Bat Kol International, Weekly Torah Nuggets
Parashat Ki Teitzei | Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
“Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt… you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget” (Deut. 25:17-19).
In Exodus 17:8–16, Amalek is linked to attacking the weak and to deliberate cruelty toward the defenseless. The twin mitzvot to Israel, “Remember what Amalek did… do not forget.” links memory with moral vigilance. The command is to resist injustice without becoming unjust.
Rashi notes that the mitzvot to remember and not forget is placed after dishonest weights (Deut. 25:15) teaching that corruption makes one vulnerable to Amalek-like destruction.”
Over time, Amalek became more than a tribe’s name. It is a symbol of radical, unjustified evil against the Jewish people. It also represents genocidal hatred, persecution, dehumanization, and attempts to erase identity and life itself.
Amalek has become a symbol of radical evil, but also a call to integrity in daily life. The lesson is to resist cruelty, guard honesty, and remember that forgetting injustice enables its return. It is a lesson for all.
Reflection:
If we remember and tell the story and lessons of Amalek, how do we resist radical evil without becoming morally like the evil we oppose?
Minerva Generalao, Philippines
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“Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies.”
Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions: Nostra Aetate, No. 4