EXOD7 We are commanded not to hate Egypt [Deuteronomy 23:8], but never to forget Amalek [Deut. 25:17-19]. Why the difference? The simplest answer is to recall the rabbis' statement in Pirkei Avot: "If love depends on a specific cause, when the cause ends, so does the loves. If love does not depend on a specific cause, then it never ends" (Mishna Avot 5:16). The same applies to hate. When hate depends on a specific cause, it ends once the cause disappears. Causeless, baseless hate lasts forever. The Egyptians oppressed the Israelites because, in Pharaoh's words, "The Israelites are becoming too numerous and strong for us" [this verse]. Their hate, in other words, came from fear. It was not irrational. The Egyptians had been attacked and conquered before by a group known as the Hyksos, and the memory of that period was still a cute and painful. The Amelekites, however, were not being threatened by the Israelites. They attacked a people who was "weary and worn out," specifically those who were "lagging behind." In short: The Egyptians feared the Israelites because they were strong. The Amalekites attack the Israelites because they were weak. In today's terminology, the Egyptians were rational actors; the Amalekites were not. With rational actors there can be negotiated peace. People engaged in conflict and eventually realize that they are not only destroying their enemies, they are destroying themselves. That is what Pharoah's advisers said to him after seven plagues: "Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?" (Exodus 10:7) There comes a point at which rational actors understand that the pursuit of self-interest has become self-destructive, and they learn to cooperate. It is not so, however, with non-rational actors.