). "Men" — well-known men, men of valor, warriors, as in "all of them were men" (Num. 13:3). "And go out to fight" — go out from the camp of Israel to fight Amalek. "And I will stand on the top of the hill" — that is Horeb, which is Mount Sinai. "With the staff of God in my hand" — with which I lift my hands in prayer.

ומטה האלוקים בידי, to show the people at what time he would be praying in order that they too would coordinate the time they offered their own prayers with that of Moses. The importance of this harmonising of prayers is demonstrated when the Talmud tells us that in the large synagogue of Alexandria they waved flags so that the people who could not hear the cantor could pray in harmony with him, nonetheless. (Sukkah 51).

ויאמר משה אל יהושע, Moses said to Joshua, etc. As soon as Moses realised that the sin for which the Israelites were being punished was their neglect of Torah he said to himself that the most suitable person to confront Amalek was Joshua. The Torah itself testifies in Exodus 33,11 that Joshua did not move from the tent as he was busy studying Torah. (the word אהל is traditionally equated with the "tent in which one studies Torah). Moses instructed Joshua to choose people of similar stature in order to overcome Amalek. It turned out that this strategy worked.

בחר לנו אנשים, “select for us some men!” Moses wanted men who had been born in the second month of Adar, (people born in that month were believed to be free of fear of sorcerers and witches (compare a Midrash quoted on this verse in Torah shleymah by Rabbi M. Kasher, item 58) Such people reputedly were not subject to negative influences of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. [This editor does not understand, how, seeing that the lunar calendar for the Jewish people had only been introduced a few weeks before the events in which the events related in our chapter took place, Joshua could have known who had been born during what would have been the second month of Adar. You may also find the commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya on this verse of special interest. Ed.] The Amalekites were reputed to be great astrologists, and able to foretell future events based on that. Seeing that the second month of Adar is the thirteenth month, and not governed by any constellation, people born in that month did not need to fear predetermined events they might be subject to. The sorcerers would be powerless during that month. Another interpretation of our verse: Moses instructs Joshua to mobilise a number of fighting men that would equal the ones at the disposal of the Amalekites. אנכי נצב על ראש הגבעה, “I will position myself on the summit of the hill;” Moses wanted to be able to follow the course of the battle while personally watching, and even more, so that the Israelite fighters could see their leader and be encouraged by this visual contact. We find a verse in Joshua 8,26, where the latter, by that time the leader of the Jewish people, emulated Moses’ example by not lowering his spear until victory in battle had been secured. It is a common practice in war that one of the popular heroes positions himself on a hill or tower, holding aloft a flag in order to serve as encouragement to the troops seeing that the flag is a common symbol. As long as the troops can see their flag being held aloft they derive encouragement from this. If for some reason the troops fail to see the flag being held aloft they become demoralised. Moses’ staff in this instance served as a flag for the Israelites fighting Amalek.

בחר לנו אנשים, “choose men for us!” The Amalekites were expert astrologers (compare Rashi; our edition מכשפים, sorcerers). Moses meant that Joshua should select men who according to their horoscopes would not die during the current year, something Moses was aware of due to his own knowledge of astrology. The two armies facing each other would all consist of soldiers who according to their respective horoscopes would not die during that year. As a result of these considerations neither army inflicted fatal casualties on the other during this encounter. This is what is meant when the Torah reports the outcome of the battle as: “Joshua weakened Amalek and his people by the sword.” The Torah carefully refrained from mentioning that the Israelites actually killed any of the Amalekites. When Moses said to Joshua “choose for us,” he compared Joshua to himself and did not say: “choose for me!” Mechilta Amalek section 1 uses this phrase to teach: “the honor of your student should be as dear to you as your own honor.”

ויאמר משה אל יהושע, “Moses said to Joshua, etc.” According to Nachmanides it is clear that from this day on when he came to the special attention of Moses, Joshua bore the name Joshua instead of Hoseah. We find him referred to by this name again in Exodus 32,17 when he commented on the sound of the shouting going on in connection with the golden calf. So what do we do with the Torah telling us that prior to dispatching this man as one of the 12 spies, Moses called Hoseah Joshua? (Numbers 13,16) We must assume that the Torah uses that instance to tell us that the man now called Joshua had already experienced this name change in our portion here, as a result of having become Moses’ personal valet. As to the comment by our sages that the additional letters symbolise that his name from now mean ק-ה יושעיך, “may G’d help you!” i.e. that Moses was afraid he might otherwise be influenced by the evil advice of the ten spies, could mean that already at that early stage of the Israelites’ wanderings Moses had feared such a development. It is also possible that as of the time when Joshua became one of the twelve men chosen to spy out the land of Canaan, Moses decreed publicly that he was henceforth to be referred to exclusively as Joshua. The reason why Moses himself did not lead the people in this battle was 1) to enable him to offer the prayers for success on the hilltop, and 2) there was a longstanding tradition that Esau or his descendants would ultimately be vanquished only by a descendant of Rachel. History has born this out, as Amalek was defeated by King Sha-ul, a descendant of Binyamin (son of Rachel). The remnant of Amalek, i.e.. Haman, eventually fell into the hands of Mordechai, also a descendant of Kish, King Sha-ul’s father. Moses relying largely on prayer, was due to the fact that the Israelites were completely ignorant of the art of conducting warfare. He felt that as long as he was a visible symbol for the people they would make up in faith and dedication what they lacked in skill. It is also possible that Moses was deeply concerned that Yitzchok’s blessing that Esau and his descendants would live by the sword would now weigh heavily against the Jewish people. This was the first time that internecine war between the descendants of Yitzchok had broken out, and it would continue at intervals until when the Messiah will come and the remnants of Esau will be resoundingly defeated for the last time. The destruction of the second Temple, the exile we find ourselves in still, are all due to the descendants of Amalek/Esau, and Moses was most aware of the historical implications. [this is why we daily add the relevant verses from the Book of Ovadiah, predicting the defeat of Esau at the end of reciting the victory song by Moses over the Egyptians. Ed.]

Joshua did as Moses had said to him, to wage war against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

AND MOSES AND AARON AND HUR — From this we may infer as regards a public fast that three men must pass before the Holy Ark (i. e. must officiate at prayer) — we may infer this because they (the Israelites) were then engaged in fasting (Mekhilta). חור HUR was the son of Miriam and her husband was Caleb (Sotah 11b).

"And he did." The text mentions Aaron and Hur because of the need to explain that they supported his hands.

ומשה ואהרן וחור, and Moses Aaron and Chur; seeing that the Torah will tell us about what Aaron and Chur did during that time, Chur was introduced to us here. Aaron and Chur would support Moses’ arms while Moses was standing on the summit of the hill.

