In Shemot 17:8 ("And Amalek came and battled with Yisrael in Refidim"), the Kli Yakar mentions the nefarious plot of Amalek:
And “Amalek came” to add spiritual impurity upon their [Am Yisrael’s] spiritual impurity by means of mishkav zachur as is written [Devarim 25:18] “asher karcha baderech — when they encountered you on the way.”
And all this it did in order to completely remove Hashem from upon them because His Blessed Holiness can only exist in a place where there is a fence against immorality…and they also had no rescue via natural means, like when a man assists his fellow…
According to our Sages, the word “karcha” has several implications:
The Kli Yakar doesn’t detail further exactly how Amalek infiltrated male-male relations into Am Yisrael, but he does explain at length how the initial breach — the tumah of strife — created an opening for Amalek’s nefarious plan.
(You can learn more about Amalek exploiting our spiritual breaches in the Kli Yakar on Parshat Vayishlach.)
- occurred
- happened
- became cold
- wasted seed
The Kli Yakar doesn’t detail further exactly how Amalek infiltrated male-male relations into Am Yisrael, but he does explain at length how the initial breach — the tumah of strife — created an opening for Amalek’s nefarious plan.
(You can learn more about Amalek exploiting our spiritual breaches in the Kli Yakar on Parshat Vayishlach.)
Unwanted Strife
In today’s Jewish world, the only Jews really striving for peace are Orthodox Jews —though not all of them.
Having been Conservative surrounded by a lot of Reform and very assimilated at times, then Modern Orthodox and Dati-Leumi, then chareidi Litvish BT to Sephardi chareidi (with a thing for Breslov) now, I can tell you that the only Jews who really strive to connect positively with all Jews — including those who are not like them and even reject them — are Orthodox Jews (though not all of them).
Maybe once (in a book) did I ever hear a non-Orthodox Jew describe Orthodox Jews with anywhere near the same understanding and compassion with which many Orthodox Jews describe non-Orthodox Jews. (I’m not saying that such non-Orthodox Jews do not exist. I’m saying that I did not encounter them, whether personally or even in a magazine article — except for a couple of passages in one thick book.)
In fact, many Orthodox Jews can be even more sympathetic & generous-minded toward their non-religious fellows than toward their religious fellows.
And Amalek has seized on this division, even though the connection between interpersonal strife and mishkav zachur is difficult to make.
Having been Conservative surrounded by a lot of Reform and very assimilated at times, then Modern Orthodox and Dati-Leumi, then chareidi Litvish BT to Sephardi chareidi (with a thing for Breslov) now, I can tell you that the only Jews who really strive to connect positively with all Jews — including those who are not like them and even reject them — are Orthodox Jews (though not all of them).
Maybe once (in a book) did I ever hear a non-Orthodox Jew describe Orthodox Jews with anywhere near the same understanding and compassion with which many Orthodox Jews describe non-Orthodox Jews. (I’m not saying that such non-Orthodox Jews do not exist. I’m saying that I did not encounter them, whether personally or even in a magazine article — except for a couple of passages in one thick book.)
In fact, many Orthodox Jews can be even more sympathetic & generous-minded toward their non-religious fellows than toward their religious fellows.
And Amalek has seized on this division, even though the connection between interpersonal strife and mishkav zachur is difficult to make.
The Ancient & Dark Roots of Today's Movements
I guess mishkav zachur is a particularly nasty way to cut down Am Yisrael with immorality.
The Kli Yakar emphasizes that the strife removes natural protection from us while the immorality removes spiritual protection from us.
This is why we are seeing such massive push for acceptance of mishkav zachur in our times. Even some frum Jews have adopted an embracing attitude.
Note: I don’t criticize the fact that someone has this taavah. I oppose acceptance of mishkav zachur as a perfectly decent & legitimate lifestyle—it’s like saying that other serious Torah prohibitions, like baseless character assassination or chilul Shabbat or stealing or murder, are totally legitimate lifestyle choices that can find leniency within the Torah.
Please see What of a "Lashon Hara Pride" Movement? for one analogy of that.
It’s no coincidence that as Germany’s Jews made strife against their fellow frum Jews (including outright disdain of ostjuden — their fellow Jews in Poland, etc.) that Berlin became the mishkav zachur capital of the world prior to World War II, with some assimilated anti-Torah Jews falling under that Amalekite influence and fighting for mishkav zachur acceptance in German society & law.
(Please see It's Berlin All Over Again for more.)
Furthermore, the current movement in favor of transitioning gender identity touted as “unprecendented!” actually has roots in ancient Mesopotamia.
