Parashat Ki Tetze

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you were leaving Egypt. That he happened upon you on the way, and he killed among you all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d.” (Deuteronomy 25:17)

The Parasha ends with the exhortation to remember Amalek’s terrible deed of attacking the Jewish people in the desert, and to commit to wiping out this evil nation.  The Torah stresses that Amalek ‘happened upon’ the people.

Rashi offers a number of explanations of what this refers to: one is that it expresses chance – that Amalek made it look like they encountered the people by chance, and not by any Providence.

Another interpretation is that the word, ‘korcha’ alludes to the word, ‘kor’ which means cold. This alludes to the analogy of how Amalek cooled down the nations’ fear of the Jewish people.

Everyone else feared the nation as a result of the great miracles of the Exodus, but the Amalekim were totally unmoved and attacked regardless of the disastrous consequences.

A number of questions arise: Why did Amalek respond so differently from the other nations? Furthermore, is there any connection between the reasons that Rashi gives, given that they emanate from a definition of the same word; korcha?

It seems that the Amalekim had a totally different outlook from the rest of the world. The non-Jews worshipped false gods but they believed in the idea of a power guiding a nation. 

Accordingly, they believed in the 'G-d of the Jews' and paid heed to His protection of the Jewish people. Amalek, in contrast, seem to have been atheists. They believed in no force, therefore they attributed all of the wondrous events of the Exodus to chance. Accordingly, they could ignore all the signs and jump into the boiling bathtub.  

This understanding demonstrates the connection between Rashi’s two interpretations. Amalek viewed everything as being a result of happenstance, therefore, they attributed even the greatest miracles to chance.

Consequently, they remained totally cold and unmoved by all the events of the Exodus. Their brazen disregard for the great miracles that took place also served to weaken the fear of the other nations by placing an element of doubt as to whether these events were merely the result of chance.

As Jews, we don’t believe in coincidence. Rather we firmly believe in Devine Providence, and that G-d is active in each of our lives every moment of everyday.

Everything that happens to us, is tailor-made.