ומשה אהרן וחור, “and Moses, Aaron as well as Chur, etc.” according to Rashi, Chur was a son of Miriam, although in Exodus 24,14 he describes Chur as being a son of Miriam and Calev. This is based on Chronicles II 19 where Calev is described as having married Efrat, another name for Miriam, as stated in the Talmud tractate Sotah, folio 11. Why then was she called עזובה, when according to the Talmud quoted, Calev is described as having married Efrat after Azuvah, his first wife had died? How could Chur have been the son of Miriam seeing that he was the son of Efrat? I believe that Rashi’s commentary is correct and that there is no contradiction here at all. The verse in Chronicles I 2,18 described Calev the son of Chetzron siring Azuvah, “Ishah” [as if she were his wife, Ed.] and Yeriot, who in turn gave birth to Yashar, Shovav and Ardon before Azuvah had died. Thereupon Calev married Efrat who gave birth to Chur for him. Chur in turn became the father of Uri, etc. In the Talmud Sotah, Rashi states that Calev was the son of Chetzron, something that needs explaining, seeing that the Torah describes him as being the son of Yefuneh. (Numbers 13,6) Rashi considers the name “Yefuneh” as an acrostic praising the bearer of that name as not having made common cause with the spies. Still, he is also described as the son of K’naz in Joshua 15,17) According to Rava in the Talmud Sotah, folio 11, he was an adopted son of K’naz. This makes sense when we compare it with what is written in Numbers 32,12 where the name Yefuneh is linked to a member of the house of K’naz. Azuvah is identified as the same person that also appears with the name of Miriam. The reason that she was also known as Azuvah, “the abandoned one,” is because of the traumas she had experienced in her personal life. She had been afflicted with the dread disease tzoraat, as a result everyone abandoned her while she was thus afflicted. Her son had been murdered by the mob demanding to worship the golden calf. Another question concerning her is that the Torah described her as הוליד “he sired!?” She was his wife! How could she have sired anyone? Our sages say that if one marries a woman for religious reasons, in order to have G–d fearing children from her, one is considered as if one had physically sired such children. ואת יריעות, “and Yeriot.” According to Rashi, Miriam also gave birth to Yeriot, though many years later, when she was already eighty years old. The commentators on Chronicles suggest that some of the names should be read as if spelled slightly differently so as to give additional meaning to them. עלו ראש, “went up to the top.” The reason the Torah chose the word ראש, instead of פסגה, “summit,” or a similar word, is to tell the reader that they appealed to G–d to remember the merits of the nation’s spiritual founding fathers, the patriarchs, when helping them against Amalek. The choice of the feminine noun: גבעה, “hill,” implies a reminder to G–d of the matriarchs and their merits.

It came to pass that whenever Moses raised his hands, the house of Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hands, the house of Amalek prevailed.

כאשר ירים משה ידו WHEN MOSES LIFTED UP HIS HAND — But could Moses’ hands win the battle etc.? See the whole passage as it is given in the Treatise Rosh Hashanah 29a.

AND WHEN HE LET DOWN HIS HAND, AMALEK PREVAILED. By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, when Moses was compelled to lower his hands because of weariness, he saw that Amalek prevailed. He then commanded Aaron and Hur to support them, and thus he would not lower them again. Our Rabbis have said in the Midrash: “Did Moses cause Amalek to prevail over Israel? It was merely because a person is forbidden to tarry three hours with his hands spread heavenward.”

"And it came to pass." Some say that the lifting of his hand was like [the raising of] a banner in battle — the one who holds it in his hand — but if so, Aaron or Hur could have raised it, or it could have been set up at a high point on the hill so that it was seen standing. The correct interpretation is what our early sages said.

וכאשר יניח ידו, “and whenever he allowed his hand to rest,” according to the plain meaning of the text it was simply physically impossible for Moses to maintain a posture with raised hands all day long. Whenever he was too tired to maintain his posture, the battle tended to favour the Amalekites. This is why he commanded Aaron and Chur to assist him in maintaining the posture with his hands raised in support of his prayer. According to the Midrash, where the question is asked rhetorically whether Moses’ hands determined the outcome of the battle, the answer given is that Moses was not suffering from physical fatigue, but that it is forbidden for any man to keep his hands outstretched in prayer for three hours or more without a break. [It is an aspect of עיון תפילה, praying “insistently,” something most unbecoming for man in his relation to his Creator. Ed.] Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains that the words וכאשר יניח ידו do not describe something that Moses actually did, but these words describe that Moses knew that he could not afford to allow his hands to rest, else Amalek would prove victor, and that in order to forestall such an eventuality, he took Aaron and Chur with him from the start to help him support his hands. Some commentators understand Moses’ raising his hands as referring to the hands with which he was holding his staff as a sign of encouragement to the people. Moses’ staff meant for the people what the flag means to gentile troops. Generally, the purpose of the flag is to serve as a point around which the troops position themselves, to prevent being scattered by opposing forces. The description of Moses being placed in an elevated position even while seated, is to signify that Moses performed the function that a flag normally performs in a battle. This explains why Moses called the altar he built after the battle ה' ניסי. He did not want the people to think that their victory had been due to the visibility of Moses’ staff during the battle, but that it was exclusively due to the help of Hashem, without which the staff would not have proven effective at all. Israel’s “flag” is its faith in Hashem.

כאשר ירים משה ידו, and his staff. וגבר ישראל, it is a psychological axiom that when the warriors see their flag being held aloft they are inspired with additional courage. When they cannot see their flag being held aloft they interpret this negatively and are liable to flee from the battlefield.

Moses's hands were heavy, so they took a stone and placed it beneath him, and he sat upon it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on each side; and his hands remained spread out in prayer until the sun set.

וידי משה כבדים BUT MOSES HANDS BECAME HEAVY — Because he had shown himself remiss in the duty that was his, of waging war himself against Amalek, and had appointed another in his stead, his hands became heavy (cf. (Mekhilta). ויקחו AND THEY TOOK — Aaron and Hur took — אבן וישימו תחתיו A STONE AND THEY PUT IT UNDER HIM [AND HE SAT THEREON] — but he did not seat himself upon a cushion or a pillow, for he said, “Israel is in tribulation; I will be in tribulation together with them”. (Taanit 11a). ויהי ידיו אמונה (lit., and he was, his hands faithfulness) — and Moses was in the condition that his hands were in faithfulness — spread forth to heaven in a confident and firm prayer. עד בא השמש UNTIL THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN — Because the Amalekites had calculated the hours by astrology, as to which hour they would prove victorious, Moses held back the sun against them and brought the hours into confusion (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 28).

AND HIS HANDS WERE ‘EMUNAH’. This means that they remained steadily uplifted. The usage of the word is similar to the expressions: ‘va’amanah’ (And a sure) ordinance concerning the singers, as every day required; And yet for all this we make ‘amanah’ (a sure) covenant, meaning a provision “fixed” by covenant. Similarly, a peg fastened in a place ‘ne’eman’ means [sure and] strong. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], Moses lifted his ten fingers to the height of heaven in order to allude to the ten emanations and to cleave firmly to Him Who fights for Israel. Here is explained the matter of uplifting of hands during the blessing of the priests, and its secret.

"And the hands of Moses." We know that no person has the strength to raise his hands for an entire day — not even for a few hours, much less until the setting of the sun. The text thus notes that the hands of Moses were heavier than the hands of the rest of the elders, which is why he could not raise them continuously. The meaning of "and they placed" is that he was unable to stand, and they elevated his position. "And Aaron and Hur stood" — the text uses the masculine plural for "heavy" [כבדים], and similarly "from this side one, and from that side one." Compare: "and behold, a hand was sent to me, and behold, in it a written scroll" (Ezek. 2:9). "And his hands were steady [אמונה]" — each of his hands, as in "the daughters strode" (Gen. 49:22), and as in "the righteous are bold as a lion" (Prov. 28). Emunah denotes something firm and established; it is a noun. Others say it derives from "and he became the guardian [אומן] of Hadassah" (Esther 2:7) — as though they were guardians supporting his hands.

וידי משה כבדים “and Moses’ hands became heavy;” it was tiresome for Moses to have to stand all day long, as we know from verse 9 where he announced that on the following day he would take up a position on the top of the hill, and it would be difficult for him to keep his hands lifted upwards all day long. Aaron and Chur provided a stone for Moses to sit on; and they supported his arms from either side so that he could keep holding his staff aloft. All of this was necessary in order that the people would not become demoralised. The expression: אמונה, describes anything that does not weaken or decrease in size when remaining in the same position for a long time, such as from morning to evening. An example of the meaning of אמונה what we described are found in Isaiah 22,23: ותקעתיו יתד במקום נאמן, “I will fix him as a peg in a firm place.” There are numerous other examples of this kind. Moses’ doing this enabled Joshua to weaken the Amalekites and their troops. Once the Torah writes of ידו, “his hand”, singular mode, and another time it writes ידיו, “his hands,” plural mode. At the beginning of the battle Moses raised only one of his hands, while lowering his second hand; eventually both of his hands had become too heavy for him to keep aloft without someone supporting them. In the Midrash quoted in Torah shleymah item 94, in the name of several well known commentators, none of whom have revealed the name of that Midrash, we find the following interpretation of the words in this paragraph: the word אמונה, is a reminder of Avraham who had been complimented by G-d on his emunah, “faith,” already in Genesis chapter 15. When Moses’ prayer on behalf of his people embattled against Amalek had not elicited a response from Hashem, he appealed to the forefather Avraham to join his plea. The words: עד בא, are a hint that he similarly turned to the Jewish people’s forefather Yitzchok, of whom we read that he had returned from prayer at the well where Hagar’s prayer had been answered. (Genesis 24,62). The words: עד בוא השמש, are a reminder of our forefather Yaakov who had prematurely spent a night at Luz where he had his first prophetic revelation in the dream with the ladder. (Genesis 28,11 כי בא השמש). Moses called on the combined merits of all three forefathers to reinforce his prayer. Our author quotes from Genesis 49,22 and Samuel I4,15, as well as from Joshua 20,9, that the word אמונה applied here to both of Moses’ hands, is a legitimate mode of the feminine mode corresponding to the masculine plural mode of the word אמונים.

