Jews Do Not Bless Destruction

Yesterday I wrote about remembering what had been done to our people over 60 years ago. Tradition tells us that we are supposed to remember back a lot further than that. In fact, it is a commandment (one of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah) to remember what the Amalekites did to us in the desert when we left Egypt.

What did they do? They attacked from the rear, killing the slow walkers – the young and the infirmed. We have a special Shabbat – (this one 3/11) – where we add this Torah story (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) to the regular portion. We take out a 2nd Torah just to read about and remember their evil. It's a mitzvah to remember.

Interestingly, even though it is a commandment to remember the Amalekites, we do not say a blessing (like: “Blessed are You… who has commanded us to remember the Amalekites…”) before we read this special portion. Why not? Because Jews do not bless destruction.

Remember when, according to tradition, the angels wanted to sing to Gd as the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea? Gd said, “No! How can you sing when My creation is drowning?” We are forbidden to celebrate destruction – even if we know the enemy deserves it. Judaism is different. We don't parade in the streets when others suffer. Our Faith prohibits this. It's just not who we are.