What Does It Mean that We Read the Portion, Zachor [Remember], Before Purim, in the Work?

Article No. 21, 1991

The verse says, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, what happened to you along the way. Blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget.”

We should understand why we must remember what Amalek did to us in order to observe “Blot out the memory of Amalek.” That is, this means that if we do not remember what he did to us, we cannot blot out, but rather precisely as much as we remember of him, this we can blot out, and not more. We should understand what it means in the work that he says, “Blot out the memory of Amalek,” and if we have no memory then we cannot blot out. Therefore, first we were given the Mitzva [commandment/good deed], “Remember what Amalek did to you,” and then we have the memory of Amalek, and we can carry out the Mitzva of blotting out Amalek.

It is known that there is no light without a Kli [vessel], no filling without a lack. Hence, a person cannot do anything if he has no need for that same thing. Therefore, how can we blot out Amalek if we have no need to blot him out? That is, a person does not know what is Amalek or why we need to perform the action of blotting him out. Therefore, first we must know what is Amalek and what troubles he had done to us. Afterward, to the extent that we understand that he is causing us troubles, to that extent we are ready to observe “Blot out the memory of Amalek.”

In other words, according to one’s memory of the troubles he had done to him, to that extent a person is willing to blot him out. That is, precisely according to what he remembers that he had harmed him, to that extent he wants to remove him from the world. If a person does not remember that he had done to him many troubles, then he has no need to blot him out. Hence, to the extent that he remembers, he can blot him out, and not more.

It follows that it is impossible to observe the blotting out of Amalek, but only to the extent that he remembers the troubles that he did to him. For this reason, the preparation for blotting out Amalek should be that one must know what is Amalek, meaning what is the role of Amalek against the people of Israel. It is about this that the verse says, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, what happened to you along the way.”

To the extent that a person feels the “what Amalek did to you,” he can carry out “Blot out the memory of Amalek.” That is, if a person does not remember that Amalek harmed him, he has no reason to blot him out. When a person introspects and wants to see who is his enemy and does him only harm, it is the will to receive for one’s own sake, which is called the “evil inclination,” since it prevents a person from receiving the delight and pleasure that the Creator wants to give him.

Therefore, when one looks at it, to the extent that he feels that the will to receive is his enemy, to the extent of the preparation to know and to feel the suffering it causes him, only to that extent is one willing to obliterate it from the world. This is the meaning of what is written, “Blot out the memory of Amalek.” That is, this implies that we should know that we can blot out only to the extent that we remember what is the measure of the bad that he had done to us.

Accordingly, we can understand why we read the portion Zachor [remember] before Purim. First we must understand what is Purim in the work. The importance of Purim is explained in the words of the ARI (The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Part 15, Item 220), “This is the meaning of what is written, ‘Their memory shall not fade from their descendants.’ That illumination is on the days of Purim each and every year. Therefore, in the future, all the occasions will be cancelled except for the scroll of Esther. The reason is that there has never been such a great miracle, not on Sabbaths and not on good days, for such an illumination to be. In this respect, there is a big merit to Purim over all other days, even Sabbaths and good days.”

In the commentary Ohr Pnimi, he interprets that that light, which was in the days of Purim, can shine only at the end of correction and not before. This light is called “the light of the purpose of creation.” That is, it is light of Hochma that is clothed in vessels of reception, meaning he wants to receive the delight and pleasure that are there, which come from the purpose of creation. This light of the purpose of creation, called light of Hochma, cannot shine without clothing, and it dresses in the light of the correction of creation, called light of Hassadim. Before the end of correction, this light of Hochma, called Gadlut of Hochma, cannot shine together with the light of Hassadim.

At that time, there was a miracle because of the fasting and the outcries, which extended light of Hassadim, and then light of Hochma could dress within the light of Hassadim, and this is considered that there was a miracle when the light shone before the end of correction, since by nature, that light can shine only at the end of correction, which is called “in the future.” The miracle was that it illuminated before the end of correction. This is why our sages said, “All the occasions will be cancelled except for the scroll of Esther, since the light of Purim is the light that will shine in the future.

It is written (Shabbat, p 88), “‘And they stood at the bottom of the mountain.’ It means that He forced the mountain on them like a vault and said, ‘If you accept the Torah, very well. But if you do not, there will it be your burial.’ Raba said, ‘Although the generation received it in the days of Ahasuerus, as it is written, ‘they kept what they had already received.’”

We therefore see the importance of Purim, that they accepted the Torah willingly, whereas until then, it was only by coercion. By this we can interpret what we asked, What is the meaning of the portion Zachor being before Purim? The reason is that there is no light without a Kli. Hence, first we must remember what Amalek did, for Amalek in the work is called “the evil inclination,” and remember the troubles he caused the people of Israel. Afterward, once we have a Kli, meaning a lack, it is possible to pray, as then it was fasting and crying out, and then they were rewarded with “kept and received willingly, for the love of the miracle.”