ומזה אחד, “and from this (side) one.” This verse illustrates that when Moses spread out his hands toward heaven in prayer while he was on top of the hill, Aaron stood on his right and Chur on his left. When one raises one’s ten fingers one receives the power of divine support between these fingers. This is an example of what is called the קו האמצעי, by means of which the prophetic power sought by the supplicant is received via the Seraphim (angels) which are above him. [According to Remak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero) this “line” is the central conduit of celestial input into the terrestrial world. Ed] We find elsewhere also that when the High Priest [served], he would have the deputy on his right and the Rosh Beit Av (head of the priestly division) on his left (Yuma 37). Moses followed this pattern. Moses followed this pattern. Nonetheless, the infusion of celestial input occurs directly via the one who carries on the battle, i.e. Moses against the spiritual head of Amalek. ויהי ידיו אמונה, “his hands remained faithful.” According to the plain meaning of the text the verse tells us that as long as both Aaron and Chur supported Moses’ hands they remained strong. The use of the term אמונה in this sense is borrowed from Isaiah 22,23, ותקעתיו יתד במקום נאמן, “I will fix him a peg in a firm place.” At the beginning of the battle, when Moses raised his hands the Israelites were in the ascendancy. When Moses lowered his hands, (against his will) this had immediate repercussions on the progress of the battle. According to our sages (Sefer Habahir item 138) it is forbidden for medical reasons to maintain a standing posture with hands outstretched toward heaven for more than three hours. It is quite possible therefore, that Moses did not lower his hand because of physical fatigue but in deference to this halachah. In either event, it became necessary for Aaron and Chur to support Moses’ hands. A Midrashic approach on the words ויהי ידיו אמונה: Moses based his prayer on the faith the patriarchs had always displayed in their relationship with G’d, a faith which G’d had acknowledged. He had lauded Avraham for his faith in Genesis 15,6). He had lauded Yitzchak for his faith in Genesis 24,62 (based on the words עד בא, because the Torah writes: ויצחק בא מבוא, whereas He had lauded Yaakov’s אמונה based on the word השמש, in Genesis 32,32 ויזרח לו השמש,”the sun shone for him.” Thus far the Midrash. I believe that the meaning of all this is that Amalek had relied on Esau his patriarch who had received his blessing from the spiritual power of Yitzchak his father. This power was the attribute גבורה, an attribute identical with the attribute of Justice. Amalek (his spiritual representative) hoped to be able to exploit this attribute to overcome Israel. This is why Moses had to outmaneuver the celestial representative of Amalek in order for the Israelites on earth to prevail in this armed conflict. He therefore mentioned all three patriarchs in his prayer. He was “the son” of Yaakov, representing the principle that החוט המשולש לא במהרה ינתק, “that a three-plied cord will not easily come apart.” Amalek, i.e. Esau did not have such a three-plied cord to call on. Our sages (Mechilta Amalek section 1) also commented that the words עד בא השמש, “until sunset,” allude to a peculiarity in that battle. Normally, other kingdoms engage in battle only until midday. This evil Kingdom of Amalek engaged in fighting both in the early morning and in the evening. Tanchuma Beshalach 28 adds that on that day the sun stood still for the sake of Moses. This is why the Torah added the words: “until the sun set.” The Amalekites were able to calculate what hour of day it was by means of astronomical calculations. What did Moses do in order to confuse them? He arrested the orbits of both sun and moon and thereby interfered with their calculations. The Midrash bases itself on the words: והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו; we also have a verse in Chabakuk 3,10, רום ידיהו נשא, followed by the words שמש ירח עמד זבולה. In other words: the prophet mentions the raising of the hands with the arrest of the sun’s and the moon’s orbit. Thus far Tanchuma. A Kabbalistic approach: Moses’ raising his hands was a matter of his concentrating on his ten fingers being pointed at what is called רום השמים. The קו האמצעי the central line in the emanations, which we discussed earlier, is known as רום with the vowel shuruk. This is alluded to in the words ירים משה ידו. He did something similar to what the priests do when they raise their hands in the priestly blessing. By concentrating on the number ten they also concentrate on the ten emanations and the source of blessing that flows from that region to disembodied spirits. At such a time the power of any force opposing such prayers is checked and its influence halted (at least temporarily). At such moments the Israelite soldiers would be victorious. The words וגבר ישראל, “Israel had the ‘upper’ hand,” was therefore something closely linked to Moses’ continued ability or willingness to raise his fingers and concentrate on the number ten. Whenever Moses’ concentration flagged, the accusing finger of the celestial representative of Amalek made itself felt and the Israelites retreated. Moses was compelled to lower his hands from time to time as it is not admissible to interfere with opposing spiritual forces to such an extent that one neutralizes them altogether. G’d has not created forces in the universe in order for them to be totally ineffective. This is what the prophet Isaiah 45,18 also had in mind when he said of G’d creating the earth כי לא תוהו בראה לשבת יצרה, “He did not create it a waste, but formed it for habitation.” This statement includes all the phenomena G’d has created, not just those that we appreciate or are fond of. Consider the matter as if in order to have balance in the world the forces of evil have a role assigned to them and it is not up to any man to totally deny them unless the premise for their existence has been removed, i.e. unless all people are good all the time. [I have taken the liberty to paraphrase the author’s words. Ed.] “The Midrash expressed this by saying that it is forbidden to stand with outstretched hands in prayer for more than three hours.” The Torah speaks of Moses’ hands in the singular instead of in the plural when it writes: ויהי ידיו אמונה, when in reality it should have written ויהיו ידיו אמונה. Actually, the word ויהי does not refer to the hands, but to Moses as a person. It is as if the Torah had written: ויהי משה פורש ידיו להמשיך כח אל ה'א האחרונה היא מדת הדין הנלחמת לישראל הנקראת אמונה, “Moses spread out his hands in order to draw upon the power of the last letter ה in the tetragram, the attribute of Justice, urging it to fight on behalf of Israel, the attribute also known as Emunah.” We encounter the word אמונה in that context in Psalms 92,3 ואמונתך בלילות, “and your אמונה at night.” This is also why our sages said that whoever has not recited the paragraph commencing with the words אמת ואמונה at night, or the paragraph commencing with the words אמת ויציב in the morning, has not fulfilled his duty. The reason such omission is considered very negligent is that one must mention these respective attributes of G’d every day at the appropriate time, i.e. when that attribute is usually active (compare Berachot 12). I believe further that the words ויהי ידיו include the concept that the priest when blessing the people should form the letters of the tetragrammaton with his hands. It is as if the vowel under the first letter in the word ויהי is a chirik instead of a patach. The priest’s hands should be straight and pointing upwards while he concentrates with all his power. He should not join his two hands together. This is part of the meaning of the word אמונה. The reason that he is to hold his fingers in such a position is so that the blessing will flow unto each finger separately. In order that at the base of his hands the letters of the tetragrammaton should not become mixed up with one another he must make sure that he holds his fingers in the assigned position. In the Sefer Habahir item 139-40 you will find that the author was asked by his students to whom raising of the hands during the priestly blessing is addressed. Answer: to the attribute רום. The source quoted is Chabakuk 3,10 נתן תהום קולו רום ידינו נשא. This verse makes it plain that the raising of the hands is aimed at the attribute רום השמים. When there are found amongst the Jewish people learned men, familiar with the mystical dimensions of the various names of G’d, and they raise their hands in prayer they are answered immediately. This is what Isaiah 58,9 referred to when he said: אז תקרא וה’ יענה תשוע ויאמר הנני אם תסיר מתוכך מוטה שלח אצבע ודבר און, “then you will call upon the Lord and He will answer. When you cry He will say: ‘Here I am, if you banish the yoke from your midst, the menacing finger and evil speech.’” The message of the prophet is that the cry to G’d must reflect the concept alluded to in the word אז, i.e. “The Lord who rides the seven heavens.” It is not sufficient to appeal only to the attribute represented by the letter א, but one must also address oneself to the letters attached to the א. They represent the emanations, attributes which occupy a pivotal role in G’d’s Kingdom. They are seven in number. This was the reason Moses commenced his song with the word אז, indicating that he did not mean to bypass those seven attributes, emanations. Thus far the Sefer Habahir.

