DEUT1477 The classic people in the Torah who hated the Jews are the Amalekites, who first attacked the Jews immediately after they left Egypt. Throughout history, even today, there are essentially four reasons why one nation attacks another nation: (1) to gain land, (2) to show power to other nations (and sometimes to themselves), (3) fear of being attacked, so they attack first, (4) a holy war. The way the Torah describes the attack of Amalek [this verse], it is clear that none of these reasons applied. The verse starts off by saying that the Jews were attacked "on the way," meaning in no-man's-land. Therefore, the reason could not have been to gain territory. The next phrase in the verse is "they smote the weakest in the back ranks." Therefore, they could not have demonstrated power even if they had been victorious, since they attacked only the weakest. The verse continues "when you (the Jewish people) were faint and weary." Therefore, the reason could not of been fear of an attack by the Jews, since they were tired. Finally, the verse concludes "and they did not fear God." Therefore, it could not have been a holy war. If all the usual reasons were not present, why, then, did the Amalekites attack the Jews? There are some non-Jews who hate Jews for no reason at all, other than that they are Jews. Thus, some forms of anti-Semitism are based not anything specific, just on the fact that Jews exist. This phenomenon is expressed in a unique way by the Midrash (Midrash, Sifri, Behaalotcha 11). It says that It is a "known law" that Esau hates Jacob, that is, the non-Jew hates the Jew. What kind of law is this that non-Jews hate Jews? Most people think of laws as a demonstration of a man-made justice system. But there is another kind of law, the laws of nature, which are not man-made but God-made. These laws are neither good nor bad, but, rather, true or not true. Therefore, the Midrash seems to indicate that there is a natural law that the non-Jew will hate the Jew, an inescapable part of nature. Similarly, the Midrash describes the Jewish people as one lamb amongst seventy wolves (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 5), as a natural state of things where the wolf desires to eat the lamb, and that all the nations hate the Jews. Of course, this does not mean that all non-Jews hate Jews, only that some non-Jews hate Jews without any logical reason or provocation. Part of this "law of nature" is also the ebb and flow of the Jews and the Gentile nations in an inverse relationship: when the Jews are on top, the non-Jewish nations are falling, and when the non-Jewish nations on top, the Jews are falling (Pesachim 42b). This, then, is the definition of Amalek today, according to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. Although there are no longer any physical remnants of Amalek, there are spiritual heirs. Anyone who hates Jews and tries to destroy the Jews just because they are Jews (and without any concrete reason) would be considered Amalek today.

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DEUT1498 [Continued from [[EXOD430]] Exodus 20:12 AMEMEI 202 honor]. The passage continues to explain that the child gives a father succulent food, but when the father asks where the food is from, the son answers "Quiet, old man. A dog eats quietly, so you eat quietly." This son inherits hell. However, the second case involved the son who worked at the grindstone. When the king summoned grindstone workers to the Palace to endure back-breaking work, the son told the father to take the son's place at the grindstone and to work, so as not to suffer or be treated in an undignified manner before the king. This son inherits paradise. Therefore, it is clear that if the context diminishes the dignity of the parent, any act is worthless and violates the spirit and intent of Jewish law. Similarly, even if an act seems demeaning objectively, if it preserves a parent's dignity, it is to be praised. This is also the reason one may not curse a parent even after his or her death (Maimonides, Hilchot Mamrim 5:1). Although the parent will not hear it and will not suffer because of the curse, the parent's dignity is still being compromised, and it is, therefore, forbidden. [This] Torah verse cursing a person who dishonors a parent also refers to the child who compromised a parent's dignity. Now that the importance of maintaining the dignity of one's parents has been established, it can readily be understood that many of the arguments between parents and children today are about tone of voice and dignity, rather than about substance. A child must maintain the parent's dignity and respect at all times, even when disagreeing. That is the intention of kavod. This is proven in the law regarding a parent who does not observe the commandment. A child should point out to a parent if he or she is committing a sin. However, Maimonides codifies how a person should address a parent who violates the Torah (Maimonides, Hilchot Mamrim 6:11). One may not say "Dad, you are wrong and doing a sin," but rather, "Let's look up the law together and see what it says." The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah 241:6) codifies this as well, quoting Maimonides almost word for word, but then it adds an explanation "in order not to embarrass the parent." Therefore, even when disagreeing with a parent, which a child often has a right to do, he or she must do so in a dignified manner, to preserve the parent's dignity. Honoring one's parents, that is, keeping their dignity, continues after their death, not only by not cursing them, but also by mentioning them prominently in conversations. During the first year of mourning, one should say each time a parent's words are recalled, "that is what my father, my teacher said" and "let me be an atonement for him (or her)." After the first year, a child adds the words "May his (or her) memory be a blessing" each time the parent is mentioned (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 240:9).

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DEUT1528 See [[NUM287]] Numbers 22:32 angel AMEMEI 8

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DEUT1536 See [[NUM287]] Numbers 22:32 angel AMEMEI 8

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DEUT1543 See [[DEUT976]] Deuteronomy 20:5 anyone AMEMEI 313

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DEUT1584 Judaism believes that man starts out with a "clean slate" and that he can achieve good in the world by following the precepts of the Torah. Christianity believes that man is basically evil, starting out with original sin. This prevents him from achieving greatness, and thus he must turn to Jesus as a savior to pray on his behalf. Although it is true that the Torah does say that man's heart is evil from his youth (Genesis 8:21) and that, left unchecked, can lead to a path of evil, nevertheless Judaism believes that the path of the Torah is achievable without great difficult. The phrase "It is not in heaven...but it is in your mouth and in your hands to do" [Deuteronomy 30:12-14] is generally interpreted that God did not make the mitzvot too difficult for the average man to accomplish. In addition, one of [the Jewish] daily prayers says that each day a person starts out fresh, with "a pure soul" (The "Elokei Neshamah" prayer at the beginning of the morning service states that each day God returns the soles of the "dead" (sleep is one sixtieth of death). This does not mean that the Jew is automatically forgiven for all past misdeeds. But the Jew has the potential each day to reverse previous actions and begin again. The entire Teshuvah (Repentance) process that is highlighted in the forty-day period culminating with Yom Kippur shows Judaism's belief in the basic goodness in man and in his potential for change. Thus, it is a positive commandment to return to God after sinning [this verse]. In his laws on repentance, Maimonides stresses that basic to being human is the ability to change for good, no matter what one's past (Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuvah, chap.5). This seems to disagree with a Christian philosophy about the nature of man.

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DEUT1590 See [[DEUT1584]] Deuteronomy 30:2 return AMEMEI 41-2

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DEUT1589 Nevertheless, with all its strength pulling a person to sin, the evil desire can be overcome. Man is given the ability through the Torah to overcome the desire. And lest a Jew might think that keeping the Torah and thereby overcoming the evil desire is too difficult and beyond man's capability, the Torah [this and following verses] specifically reminds us that the Torah is not in the heaven and on the other side of the ocean, that is, beyond man's reach, but it is in man's power to observe it. Almost at the end of the Torah, after listing nearly every commandment, the Torah assures man that the choice is still his [Deuteronomy 30:15, 19], and that he can go in either direction.

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DEUT1614 One of the main foundations of Judaism is free will, the belief that a person is responsible for his or her own actions [this verse and Deuteronomy 30:19] and is repaid accordingly (Maimonides, Thirteen Principles of Faith, Principle #11).

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DEUT1626 See [[DEUT1589]] Deuteronomy 30:11 baffling AMEMEI 248

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