Amalek the Dog Who Came to Lick Israel's Blood

Another interpretation: "Amalek" [is read as] "a people that licked" (am laq), for it came to lick the blood of Israel like a dog. Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta says: To what was Amalek like? To a fly that is greedy for a wound; so was Amalek greedy for Israel. A parable: a king who had a vineyard and surrounded it with a fence and set within it a biting dog. The king said: Whoever comes and breaches the fence, let the dog bite him. The king's own son came and breached the fence, and the dog bit him. Whenever the king wished to recall the sin his son had committed, he would say to him: Remember when the dog bit you. So whenever the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to recall the sin of Israel, what they did at Rephidim when they said, "Is the LORD among us?" He says to them, "Remember what Amalek did to you" (Deuteronomy 25:17). Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah and the Rabbis [interpreted]. Rabbi Judah says: Israel said, If He is Master over all the works as He is Master over us, we will serve Him, and if not, we will not serve Him. And Rabbi Nehemiah says: If He supplies our food like a king who dwells in a province and the province lacks nothing, we will serve Him, and if not, we will rebel against Him. And the Rabbis say: If we speak in our hearts and He knows what we speak, we will serve Him, and if not, we will rebel against Him. Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: In their hearts they spoke, and the Holy One, blessed be He, granted them their request. What is the reason? "And they tested God in their heart" (Psalms 78:18), and what is written there? "And they ate and were exceedingly full" (Psalms 78:29).