Archaeologists discovered a hymn by a Sumerian priestess (circa 2300 BCE) from Avraham Avinu’s hometown of Ur, who boasted of her occult ability to have successfully “changed men into women!”
(Please see Why, This Reminds Me of Ancient Mesopotamia! & If the Torah is So Adamant, Then That Must Mean Something: Why Polytheism Really is So Awful for more on that topic.)
Clearly, all this mishkav zachur and gender identity confusion has roots in ancient dark spiritual systems.
It’s all kochot hatumah & avodah zarah — and it’s not new at all.
And they are trying to push mishkav zachur acceptance into Eretz Yisrael.
This is all an AMALEKITE STRATEGY to DESTROY AM YISRAEL.
The Kli Yakar emphasizes that the strife removes natural protection from us while the immorality removes spiritual protection from us.
This is why we are seeing such massive push for acceptance of mishkav zachur in our times. Even some frum Jews have adopted an embracing attitude.
Note: I don’t criticize the fact that someone has this taavah. I oppose acceptance of mishkav zachur as a perfectly decent & legitimate lifestyle—it’s like saying that other serious Torah prohibitions, like baseless character assassination or chilul Shabbat or stealing or murder, are totally legitimate lifestyle choices that can find leniency within the Torah.
Please see What of a "Lashon Hara Pride" Movement? for one analogy of that.
It’s no coincidence that as Germany’s Jews made strife against their fellow frum Jews (including outright disdain of ostjuden — their fellow Jews in Poland, etc.) that Berlin became the mishkav zachur capital of the world prior to World War II, with some assimilated anti-Torah Jews falling under that Amalekite influence and fighting for mishkav zachur acceptance in German society & law.
(Please see It's Berlin All Over Again for more.)
Furthermore, the current movement in favor of transitioning gender identity touted as “unprecendented!” actually has roots in ancient Mesopotamia.
Archaeologists discovered a hymn by a Sumerian priestess (circa 2300 BCE) from Avraham Avinu’s hometown of Ur, who boasted of her occult ability to have successfully “changed men into women!”
(Please see Why, This Reminds Me of Ancient Mesopotamia! & If the Torah is So Adamant, Then That Must Mean Something: Why Polytheism Really is So Awful for more on that topic.)
Clearly, all this mishkav zachur and gender identity confusion has roots in ancient dark spiritual systems.
It’s all kochot hatumah & avodah zarah — and it’s not new at all.
And they are trying to push mishkav zachur acceptance into Eretz Yisrael.
This is all an AMALEKITE STRATEGY to DESTROY AM YISRAEL.
Fighting Amalek as a Small, Powerless Person
Because the promoters of toeva orientations whomp everyone over the head with the club of "compassion," those with the correct moral & ethical attitudes are made to feel uncompassionate, cruel, insensitive, and ignorant.
That's why it is so important to remember that the acceptance of toeva lifestyles is an Amalekite strategy for destruction and not a real movement for compassion or social "progress."
So what is the regular powerless person supposed to do about it?
As a frum person who has worked in kiruv and was even a rebbetzin for a blessedly short while, I realize that I cannot convince Jews committed to anti-Torah ideologies (Reform, socialism, communism, feminism, Leftism, etc.) not to make strife. (Some frum people can — sometimes. But I discovered that I personally cannot.)
However, as a frum person, I can:
I can do my part.
We all can.
It’s the only way to really fight Amalek.
That's why it is so important to remember that the acceptance of toeva lifestyles is an Amalekite strategy for destruction and not a real movement for compassion or social "progress."
So what is the regular powerless person supposed to do about it?
As a frum person who has worked in kiruv and was even a rebbetzin for a blessedly short while, I realize that I cannot convince Jews committed to anti-Torah ideologies (Reform, socialism, communism, feminism, Leftism, etc.) not to make strife. (Some frum people can — sometimes. But I discovered that I personally cannot.)
However, as a frum person, I can:
- work on not making strife with my husband or my neighbors.
- foster harmonious sibling relationships among my children
- be careful of my attitude toward different yet Torah-true groups of Jews
- give tzedakah to precious Jews with whom I don’t share the exact same hashkafah (like Chabad or the Gush Katif kallahs)
- strive to judge favorably
- see a positive attribute in even the yuckiest Jew
- forgive those who hurt me in some way
- struggle to overcome a grudge
- I can pray positively to Hashem on behalf of all Jews.
I can do my part.
We all can.
It’s the only way to really fight Amalek.
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