The story goes that God, seeing the Israelites weren't exactly overflowing with gratitude, decided to teach them a lesson. And how did God do that? By sending against them an enemy who was, ironically, just as ungrateful! This enemy? Amalek.
Now, Amalek wasn't just any random foe. He had a history with the Jewish people. A history he conveniently forgot. You see, Amalek owed his very life to the sons of Jacob. Remember the epic showdown between Jacob and Esau? The sons of Jacob emerged victorious, and Amalek, who was in their power, was spared. But, as the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished, right?
Instead of remembering this act of mercy, Amalek launched an expedition against Israel. And he wasn't playing fair.
Amalek employed a sneaky, almost Machiavellian, strategy. He knew he couldn't just waltz in and expect to win. He needed to sow discord, to weaken the Israelite camp from within. So, he turned to deception, using his kinship to his advantage.
He managed to get his hands on something incredibly valuable: the Jewish table of descent from Egypt. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, every Jew in Egypt had to mark their name on the bricks they produced. These lists, these records of lineage, were kept in the Egyptian archives. Amalek, cunning as ever, got a hold of them.
Imagine the scene: Amalek standing outside the Israelite camp, armed with this list, calling out to individuals by name. "Reuben! Simeon! Levi!" he'd shout. "Come out to me, your brother, and transact business with me!" It’s a chilling image, isn't it? The voice of the enemy, masquerading as a friendly neighbor, luring unsuspecting Jews to their doom. The yetzer hara (the evil inclination) working overtime, you might say!
He was preying on their trust, exploiting their sense of community. The Midrash Rabbah highlights this treachery, emphasizing how easily people can be led astray by smooth talk and false promises. We, of course, know that Amalek was anything but a brother. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and his "business" was nothing more than a deadly trap.
What does this tell us? Perhaps it's a reminder to be wary of those who offer easy solutions, especially when they come from unexpected places. Or maybe it's a lesson about the importance of gratitude, and the consequences of forgetting the good deeds done for us. After all, as the Zohar tells us, the actions of the past can have profound repercussions in the present. And sometimes, those repercussions come in the form of a very ungrateful enemy.