When my grandfather, Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, of blessed memory, was in eighth grade, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said he wanted to be a lawyer. Ultimately, however, he became a rabbi. Years later, his classmates asked him, ‘Why the change of heart?’ He answered, “I decided I didn’t want to practice, I just wanted to preach.”

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Beshalach: Amalek: Unbridled Chutzpah

After fighting a bitter war with the nation of Amalek, Moses says, “There is a hand on the throne of () G-d (swearing) that there shall be a war of G-d against Amalek from generation to generation.”[1]

The Torah requires us to remember the cold-blooded attack of the nation of Amalek upon the Jews, when the Jews left Egypt.[2] We are also required to ‘erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.’ Why is Amalek considered to be the most evil and destructive of all the nations? And practically speaking, how does one ‘erase the memory’ of Amalek?

ERASED LETTERS
Rashi tells us that ‘G-d A-mighty swears that His own name is incomplete until Amalek is totally eradicated.’ Indeed, in the above passage, G-d’s name is spelled ‘Yud – Hei’, which is only the first half of the complete name, the Tetragrammaton (the four letter name of G-d), spelled , Yud – Hei – Vav – Hei. But if Amalek is so terrible, why isn’t G-d’s entire name omitted altogether—why does half of it appear? And why should the last two letters be missing, rather than the first two? There must be a connection between Amalek and the ‘Vav – Hei’.

WHAT CHUTZPAH!
After the entire world heard about the ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea, the nations of the world perceived Israel to be like a boiling hot bath. They feared touching Israel as if they would be scalded. Amalek had the unbridled chutzpah to jump into this hot bath anyway. This act opened the way for other nations to scorn Israel as well. Our sages comment, “Amalek knew of the G-d of the Jewish people, and yet rebelled against them.”

This is not just ancient history. In every generation, the same force of ‘Amalek’ comes to the Jews to attack them with negative thoughts. Amalek whispers to us, ‘Look, I am a descendent of Eisav, Jacob’s brother: I know your history; I’m familiar with the teachings of your Torah. Trust me. Don’t be so fanatical—cool down! You don’t have to take Jewish Law so literally: it’s the spirit of the law that counts. The main thing is to be a good person; all of this religious minutiae is archaic and a waste of time. No one really believes that you have to fulfill these 613 precepts. They’re irrelevant!’

WINNING G-D’S WAR
The Yud of G-d’s name () is like a dot, representing the seed of wisdom, chochma.[3] The Hei () which has length and breadth, stands for bina, a fleshed-out understanding of chochma. The Vav ( ) has a numerical value of six, alluding to the six emotional faculties, and the six books of the Mishna.[4] The last letter, Hei (), represents speech and bringing emotion into active mitzvos.[5]

By omitting the Vav and Hei, the Torah is intimating that Amalek scorns emotion and action: fervent prayer, Torah study, and observance of Jewish Law. Amalek doesn’t mind that we pursue G-dly wisdom and understanding–but the practice of it, and influencing others to practice it–is offensive to him. However, G-d says, you must erase this philosophy from your vernacular. In this physical world, the main thing is the deed. That is the way we will restore G-d’s name. As Zecharia states, “On that day, G-d will be one and His name will be one.”[6]

NEW YEAR OF TREES
Kabbalah teaches [7] that within the first two letters of G-d’s name lies the potential of the whole name of G-d.[8] The Yud and Hei are therefore like the roots and trunk of a tree, which contain the potential Vav and Hei, the branches and fruit.

Similarly, Tu Beshvat, the New Year of Trees–which often falls during the portion of Beshalach–is when the potential for future fruition is stirring within the trees, for new sap is rising in them.[9] We eat fruits on this day in celebration of the fruits and seeds, the potential which will eventually be revealed. On this day, the 15th [10] of the month of Shevat, we celebrate the future fruition, so to speak, of G-d’s name Yud – Hei (gematria of 15).[11] G-d’s name will become whole with the coming of Mashiach–speedily, in our days.

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A STORY

In the summer of 2004 a young couple approached their rabbi, an elder colleague of mine, Rabbi Chaim Mentz of Bel Air, California. They requested that he officiate at their wedding ceremony planned for the coming December. Rabbi Mentz cheerfully accepted their request, and began to explain to them the prerequisites for a wedding according to Torah law. He stipulated that any previous marriages by the bride or groom must first be terminated by a Jewish divorce, a get.

The couple accepted the conditions, and the wedding plans proceeded smoothly. Later, however, in a private conversation with the rabbi, the bride-to-be confided that she had indeed been married before. It had clearly been a blunder, and the secular courts annulled it for her immediately. The rabbi hesitated–how could he tell her that she would have to put her wedding plans on hold, in order to obtain a get from her ex-husband?

“Please understand that what I’m going to tell you might be surprising, but if you want to follow Jewish Law, you’ll need a get.” The bride protested, “But Rabbi, it was annulled! It was hardly a wedding at all! What if I can’t find him to ask for the get? All of our plans for December could be thrown off…”

Rabbi Mentz patiently insisted that everything has a reason in the Divine plan, and following Jewish Law would bring blessings despite the major disruption of her plans.

The bride and groom continued to plan their wedding and honeymoon, even while attempting to obtain the get. After weeks of effort, the bride finally obtained the get from her ex-husband. However, to her shock, the Jewish court told her: “Now you can get married, but you must wait ninety-two days from today.”

The bride and groom were greatly dismayed that they would have to postpone their wedding, but they told the rabbi: “We already decided to do this according to how G-d wants it done.” They re-scheduled for January.

The couple’s disappointment lingered, that is, until the fateful day of December 26th, 2004, the day the Tsunami struck. Their honeymoon had been planned for that week, and they had arranged to spend it at a hotel on the Maldive Islands. They surely would have been swept out to sea had their wedding not been postponed. Their performance of the laws of the Torah had saved their lives. The wedding was celebrated with an extra measure of gratitude on January 23rd.

ACTION: Do a practical mitzvah today: say a blessing over a delicious piece of fruit, and say it with feeling:

Blessing over Fruit:Baruch atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech ha’olam Borei pri ha’eitz.

FOOTNOTES
[1] Exodus, 17.16
[2] Deuteronomy, 25:17-19
[3] See Letters of Light on Letter Vav.
[4] Likutei Sichos Vol. 21, p. 195
[5] See Letters of Light on Letter Hei.
[6] Zecharia, 14:9
[7] Sefer HaSichos, 5748, p. 236
[8] The Tetragrammaton has a numerical value of 26. This gematria is also found within the first two letters of G-d’s name. The spelling of the word Yud is ‘Yud, Vav, Daled’, which equals 20. The spelling of the word Hei is ‘Hei, Alef’, which equals 6. 20 + 6 = 26.
[9] Our sages determined that on this day, the majority of the Winter rain has fallen.
[10] The word “Tu,” spelled Tes (9) -Vav (6), means ‘fifteen’, alluding to the name Yud-Hei.
[11] Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s father, says that the name of the holiday, Tu Beshvat, itself is a manifestation of the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. Tu means 15, which is the Yud and the Hei. Sh’vat, is the 11th month, and the gematria of Vav and Hei is 11. See Lekutei Levi Yitzchak, “Igros”, p. 213.