WHY DO THEY HATE US?

THOUGHTS ON PARSHAS ZACHOR

Dear Friends:

Every year on the Shabbos just before Purim, we read Parshas Zachor, which describes the attack of Amalek upon the Children of Israel as we left Egypt under the leadership of our Teacher Moses.

Why now? Because the story of Purim is the story of the hatred of Amalek’s descendant, Haman, against the Children of Israel. And the story of Haman is the story of the hatred of his descendants against the Children of Israel right down to this very day! Was not Hitler -- may his name be ground to dust! – a descendant of Haman? Is there not today in Iran an individual whose very essence is hatred, scheming night and day to develop the “Final Final Solution” to what seems to him the ultimate “problem”?

Why are they consumed with hatred? What have we done?

The Torah testifies: “There is a hand upon the throne of G-d, a war of G-d with Amalek from generation to generation.”i Amalek is fighting G-d Himself, but since G-d is invulnerable, Amalek strikes out relentlessly at G-d’s People, the Nation of Israel. Until the coming of Moshiach and the final destruction of evil – May we see it this year B”H! -- Amalek will wage war against G-d and His People Israel.

We recently completed the Torah Portion Terumah, which describes the contents and the layout of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle which G-d commanded us to build in the Desert. Why does the construction of the Mishkan coincide with the season of Purim and the story of Amalek?

I would like to reprint here a column I wrote several years ago at this season. I have reprinted it often. I believe that it may offer insight into the millennium-old question: Why do they hate us?

 

I wanted to understand why the Mishkan/Tabernacle is set up from east to west.

Imagine a Kohain, Aaron or his descendant, walking through the Mishkan. He enters the Courtyard from the east and first approaches the Copper Altar, where the sacrifices are brought. He continues walking westward. Past the Copper Altar, he enters the “Holy” area, where he finds the Golden Altar, where the incense is burned, the Menorah on the south and the Shulchan, the Table with the Showbread, on the north. Beyond the “Holy” area is the “Holy of Holies,” furthest to the west, where the Ark of the Covenant is situated behind the Paroches. The Holy of Holies is the most sanctified spot in the Mishkan, in the world for that matter.

Later, when the Temple was built in Jerusalem, the same orientation held true: the Ark was furthest to the west. (Today, when we stand at the Western Wall, we are facing eastward, toward the side of the Temple Mount closest to where the Ark stood.)

Why is the holiest part of the Temple on the west and the entrance on the east?

Every day the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But the sun is actually stationery relative to the earth; it is the earth that spins. Clearly then, if the sun is stationery, the earth must be spinning from west to east, under the sun. And that is in fact what happens. (That is why the prevailing winds of the world flow from west to east, along with the rotation of the earth, which is why a flight from Israel to the U. S. is always longer than the other direction, because flying west means flying against the prevailing winds.)

So the earth is spinning from west to east.

When the Kohain enters the Mishkan or Temple, going toward the holiest place, he is walking from east to west.

The world, my friends, is spinning one way, and we, the Children of Israel, are walking the other way! The other nations are focused on the material, the ephemeral things in life and we are focused on the spiritual, the eternal. We are going AGAINST the “way of the world.” Perhaps that is why we write from right to left and most of the world writes from left to right.

When King David describes how the “kings assembled” to attack Jerusalem, he says that with an “east wind” G-d smashed their ships.ii Our wind comes from the east; theirs comes from the west. They rely on “chariots” and “horses,” but we call out “in the Name of G-d.”iii

The rest of the world is marching in one direction and the children of Israel – alone in the world! – are marching in the other direction! The other nations desire to detach us from our connection with G-d. Achashverosh made a great banquet and invited the Jews to partake, to become a part of Babylonian Society. Haman became incensed when one Jewish man -- one man! – refused to bow down to him. The nations are perfectly free to perform the Seven Commandments assigned to them and elevate themselves. But instead, they become incensed and jealous when they see our level of holiness.

That level of holiness is our salvation, our only salvation! We walk west, against the spin of the earth. The earth and all that it contains are only dust, and in time it will cease to exist, but we and our nation are eternal, because we are united with the Eternal Creator.

May we live in “light and gladness, joy and honor,” as we did in the days of Mordechai and Esther, but this time may we merit to enjoy this happiness forever, as the names of Amalek and Haman are forever stilled by the sound of the Shofar Gadol and the voices of the Children of Israel raised in prayer and Talmud Torah!

A Freilichen Purim!

Roy S. Neuberger