ויהי ידיו אמונה, “His hands ‘was’ steadfast.” Ibn Ezra explains the singular mode of ויהי instead of ויהיו as referring to each of Moses’ individual hands separately. Other commentators justify the singular mode by saying that Moses’ hands appeared to the onlookers as if they had been fused to be one single hand. Yet other commentators claim that the word אמונה refers to the faith displayed by the people. Still another commentator compares the expression to what we read in Meggilat Esther about Mordechai’s relationship to Esther, his niece. The text there is: ויהי אומן, “he had adopted her,” as if we were to say that someone supported someone else by carrying them on his hands. אמונה, ”steadfast.” As in Nechemyah 10,1 אנחנו כרתים אמונה, “we make this pledge, etc.” This matter will endure. Some commentators view the word אמונה here as a promise to Israel that they would emerge victorious. Others view the words as derived from אומן in the sense of the artist who possesses special skills, able to perform tasks others are unable to perform as they are not as gifted with skill and imagination. Moses excelled in both spheres. According to the Midrash, the word refers to Moses invoking the merit of the patriarchs who, thanks to their abiding faith in G’d, had left us a heritage of merits that we can call on when the situation demands it. The term והאמין בה'appears first in connection with Avraham in Genesis 15, “He had abiding faith in the G’d Who promised that his children would inherit the land of Canaan at a time when Avraham did not even have any children yet.”

אמונה; keeping them steady. We find a parallel to this in Isaiah 22,23 ותקעתיו יתד במקום נאמן, ”I will fix him as a peg in a firm place.” Also in Psalms 100,5 and in Deuteronomy 28,59 we find aimilar syntax.

Joshua broke Amalek and his people by the decree of the sword.

ויחלש יהושע AND JOSHUA DISCOMFITED [AMALEK] (more lit., he weakened Amalek) — he cut off the heads of his mighty men and left only the weak amongst them, and he did not kill all of them (leaving the weak men alive: thus Amalek was made weak, and powerless for further mischief). From this we may learn that they acted according to the expressed pronouncement of the Shechina (otherwise they would, in the stress of battle, not have so discriminated) (Mekhilta).

"And he weakened [וַיַּחֲלֹשׁ]" — there is no difference between וַיַּחֲלֹשׁ and וַיֶּחֱלַשׁ (Job 14:10), just as the meanings of יִטְרֹף (Ps. 7:3) and יִטְרָף (Gen. 49:27) are alike; likewise כִּי תִדֹּר נֶדֶר (Num. 30:4) and וַיִּדַּר יַעֲקֹב (Gen. 25:20) — with patah — because this root is like the word שם, which sometimes functions transitively and sometimes intransitively. Or else: "a man will die and become weak," and he had already been weakening, following the pattern of "it bred worms and rotted" (Ex. 16:20) — hence the text specifies a man of strength [גֶּבֶר].

את עמלק ואת עמו, fellow travelers from other nations who had joined Amalek in his attack against the Israelites.

ויחלוש יהושע את עמלק, “Joshua succeeded in weakening the armies of Amalek.” [In order to understand the following it is important to realise that in this battle we do not hear of either side suffering fatalities. The word חרב, for “lethal sword,” does not appear once. Ed. The Amalekites had employed the weapon of sorcery in order to weaken the Jewish people. The swords used had not caused a single death, hence the Torah only speaks of the Amalekites having been “weakened.”Another interpretation of the unusual expression: ויחלוש. This term was used since the Torah had previously written that when Moses’ hands had weakened וגבר עמלק, “Amalek was gaining the upper hand,” it was appropriate to use a word meaning the opposite after the battle ended, i.e. while the Israelites had gotten the upper hand, they had only succeeded in beating off the attack. On the other hand, there is an instance where the expression ויחלוש, is used as describing someone dying, i.e. וגבר ימות ויחלש, (Job 14,9).

ויחלוש יהושע, “Joshua weakened, etc.” The word “he weakened,” is testimony that G’d does not totally destroy and make ineffective the forces of the horoscope, and that He does not force nature not to pursue its assigned tasks unless there is an overwhelming and urgent need for this. The reason that He does not destroy the system is simply that he Himself created it. Why should G’d uproot His own handiwork? Nonetheless, G’d from time to time “outwits” the system in order to save someone whom He wants to save; He continues to operate His system of reward and punishment without destroying the system of the laws of nature in the process. The word ויחלש in our verse conveys precisely this thought. The Torah did not say that Joshua “killed.” What occurred was that G’d saved Israel from the onslaught of Amalek without destroying the system of forces based on astrology. This is what Bereshit Rabbah 44,12 had in mind when it explained what G’d said to Avram in Genesis 15 where Avram complained that according to his knowledge of the laws of nature he could not father children. G’d took him “outside,” i.e. showed him that while it was true that the laws of nature, i.e. the sky and the constellations it displayed, did indeed presage that as Avram he could have children, this did not mean that the same rules applied if his name were not (going to remain) Avram. Instead of interfering with His system of the stars and what they portend, G’d would interfere with Avram’s name and rename him. In this way He would “outsmart” nature. The word ויחלש may also mean that Joshua weakened certain forces in the celestial domain which had threatened Israel. The Torah does not say that Joshua dealt a weakening blow לעמלק, “to Amalek,” but it says that Joshua weakened את עמלק. The word את as usual includes something additional; in this instance it means that Joshua also dealt a blow to the celestial patron of Amalek, weakening him also. Joshua accomplished the latter either by his own prayer or by Moses raising his hands in supplication. At any rate, the celestial patron of Amalek not only desisted from supporting his people on earth against Israel, but he even turned against his terrestrial charges, weakening them.

ויחלוש יהושע, “Joshua succeeded in weakening, etc.” He did not kill the Amalekites. Some commentators claim that the soldiers that the Amalekites had dispatched against Israel were demons, sorcerers, whom it was impossible to kill by normal means as they employed all kinds of sorcery.

ויחלש, he defeated them. The word חלושה in the same sense occurs in Exodus 32,18 when Moses describes the noise he hears when descending from Mount Sinai as not being typical of the sounds one hears from soldiers suffering a defeat.

ויחלוש, ”he threw a lot;” when Haman was described as looking for a suitable date to decree the destruction of the Jewish people he did so also. (Esther 3,7) There are three different words for lots which appear at different points in the Bible, (גורל, פור, חולש (ישעיה 14,14. Alternate explanation: Instead of using the customary ויכה, “he smote,” the Torah used a word meaning “he weakened,” as Amalek had read in his astrological calendar where it was indicated that not all of its soldiers would die as a result of that war. Joshua used the same method (verse 9) where he is described as selecting a relatively small number of men of military age to confront Amalek. He did not kill the Amalekites on this occasion but only disabled them from fighting by cutting of their hands or feet. Hence the verb ויחלוש is most appropriate.