It follows that we must prepare for Purim. We must say that the preparation is for the need and the Kli [vessel] for the reception of the light. This means that by feeling the lack, we can receive the filling. As there are six workdays before we can come to the state of Shabbat [Sabbath], as our sages said, “He who did not toil on the eve of Shabbat, what will he eat on Shabbat?” meaning that only when there are six workdays, then when Shabbat comes there is rest.

Therefore, one who works on Shabbat is regarded as “desecrating the Shabbat,” meaning he desecrated the rest. Likewise, the preparation for Purim is also the feeling of the evil of Haman, who wants to destroy and to kill and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to old, infants and women, in one day.

Therefore, one must pay attention to the Haman in his heart, how he wants to destroy anything related to Kedusha [holiness], meaning anything that can yield something that is regarded as Kedusha. Regardless of the measure of the matter, even if it is the smallest, he wants to destroy it. He regrets that he hasn’t the power to overcome the thought of Haman, who wants to destroy all the Jews.

We should interpret that “all the Jews” means anything that has some relation to “for the sake of the Creator,” this he wants to destroy. This is called “recognition of evil,” which is a Kli and a lack. Afterward, we can receive a filling for it, called “light,” which comes to fill the lack that is in the Kli. Hence, afterward, Israel were rewarded with “and it was turned to the contrary, so that the Jews governed their enemies,” and they were rewarded with receiving the Torah willingly and not forcefully.

But the heart of the miracle is that “the Jews governed their enemies.” That is, when the quality of “Jews” in one’s heart governs, the work of the Creator can be done willingly and not by force. It follows that the heart of the miracle is when he was in a state where Haman controls and wants to destroy the entire quality of the Jews. But when the Jews control one’s heart, they can observe willingly and not forcefully.

This is as our sages said, “Tyre was built only out of the ruin of Jerusalem, and vice-versa, when one rises, the other falls.” Hence, the heart of man’s work is to pray to the Creator to give him the desire to bestow, as this is the heart of the prayer, as it is written, “He who comes to purify is aided.” When the Creator gives him the desire to bestow, this is the heart of the miracle, and this is called “a second nature,” and it is in the hands of the Creator to give him a second nature.

This is why we read the portion Zachor before Purim. But before the portion Zachor, we read the portion Shekalim [pl. of shekel]. This comes to tell us that in the work, as The Zohar says, “Shekalim means Even [stone] with which to weigh.” This is so because one must weigh the order of one’s work, to see whether or not it is for the sake of the Creator. That is, it is impossible to blot out Amalek before one knows the power of the bad within him, and how it causes all the distancing from the Creator.

Therefore, when weighing the work in order to see if they are fine or not, we can come to the recognition of evil. Then, the extent to which we feel the bad and cannot overcome it, meaning that we see that we cannot prevail over it, this is still not regarded as “recognition of evil.” However, this means that he sees the losses that the evil causes him and he wants to get rid of the evil but cannot. This is called “recognition of evil,” meaning the sensation of the evil. In other words, when he sees the losses that the evil causes him, this is called “recognition of evil.”

This feeling comes to a person through labor in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments/good deeds], when the light in the Torah makes him feel that the situation he is in is very bad because it causes him to be far from Kedusha. But if he does not feel that he is immersed in self-love, it harms him (and this is called recognition of evil). Precisely through Torah and Mitzvot, when he tries to obtain through them assistance in the work, the Torah reveals to him the bad in him. The first assistance he receives is the recognition of evil, meaning to recognize that the bad, meaning the will to receive for oneself, is bad and harmful to spirituality. It follows that the meaning of recognition of evil is to recognize that the bad, meaning the will to receive, is what is harmful to man. And when one feels that it is harmful, he can pray from the bottom of the heart.

However, we must understand why there should be a prayer from the bottom of the heart. The answer is that since one cannot feel the real taste of anything unless he has a yearning for it, from above they want that when he asks for something, that his request be answered, there must be a real lack. This is called “a prayer from the bottom of the heart,” and it is known that “heart” means “desire.”

Hence, when one prays to be given some filling, he must have a lack for the filling. For this reason, if one has another desire in one’s heart, it is a sign that he does not have a big desire, since his desire splits into two desires. It follows that neither are great. But if he has but one desire in the heart, this is considered that what he asks is from the bottom of the heart. That is, he does not have any desire in between. He might have a desire to learn Torah but also a desire to rest and not exert. This, too, is considered two desires and is already not considered that the fact that he wants to learn Torah is one desire, since he also wants to enjoy rest.

Therefore, we read the portion Shekalim before the portion Zachor, since first we must know that the will to receive is called “bad and harmful,” and then we can say, “Remember what Amalek did to you,” when he enthroned the will to receive over the people of Israel in both mind and heart. And since we know that he did a bad thing, we want to obliterate Amalek.

We should know that in the order of the work, we must make several discernments:

1) When a person begins to enter the work of observing Torah and Mitzvot, he does not feel deficient, since he knows that he is more or less observing Torah and Mitzvot. Hence, he has no reason to say that he has bad.

2) When he begins to examine his actions, he begins to feel that he has bad in him, and he is wicked, but not a complete wicked, since he sees that there are worse people than him. Therefore, he is called “incomplete wicked.”

