Close To Torah

When fighting against Amalek at the end of the Parsha, we find a fascinating phenomenon. When Moshe held his hands up above his head, the Jews began to win; when he became weak and couldn’t hold them up, the Jews began to lose. I have always been struck by the contrast that the Nazi party (Amalek) seemed to use the same hand gesture to express its strength. A hail Hitler salute was represented by an outstretched arm above head level. What is this all about?

I have mentioned numerous times the powerful statement of Rav Shach zt”l (1899-2001) that I heard told over by Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt”l. “If Hitler was able to brutally kill six million Jews, then imagine what one person can build!” There is much to be learned from Hitler’s ability to motivate and captivate an entire country. The verse (Tehillim 119:98) tells us to “learn from our enemy” and apply his tactics to implement self-improvement. When I went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. this past summer I learned tremendous lessons by visiting the new exhibit that outlined the Nazi propaganda techniques. I learned about the strong human desire for success and affiliation and the ways that these powers can be tapped into and used to motivate people to do great things. There is power and brilliance in the system and I pray that it only be used for good things from now on.

The hands represent man’s action. The head represents man’s understanding. The Jewish people accepted the Torah and said, “Naaseh V’Nishmah, we will do and understand.” This declaration granted them tremendous merit (Shabbos 88a). The Jews put action and subservience first, before human comprehension. They said, “we trust Hashem and His commandments and we are ready to wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to him even if we don’t yet understand each detail. The hand going above the head shows that we will act (hands) according to Hashem’s dictates, even if our head is below the action and does not (yet) fully fathom the concept and its reasoning. This brought victory to the Jews, as the Mishna (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) says, “when they subjugated their hearts to Hashem, they won.” Conversely, the head above the hand is what Amalek stands for. Amalek (עמלק) strives to put doubt in the human mind. They say that if my intellect doesn’t understand it, I don’t have to follow it. The numerical value of thier name (240) is the same as doubt (ספק= 240). That is why when Moshe’s hands were below his head, which represents human intellect above subservience to God, Amalek became victorious.

The Nazi’s knew of the power of total subservience. From the time a child entered school he was taught to revere and respect the Nazi party. Many of the children blindly jumped onto the bandwagon of the chant, “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fhrer, One People, One Nation, One Leader!” The Nazi’s took full advantage of their understanding of human nature. They put their actions (hand) above their head (understanding) in total alliance with Hitler. We are able to fight this by passionately dedicating ourselves to serve Hashem, who we know has only the best in store for us and deserves our full trust.

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Categories: Parshas Beshalach Tags: Avodas Hashem, Naasheh V'Nishmah