Hashem said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in the book and set it before Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heavens."

כתב זאת זכרון WRITE THIS FOR A MEMORIAL, that Amalek came to wage war against Israel before any other nation. ושים באזני יהושע AND PUT INTO THE EARS OF JOSHUA, who will bring Israel into the Holy Land, that he must command Israel to pay him his recompense. Here it was intimated to Moses (by the mere statement that Joshua should in some future time carry out the injunction to destroy Amalek) that Joshua would bring Israel into the Holy Land (cf. (Mekhilta). כי מחה אמחה BECAUSE I WOULD UTTERLY BLOT OUT [THE REMEMBRANCE OF AMALEK] — the reason why I admonish you thus is because (כי) I desire to blot it out.

WRITE THIS FOR A MEMORIAL IN THE BOOK. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that “this was a known book, namely, the book of the wars of the Eternal, which contained the history of the wars which G-d fought for those that fear Him, and it is possible that the history began from the time of Abraham.” There is nothing in these words of his but an opportunity [to say something without due consideration].The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the word, baseifer (in the book), alludes to the Book of the Law, something like that which is written, Take this Book of the Law. He is thus stating: “Write this in the Book of My Law so that the children of Israel should remember what Amalek did, for I will utterly blot out his remembrance, and I will lay My vengeance upon him by the hand of My people Israel.” This is the commandment we find written in the Book of Deuteronomy: Remember what Amalek did unto thee. He said, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, to command him to remind Israel of all the travail that had come upon them because of Amalek, for he [Joshua] knows and is witness. G-d is thus hinting that after the conquest of the Land, they would blot out Amalek, for the first commandment upon them was to destroy the seven nations and take possession of the Land. This is Scripture’s intent in what is said there: And it shall be when the Eternal thy G-d hath given thee rest from all thine enemies… that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek. Now had it been like this in the days of Joshua the son of Nun, he would have urged them on to blot out Amalek, but in his days, a good deal of the Land remained to be possessed, and the time for the fulfilling of the commandment did not come until the reign of Saul.

"Write this as a memorial in the book." This passage was spoken in the fortieth year. The proof is the word "in the book" — with a patah under the beit, referring to the known book: either the Book of the Torah, or another book they had, called the Book of the Wars of Hashem — which we no longer possess, just as we no longer have the Book of Jashar, the Midrash of Iddo, the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, and the writings of Solomon. The meaning of "in the ears of Joshua" — because Hashem knew that he was destined to fight the kings of Canaan. The meaning of "I will utterly blot out" — because Amalek provoked Hashem: the chieftains of Edom had been terrified of Him on account of the signs He performed in Egypt and at the sea, and likewise Moab and the Philistines. Yet Amalek, who had heard of Hashem's mighty deeds on behalf of His people Israel, came from a distant place to fight Israel and showed no fear of Hashem — as it is written, "and he did not fear God" (Deut. 25:18). Some say that Amalek was the name of the king, since the text says "Amalek and his people" (v. 13); or another people had joined forces with him.

כתוב זאת זכרון בספר, a reference to the portion in Deuteronomy 25,17-19. ושים באזני יהושע, make sure that Joshua remembers all this. Moses carried out this command by building the altar and offering up the prayer declaring G’d as his flag. מחה אמחה את זכר עמלק, not only the people but even their livestock. We know this from the instructions given by the prophet Samuel to King Sha-ul in Samuel 15,3 where the king is ordered to destroy utterly all the possessions of Amalek.

ושים באזני יהושע, "and read it aloud to Joshua, etc." We need to understand why G'd instructed Moses to address this message only to Joshua. Perhaps the reason was the fact that despite Joshua's valiant efforts to overcome Amalek he had succeeded only in weakening him. Joshua became unduly concerned that G'd had not wiped out Amalek as He had wiped out the Egyptian army. G'd therefore wanted to reassure him. By telling Moses to be sure to make Joshua hear this message, G'd wanted to tell him that He, G'd, had heard Joshua's unspoken concern. He told Joshua not to worry, that in due course He would wipe out Amalek completely from beneath the sky. The repetition of the words מחה אמחה, may be an allusion to two occasions when a major battle would be fought against Amalek, one by King Saul, the other by Mordechai. The third and last such battle will occur prior to the coming of the Messiah.

כתוב, “record in writing!” but not only orally; if this piece of history would be handed down from father to son only orally, it would be exposed to becoming forgotten in the course of time.[When G-d eventually commanded King Shaul to carry out the commandment to wipe out Amalek, and that nation had not had any contact with the Jewish people for 200 years, none of the Israelites would have understood why they had to commit this kind of genocide. Ed.] The written Torah itself had foretold in Deuteronomy25,19, that this commandment would be carried out only after the Jewish people faced no more enemies all around it. זאת זכרון בספר, “this atrocity that the Amalektites had committed against the Jewish people, attacking it in the desert, without any provocation whatsoever. Our descendants when the time came must have a written record of this dastardly attack on perfectly harmless people who had never attacked anyone. זכרון בספר, “a written record as a reminder;” the prefix ב with the vowel patach, meant that this book already existed, and was known as 'ספר מלחמות ה, “the book recording wars fought by or on behalf of Hashem;” it is only due to our sins that this book has not been preserved, just as the book known as sefer hayashar is also no longer in our possession. Another book no longer in our possession is the book written by the prophet Iddo, as recorded in Chronicles II 13,22 by its author Ezra. There were also written records known as the history of the kings of Israel (Kings I 14, 1929) as well as the books of Solomon (Kings I 5,12) (Compare Ibn Ezra on this) ושים באזני יהושע, “and commit it orally to Joshua;” he who had begun to carry out the commandment of wiping out Amalek deserves the credit to see to it that this book is handed down from generation to generation until a king will arise in Israel who will complete the task that Joshua began. G-d warns the people not to be astounded at the absolute harshness of this command Neither are we to assume that there had been military encounters between the Israelites and the Amalekites until some 400 years later years later under King Shaul. There had not been any. The unforgivable sin of the Amalekites was that when after the Israelites had crossed the sea of reeds and the Egyptians drowned in pursuit, when all the surrounding nations had been so impressed and lived in trepidation so that they were ready to accept the universal kingdom of heaven, this nation had appeared to show them that one could stand up against the chosen people and survive such an encounter, i.e. that their G-d was not invincible.

כי מחה אמחה, “for I will utterly wipe out, etc.” The first word מחה refers to the elimination of Amalek’s patron in the celestial spheres, the second i.e. אמחה, refers to the wiping out of the forces and influence of Amalek on earth. This reflects what our sages have said (Devarim Rabbah 1,19) that prior to destroying a nation on earth G’d always first deals with its patron in the celestial spheres. They base this on Isaiah 34,5: ”For My sword shall be drunk in the heaven,” followed by: “it shall come down upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed.” A Midrashic view: The words כי מחה refer to what G’d does to Amalek in this life; the word אמחה refers to what G’d will do to Amalek in the hereafter (Mechilta Amalek section 2). The words מתחת השמים are a reference to Lamentations 3,66 where Jeremiah prayed: “Oh, pursue them in wrath and destroy them from beneath the heavens of the Lord.”