3) When he wants to work in order to bestow, he sees how far he is from this work. Hence, the wicked comes to him with the “Who” and “What” questions. At that time, he comes to a state where he sees that he is a “complete wicked” in both mind and heart.

4) When he is in a state of ascent, he thinks of himself that he is righteous, meaning that he will remain in a state of ascent forever. Yet, afterward, another descent comes to him and he sees that he is wicked. Therefore, he does not know what to say about himself, whether to say that he is a complete wicked, since he sees that he has ascents when he appears to himself as righteous, or to say that he is righteous, since he sees that during a descent, he is wicked.

Since a person is close to himself, he accepts a bribe from the body, which he loves, and says that in truth, he is righteous, but an “incomplete righteous.” In other words, since the body will enjoy more if he justifies himself, he says about himself that he is an “incomplete righteous.” Because he has descents, at which time he is in a state of “wicked,” and he does not say that he is “wicked” because of the descent, for the above reason that he accepts a bribe from the body, so he chooses to say that he is righteous, but an incomplete one, as it is written (Deuteronomy 16:19), “A bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous.”

We can see an example of this in the manner that the world behaves. We see that many people buy lottery tickets in order to win the draw. Each one thinks that he will win the grand prize in the lottery, although there could be a million participants in the lottery and only one winner. Nevertheless, he participates in the draw and thinks that he might win. That is, although it is doubtful, he thinks that he might still win.

Conversely, we see that when those who buy the lottery want to go some place by car, we see that one out of a million has a car accident, and people are hurt. But that person who bought the lottery ticket is not afraid that he might have an accident. He does not say, as when he comes to buy a ticket, that he might have an accident.

The reason for this is that since a person is close to himself, he cannot see anything bad about himself. If there is something bad, it will probably happen to others, and not to him. Although he has hopes about winning the lottery, with a car accident, someone else will “win” this, and not he, although based on what does he determine that there is a difference between the lottery and an accident. And yet, “A bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous.”

Therefore, when one sees that he has ups and downs, he says that in truth, he is righteous, so why is he having descents, for then, during the descent, he sees that he is wicked? As a result, he says about himself that he is righteous, albeit incomplete.

5) When he is rewarded with complete faith and can aim his work in order to bestow, but only in vessels of bestowal, it can be said that he already has love of the Creator, although only with the good inclination. But the vessels of reception, which pertain to the evil inclination, those are still outside of Kedusha.

6) When he achieves “repentance,” meaning when he is rewarded with love of the Creator “with both your inclinations,” as it is written, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” meaning with both your inclinations, the good inclination and the evil inclination. This is considered that one has repented, meaning that the bad in him, which are the vessels of reception, have also entered the Kedusha [holiness], and he can work with them in order to bestow. This is why our sages said, “In a place where they who repent stand, complete righteous do not stand.” This means that complete righteous cannot stand in Kedusha, meaning that complete righteous cannot use Kelim [vessels] of the evil inclination, which are vessels of reception for self-benefit, so they are corrected and are in Kedusha, meaning that they work for the sake of the Creator.

It follows that everything follows the order of degrees, from light to heavy. Hence, the order of the work is that we begin in Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], and then we achieve Lishma [for Her sake]. Accordingly, we should interpret what our sages said about the words “received and kept, kept what they had already received.” That is, thus far it was by force, as it is written, “And they stood at the bottom of the mountain,” and they explained, “He forced the mountain on them like a vault and said, ‘If you accept the Torah, very well. But if you do not, there will it be your burial.’”

It follows that thus far it was by force, and now, on Purim, they accepted it willingly. This is called “the order of the work.” That is, the beginning of man’s work should be by force. By nature, when a person wants to work for the sake of the Creator, his body objects to it. This means that in truth, we begin in Lo Lishma, when the body does not object so much, since when it believes that it will be rewarded for relinquishing small pleasures and receive in return great pleasures, meaning he promises the body that it will receive a greater reward in return for his work in Torah and Mitzvot, this is not against nature. Hence, this is truly the first beginning.

But afterward, when he begins the work in order to bestow, the body resists it as it contradicts the nature with which it was born, which is to think only about its own benefit. At that time, the work is coercive. That is, he must not look at the body, whether it agrees to work for the sake of the Creator. Rather, one must do everything by force, even if the body disagrees.

This coercion that a person does is regarded as “a prayer,” since a person wants to observe “love the Lord your God,” but sees that he has no love for the Creator, for there is a rule that where there is love there is no coercion. Rather, specifically where there is no love, and a person wants to work for someone for whom he has no love, he can work for Him.

Thus, we should ask, If a person has no love for the Creator, why does he work for Him? That is, Why should one work coercively? The answer is that we were given faith. A person must believe that through the coercion that he forces himself, and he truly wants to love the Creator, this is a prayer. By this he will be rewarded with “accepted willingly, for the love of the miracle.” That is, the Creator gave them the second nature, which is the desire to bestow, and they were rewarded with the love of the Creator and received everything willingly.

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