כתוב זאת זכרון בספר, “record this in a book for remembrance in the future.” Ibn Ezra writes that the book referred to is the one also known as מלחמות ה', “the Lord’s wars,” a book which has disappeared in the course of time. Nachmanides writes that what Ibn Ezra writes here is pure speculation, and that the book referred to is the Torah itself. [he bases himself on the vowel patach under the letter ב in the word בספר, which describes a well known book. Ed.] Compare Deut. 31,26 לקוח את ספר התורה הזה, “to take this Book of the Torah.” G’d commanded Moses to incorporate this historical item in the holy Torah so that the Israelites would forever remember the totally unprovoked attack by Amalek that they had had to endure. This is just another aspect of the commandment at the end of Parshat Ki Tetze, to wipe out the memory of the people of Amalek totally and irreversibly, once the time had come when we were at peace and genocide could not longer be considered an act of revenge motivated by personal motives. (Deut.25,17-19) When the Torah here instructs Moses ושים באזני יהושע, “make sure that Joshua hears it well,” this is because the commandment would not become operative until after the Jewish people were settled in their own land, so that Moses, who was not going to take them into that land, would not have a share in performing this commandment. [if not for the sin of the golden calf and that of the spies, carrying out the commandment might not have had to wait until the Jewish people had appointed a king for themselves, well over 300 years after Joshua’s death. Ed.] Seeing that Joshua left much of the land of Canaan unconquered at the time of his death, the commandment in accordance with Deut.25 could not yet have become operative. כי מחה אמחה, “for I will surely erase, etc.” The reason why Amalek’s deed evoked such a violent response from G’d was that as a result of the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea the whole of mankind including the leaders of Edom, the descendants of Esau, had suddenly been in awe of the power of Hashem. The fact that Amalek had broken this spell by attacking G’d’s people, set back the timetable of the kingdom of G’d on earth to such an extent that the people responsible for this could not be allowed to remain part of mankind’s history. We need to understand why here G’d is portrayed as wiping out the memory of Amalek, whereas in Deut. 25,19 this task is one assigned to the Jewish people. Why is this? Some commentators understand this as follows. As long as the Romans had not destroyed the Temple, the task of wiping out Amalek was that of G’d’s people. After G’d’s people had become weakened by loss of the Temple and their independence, it was left to G’d Himself to complete the destruction of Amalek. The Midrash explains the apparent anomaly differently; G’d says to the Jewish people that if they will do their best to eradicate the influence of Amalek in the terrestrial world, He on His part, will eradicate any trace of him in the celestial spheres.

באזני יהושע, that he shall prevail over them when he will be king and keep My commandment to wipe out the name of Amalek. (2) THAT I WILL UTTERLY BLOT OUT ETC. That I want him [Yehoshua] to blot out his [Amalek's] name.

כי מחה אמחה, “for I will completely wipe out, etc.” the repetition of the verb is to tell us that both in this world and in the world to come there will eventually remain no descendants of Amalek. את זכר עמלק, the word זכר is a reference to Haman, the word Amalek is to be understood at face value.

Moses built an altar and worshipped upon it before Hashem, who had performed miracles for him.

ויקרא שמו AND HE CALLED HIS (or its) NAME — the name of the altar, ה׳ נסי (lit., the Lord is my banner or my miracle) — The Holy One, blessed be He, here performed a miracle for us. It does not mean that the altar was named ה׳, “the Lord, my banner”, but the reason for so calling it was that anyone mentioning the altar’s name would thereby remember the miracle which the Omni-present had performed, since he would be saying: the Lord, He is our Miracle (cf. Rashi on Genesis 33:20).

"And he built an altar" — at Horeb. The word מִזְבֵּחַ draws itself and what follows along with it, and so the full phrase is: "an altar of Hashem."

ויקרא שמו, he called the name of G’d in his prayer ה' ניסי. The matter is similar to the prophet Jeremiah saying in Lamentations 3,25: קראתי שמך ה'. Surely, there was nothing new in Jeremiah knowing the name of G’d. The point is that he addressed this attribute of G’d in that prayer. Moses addressed the attribute of G’d as the flag-bearer in Israel’s wars. ה' נסי, “G’d is my exaltation.” The meaning is similar to Psalms 60,6 נתת ליראיך נס להתנוסס מפני קשט סלה, “You have given a banner to them that fear You, to raise themselves to its height before the might of wisdom.” In other words, the psalmist says that G’d will lend him the strength to cope with anyone trying to attack him and to overcome him. The same thought is expressed in Psalms 44,6 בשמך נבוס קמינו, “with the help of Your name we will vanquish those who rise up against us.”

ויבן שם מזבח, “he built an altar there; Moses built the altar at the bottom of Mount Chorev. ויקרא את שמר: ה' נסי, “he named it: “Hashem is My banner.” According to Rabbi Eliezer hamoda-i, the subject of the words “he named it” was the Lord Himself. Rashi points out that we know of something similar from Genesis 33,20: In that verse we read that Yaakov, after being the first Jew to be able to buy a piece of land in the Holy Land (apart from the tomb of Sarah) built an altar and when the Torah reports that that altar was called: א-ל אלוקי ישראל, that was the name given to this altar by Hashem.

הי נס, the staff of G’d [in Moses’ hand Ed.] had become a miracle or equivalent to a flag, (an inspiration) on the hill on which Moses was positioned. Moses prayed that G’d would also use it in this manner in the future in order to conduct the war against Amalek, because G’d had already now given the commandment and assurance that He would completely wipe out even the memory of Amalek [this being the inspiration of the anti God forces on earth. Ed.] This is also what is spelled out in verse 16. 'ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה וגו, this is why I call the altar ה' נסי, “G’d is my banner, my flag.” This is the same as when a father calls his son Eliezer, which means the same thing in Hebrew. (compare Exodus 18,4 where the reason for Moses calling his son by that name is explained.) Also the name Emanuel means the same, i.e. two words עמנו א-ל, “G’d is with us.” (Isaiah 7,14) G’d raised His hand in an oath, swearing by His throne that He would conduct ongoing מלחמה לה' בעמלק מדר דר, war against Amalek throughout the generations until he would be wiped out completely. Invoking the word יד here in connection with G’d’s utterance (as opposed to visible action) is the same as the line כי אשא אל שמים ידי, “I raise My hand to heaven” in Deuteronomy 32,40 it clearly is the formula for G’d swearing an oath. This is the plain meaning of these words. There are some who explain that when a king will sit on the throne of Israel, such as King Sha-ul, the time will have come to wipe out Amalek completely. I cannot accept this interpretation at all, as if it were correct, the Torah should have written כי תהיה יד אל כס י-ה “when the throne of Israel will be occupied by a real powerful king, representing G’d on earth.” The meaning of the words כי יד על כס י-ה is: “whenever a deliberate threat is posed against the kingdom of G’d on earth, etc.”

And he said: By oath is this declaration made from before the Fearsome One, whose Shechinah rests upon His glorious throne — that war is destined to be waged before Hashem against the house of Amalek, to destroy them for all generations of the world.

ויאמר AND HE SAID — i. e. Moses said. כי יד על כס יה BECAUSE THE HAND IS UPON THE THRONE OF JAH — the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, is raised to swear by His throne that He will have war and enmity against Amalek to all eternity. And what is the force of כס — why does it not say as usual כסא? And the Divine Name, also, is divided into half (יה is only the half of the Tetragrammaton)! The Holy One, blessed be He, swears that His Name will not be perfect nor His throne perfect until the name of Amalek be entirely blotted out. But when his name is blotted out then will His (God’s) Name be perfect and His throne perfect, as it is said, (Psalms 9:7) “The enemy is come to an end, he whose swords were for ever” — and this refers to Amalek of whom it is written, (Amos 1:11; the paragraph is a prophecy against Edom — Esau — the father of Amalek) “he kept his wrath for ever”. The verse in the Psalm continues: “and thou didst uproot enemies, their very memorial is perished”, What does it say immediately after this? (Psalms 9:8) “But the Lord (the Divine Name as given here is the Tetragrammaton) shall now remain for ever” — you see that the Name will be perfect (after Amalek is entirely rooted out as is mentioned in v. 7); “He establishes his throne (כסאו not כס) in righteousness” — so you see that His throne will then be perfect (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 11).

FOR THE HAND UPON ‘KEIS Y-AH’ (THE THRONE OF THE ETERNAL). “The hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, is raised to swear by His throne that He will maintain [a state of] war and enmity against Amalek forever. Now what is the significance of the word keis, and why does it not say kisei [as usual]? Furthermore, even the Divine Name is divided into half! [The answer is that] the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that the throne will not be perfect and the Name will not be full until He will blot out the name of Amalek the son of Esau. And when his name will be blotted out, then will G-d’s Name be full and the throne perfect, as it is said, The foe — they are destroyed; perpetual ruins. [This refers to Esau, of whom it is said, And he kept his wrath for ever.] Their very memorial is perished. What is written after that? And the Eternal is enthroned for ever. Thus you see [that after Amalek’s memory has perished], G-d’s Name is full. He hath established ‘kis’o’ (His throne) for judgment. Thus you see that the throne will be perfect.” Thus far the language of Rashi, and it is a Midrash of the Sages. Some scholars explain the verse as meaning that “when there will be a ‘hand,’ [i.e., king, as explained further], upon the throne of the Eternal, the Eternal will have war with Amalek, and so shall it be from generation to generation.” The purport of this is that when there will be a king in Israel sitting upon the throne of the Eternal, he shall wage war against Amalek, thus alluding to Saul, the first king [of Israel]. And so shall it continue from generation to generation, that every king of Israel shall be duty-bound to fight with them until their name will extinct. The following is also a Midrash of the Gemara, as found in [Tractate Sanhedrin] in the chapter of the High Priest: “By saying, The hand upon the throne of the Eternal: the Eternal will have war with Amalek from generation to generation, Scripture intimates that the Israelites must first appoint a king over themselves [before they are to annihilate the offspring of Amalek], for the throne of the Eternal refers only to the king, as it is said, Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Eternal. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, this is correct. And by way of the Truth, [that is, the mystic lore of the Cabala, the verse is to be understood as meaning] that the Hand, [i.e., the attribute of justice], which is upon the throne of Y-ah, and which is the war from the Eternal, will continue with Amalek from generation to generation, for the high attribute of justice will pursue his extinction forever from generation to generation. The Midrash of the Sages [mentioned above] concerning “the full Divine Name” and “the perfect throne” allude to this [interpretation by way of the Truth].Now the reason for the punishment of Amalek, i.e., why punitive measures were meted out to him more than to all other nations, is that when all the nations heard [of G-d’s visitation upon the Egyptians], they trembled...

"For a hand" — as in "For I lift My hand to heaven" (Deut. 32:40); the meaning is that Hashem placed His hand upon His throne — and this is an oath. R. Yeshua said: a mighty hand will belong to the one who sits first upon the throne of Israel, as it is said of Solomon, "upon the throne of Hashem" (1 Chron. 29:23) — and the reference is to Saul.

ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה, Moses explains the reason and purpose of his prayer being the fact that G’d Himself had sworn an oath to remain at war with Amalek from generation to generation. If G’d is at war with that nation, we as G’d’s representative on earth, must certainly also be at war with that nation. It is what our sages referred to when they said that three commandments cannot be fulfilled until the Jewish people are securely settled in the land of Israel, 1) appointment of a king; 2) destroying the last vestiges of Amalek; 3) the building of a permanent Temple. Moses therefore had prayed for the time when these three hallmarks of Jewish history could be attained. (Sanhedrin 20)

כי יד על כס יה, “for as long Israel will possess the power to appoint to sit on the throne of G-d;” we know of a similar though strangely sounding formulation, from Chronicles I 29,23: וישב שלמה על כסא ה' למלך תחת דוד אביר“Solomon successfully took over the throne of the Lord as king instead of his father David.” The verse describes conditions when it will be possible to wage G-d’s war against Amalek. יד, the word יד normally translated as “hand,” in this instance refers to power, Royal authority.” We know of a similar example for the meaning of that word from Samuel I 15,12, where the prophet Shmuel was advised of Shaul’s arriving at Mount Carmel, and he prepares for this by erecting a יד, for him, i.e. an altar. The words there are: והנה הוא מציב לו יד. In Samuel II 8,3 we also find the word יד used in this sense when David built an altar. [Not the traditional understanding of the word by most commentators. Ed.] The word כסא usually is used as a symbol of power, Royal Power.[If this is so, the word יד in the same line cannot mean the same, of course. Ed.] A different interpretation: the verse means that as long as nations, or especially Amalek, see in Jerusalem and what its stands for its spiritual nemesis, there will be an ongoing war between G-d and His representative on earth, Israel; מלחמה לה' בעמלק, “a state of war between G-d and Amalek; this phrase is what the liturgist has in mind when he wrote in his poetic prayer recited on the Sabbath preceding the reading of Parshat zachor on the Sabbath preceding Purim.־, commencing with the words: אלוקים אל דמי לך, “do not be silent o G-d”; the author queries G-d’s relative inactivity versus Amalek although He has dealt more harshly with other adversaries throughout history. [There are only few congregations in which this liturgical poem is recited nowadays in the synagogues. It is lengthy and the language requires assistance by commentaries as provided in the prayer book known as otzar hatefillot. Ed.] G-d’s answer is that until Amalek attacks G-d directly, not just His people, it is our task to deal with him, once he does the latter, G-d personally will wipe him out, This is why when Titus destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem G-d dealt with him, whereas at this stage it was our task to fight him. According to Jeremiah 3,17 Jerusalem is called G-d’s throne.

ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה, He said: ‘for there is a hand against the throne of G’d, etc.” The word ויאמר, reverts back to Moses who said what follows. The words כי יד indicate that what follows is in the nature of an oath. People used to place a hand on some object before swearing an oath. Moses uses the expression here as a simile for an oath. We have other examples of this such as Deut. 32,40 “for I shall raise My hand to heaven,” etc.; another example of the same simile being used in lieu of a direct oath is found in Numbers 14,30, G’d saying: “about which I have raised My hand.” According to the plain meaning of the text the verse has G’d saying as an assurance to any future King of Israel that he is to fight a war on G’d’s behalf against Amalek. This war would be distinguished by the fact that any loot collected in such a war was out of bounds to any Israelite and would be exclusively G’d’s property. This is why Saul, King of Israel, was punished for allowing the people to retain part of the loot from his campaign against Amalek (compare Samuel I 16, 14-27). This stain on the character of the Israelites (Saul and descendants) continued until the time of Mordechai when the Jews took revenge on their enemies without touching any part of the loot (Esther 9,16). Saul was punished measure for measure. Seeing that the Torah had made the wholeness of G’d’s throne dependent on the war against Amalek being waged by the Israelites, G’d deprived Saul of his own kingdom for failing to heed His instructions to the letter. He did not leave much of a name behind, both he and Yonathan his eldest being slain in battle. Mordechai had appreciated this lesson of history and this is why he exhorted all the Jews that on the day they would confront their enemies and defend their lives they were not to touch any of the possessions of the people against whom they would fight. Haman was a descendant of Amalek. The Torah had warned to “wipe out the memory of Amalek“ (Deut. 25,19), i.e. not to retain anything which ever belonged to that people. We find that also concerning the battle against Amalek in the future the prophet Micah 4,13 warns: “and you will crush many peoples; you will devote their riches to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.” A Midrashic approach: (based on Tanchuma Ki Tetze 11) The Torah did not write כי יד על כסא י-ה but כי יד על כס י-ה. G’d swore an oath that He would not consider His throne as whole; neither would He consider His name as whole until He had avenged Himself from the descendants of Amalek. These words of the Midrash have been elaborated on by the Kabbalists. A kabbalistic approach: The “hand” mentioned in this verse is the ongoing war against Amalek; it is a reference to the attribute of Justice of the celestial regions. The verse reveals to us that there are forces at work even in the celestial regions which aim at disputing G’d’s sovereignty. The battle in the celestial regions is aimed at G’d’s throne, i.e. as long as it is in progress His throne is not “whole.” The name י-ה represents G’d’s incomplete name here on earth, i.e. the attribute of Justice in the terrestrial domain. On earth, the fight against G’d and His representative the Jewish people, is aimed at preventing His name from becoming the four-lettered tetragram. I have explained this in connection with 15,2 עזי וזמרת י-ה. Moses explains that the attribute which is aimed at G’d’s throne is the same as that which fights against the tetragram becoming sovereign in our domain. The battle is an ongoing battle from generation to generation. Moses prays that G’d would punish Amalek in the celestial spheres with the strong attribute of Justice in order to subsequently wipe out this people in our terrestrial world. This can occur only when Amalek on earth can no longer draw on support from its patron in the celestial regions. While there remains a patron of Amalek in the heavens G’d’s throne is, as it were, defective, i.e. כס and not כסא. Now to the meaning of the Midrash which had linked G’d’s name and His throne. The words השם and הכסא in the Midrash are a symbol of seven attributes alluded to in the last two letters ו-ה in the tetragrammaton. They represent the “throne” of what is in the celestial spheres. Alternatively, the words כי יד על כס י-ה mean that Amalek attacked with his “hand” על כס י-ה, i.e. the two last letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters ו-ה. These letters serve as the throne for the first two letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters י-ה, i.e. the three letters כסא which represent G’d’s throne. Seeing that this is so G’d is engaged in an ongoing battle with Amalek. I believe that this is also the mystical dimension of the words אלוף עלוה in Genesis 36,40. The same person’s name is spelled as אלוף עליה in Chronicles I 1,51 by Moses himself. [According to Baba Batra 15 the author of the Book of Chronicles was Ezra. Perhaps the part of Chronicles preceding Moses’ death was recorded by Moses himself. Ed.] The letter י was substituted for the letter ו by Moses in order for the name of this descendant of Esau/Amalek to reflect the attack on G’d by the descendants of Esau/Amalek, i.e. על יה “against G’d.” Even the name of this Aluph, leader, reflected his program in life, i.e. to “dethrone” G’d. This would be similar to what we read in Psalms 2,2 על י-ה-ו-ה ועל משיחו, “against the Lord (tetragrammaton) and against His anointed.” Another message concealed in the word כס as opposed to כסא may be an allusion to the seven clouds which surround G’d’s throne, כסא (compare Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 4). This is based on Job 26,9: מאחז פני-כסה פרשז עליו עננו, “He shuts off the view of His throne, spreading cloud over it.” The letter ז added at the end of the word פרש in that verse is an allusion to the number of clouds surrounding the throne of G’d i.e. “seven.” When the Israelites carry out the Lord’s will the clouds open up in the shape of the letter כ; when they do not carry out the Lord’s will these clouds close around the throne of G’d in the shape of the letter ס. It may be similar to Lamentations 3,44 סכותה בענן, “You have screened yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through.” This is also the meaning of Exodus 24,15 ויכס הענן את ההר, “the cloud enveloped the mountain (Mount Sinai),” or ויכס הענן את אהל מועד, “the cloud enveloped the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40,34). You are already aware that there were seven clouds which surrounded the camp of the Israelites in the desert. I have seen a text by one of the Kabbalists in which he wrote: “know that the throne of G’d’s glory confers blessing and power on seventy angels who surround that throne and who represent the seventy nations on earth other than the Jewish people. They are these nations’ patrons. They are guiding their fates and Amalek who is descended from Esau exercises exceptional power seeing he represents the power of Esau his ancestor and all the while he drew his inspiration and power from the blessing bestowed upon him by Yitzchak his ancestor and Esau’s father. This power was the power of the attribute of Justice, Yitzchak’s predominating attribute. This whole concept is hinted at in the word ויחלש which the Torah uses describing the outcome of the encounter between Joshua and his army and the forces under the command of Amalek. The word ויחלש rather than ויהרוג as a reference to the defeat inflicted on Amalek indicates that the Torah did not describe the military encounter with these words but the spiritual encounter between the two peoples in the celestial spheres. Concerning that encounter the Torah reports that the power of the representative of Amalek-Esau had been greatly weakened. Once that had occurred the military forces of the Israelites were able to inflict fatal casualties on their enemies just as in any battle. Amalek was one of the seventy nations. His celestial representative was also one of seventy. When the Amalekites on earth, his charges, sinned by attacking the Jewish people unprovoked, G’d punished their celestial representative by withdrawing some of his power. He did this by removing him from being so close to His throne. The result of this weakening of the celestial patron of Amalek was that henceforth his people’s fate would be governed by the horoscopes only, their representative at the heavenly throne having no intercessionary power on behalf. of the people he represents. This is the meaning of the oath we read here that יד על כס י-ה, that Amalek’s celestial representative henceforth has access only to the כס, as distinct from the כסא. [In plain language, it was not G’d’s throne which had been undermined but Amalek’s access to it. Ed.] The absence of the letter א from the word כסא means that as far as Amalek was concerned it was denied access to that part of G’d’s throne and all the advantages that such access entailed. Similarly, Amalek lost access to the letters ו and ה in the four-lettered name of G’d. In the future, when there will be no more Amalek and hence no need to allow Amalek or the likes of him access to the four-lettered name of G’d, these two letters will become freely accessible to people on earth. This is the meaning of ה' אחד ושמו אחד, that “both the Lord and His name will be indistinguishable from one another.” [The author proceeds to quote numerous verses from Scripture depicting the idyllic situation of when G’d will rule supreme after the forces opposing Him have been disposed of. I am content to conclude with the last cited verses from Ovadiah 21 and Zecharyah 14,9 respectively: “For liberators shall march up on Mount Zion to wreak judgment on Mount Esau; and dominion shall be the Lord’s.” “On that day the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord with one name.” Ed.]

כי יד על כס ק-ה, “for as long as a hand had been raised against the throne of G’d, etc.” according to Rashi this is in the nature of an oath by G’d. Some commentators view it as a prediction, i.e. as long as a “hand” is raised against the throne of G’d disputing His right to rule the world, G’d is forced to wage war against Amalek. This will continue in this manner until, eventually, Israel will utterly destroy Amalek and wipe his memory from the slate of history.

HE SAID, “IT MEANS, ‘HAND UPON THE THRONE OF THE LORD!’ ETC. That is why I name the altar "Adonai Nisi," like the name of a person called Eliezer [God is my help] or Imanu'el [God is with us], for God has lifted His hand on His throne that He has a war against Amalek through the generations, in the manner of (Isa. 32:40), "I raise My hand to heaven." This is the essential plain meaning. And some interpret it: "When My hand and strength will be on Yah's throne, which is the throne of the kings of Israel, then there will be a war against Amalek. But this does not seem to me correct at all, for [if so,] it should have said, "When there will be [ki tihyeh] a hand." However, this refers above, as I have explained, and its meaning is "Hereby [harei] hand on the throne of Yah."

ויאמר כי יד על כס י-ה, he (Moses) said: “as soon as G–d’s hand on His throne will become firmly established throughout His universe, He will go to war against Amalek. The word יד describing an active monarchy is found in Samuel I 15,12,. I have heard in the name of Rabbi Aaron Halevi of blessed memory who questioned that the subject of the word יד here is Amalek, seeing that it says: ”I will surely wipe out.” How could Amalek have said this of himself? On the other hand in Deuteronomy 25,19, Moses commands the people in the name of the Lord that once the time has come when there is no more antisemitism, instead of letting bygones be bygones, the Jewish people are charged with seeing to it that even the mention of the name Amalek will be eradicated once and for all. Personally, I do not see a problem there at all. In our portion we discuss times when Amalek raises its hand against Israel. At such a time we need G–d to defend us against him. In Deuteronomy, it is presumed Amalek is raising his sword against the Temple, G–d’s home on earth. When the residence of the Lord is in danger, it is G–d’s people, we, who have to rise up in its defense. Jerusalem is called the throne of G–d. His throne is not secure as long as there is still any descendant of Amalek alive on this earth. We read in Psalms 9,8: וה' לעולם ישב כונן למשפט כסאו, “but the Lord abides forever; He has set up His throne for judgment.” This is the reason why the dead are unable to praise the Lord (Psalms 115,17) seeing that being dead they cannot battle Amalek. This is why David continues in Psalm 118 with: לא אמות כי אחיה ואספר מעשי ה' וגו', “I do not wish to die, as I want to be able to tell of the great deeds of the Lord, etc.”