His Name is Incomplete and His Throne is Incomplete Until the Memory of Amolek will be Wiped Out From Under the Heavens

By Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum

Amolek, our archenemy, launched a two-pronged attack. One was against Hashem’s Name, while the second was aimed at His Throne.

The Names of Hashem refer to the way we perceive G-d. Amolek is not an atheist that denies the existence of G-d, but rather perceives Him very differently than a Jew does.  While most people in the world believe that there is a G-d that created the world, the concept of what a G-d is varies from religion to religion.

A Jew believes that there is only One G-d and that He fills the entire universe. He is past, present, and future all in One. He is infinite, without a beginning or end.  Denying these concepts makes Hashem’s Name incomplete. While Amolek doesn’t deny His existence, he plants doubt in our minds as to His attributes. This is what is meant by ein Hashem sholiam - His Name is incomplete.

When a king sits down on his throne he metes out justice to his people. Hashem’s Throne refers to the way Hashem rules the world. A Jew believes that all that happens at every moment is directed by Him Alone. Amolek tries to get people to believe that not everything is in Hashem’s hands. He tries to convince us that Hashem does not care or control what goes on down on earth. He denies that there is reward and punishment. This is what is meant by “ein ha’kisei sholem”-  Amolek tries to inject skepticism into our belief in Hashgacha Protis, and tries to convince us that  all is chance and coincidence. “Hashem may have created the world, but He allows it to be governed by the laws of nature,” is his argument. His aim is to weaken our belief in hashgacha protis by putting doubts in our mind. “True! Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, but then he forsook us.” And so when Klal Yisroel could not find water in the desert and Jews asked “Ha’yesh Hashem b’kirbeinu im eiyin?” Amolek immediately got the upper hand. Perhaps Hashem had chas v’shalom abandoned us and doesn’t see or care about what’s happening. Whenever there is a catastrophe or misfortune strikes, Amolek tries to plant questions in our minds and get us to deny that it was Hashem’s doing.  As long as there is doubt of His constant presence and abilities, His Name and Throne remain incomplete.

The very name of Amolek (240) equals the word “sofek,” meaning doubt. By denying things like hashgacha proties, that Hashem controls every move, and believing in chance and coincidence, Amolek in effect doubts Hashem’s ability or desire to fully control all events happening down on earth. Yes- one can believe in the existence of G-d and that He created heaven and earth, but still deny that G-d is in full control of everything. Perhaps he allows others to run the world? Who says that everything that happens in the world is of His own doing?  Just look at all the terrible things taking place in the world. Can it be that He allows it? If He sees all, then why does He allow a Holocaust to happen?

When someone is not careful in business and tries to cheat others with weights or measures or in any other way, it proves that he doesn’t truly believe that Hashem gives all, and so he is playing right into Amolek’s hands (see Rashi in Ki Seitzei). This is why the parsha of Amolek follows the parsha teaching us to be very careful with weights and measures. Someone that has true faith in Hashem and is fully convinced that every bit of his earnings comes from His hand alone would never even think of taking something away from someone else. Cheating or stealing, only proves that one’s faith in G-d is lacking! One obviously doesn’t believe that G-d is watching him or that he’ll be punished for his wrongdoing.

Amolek also denies the thirteen basic Principals of faith as well as the belief in a Chosen Nation. Everyone is equal and there is no one more holy than others. He aimed his attack on the mitzvah of milah that makes us physically different from every other nation. Milah represents our eternal bond with Hashem and is with us every moment of our lives. Amolek threw the milos up into the air, thereby mocking the mitzvah.  There is no such thing as “asher bochar bonu mi’kol ho’amim.” : There is no Chosen Nation, chas v’shalom.

The most vulnerable were the spiritually weak, who stood outside the Clouds of Glory. Those weak in Torah and mitzvos are easy prey, and the first ones Amolek goes after.

While the mitzvah of destroying Amolek and his memory is difficult to accomplish nowadays since he cannot be positively identified and we do not have a government of our own that would allow us to do it lawfully, we must focus on Amolek’s hold on our own hearts and on our way of thinking, and destroy that stronghold! The stronger our own commitment to Torah and mitzvos, and the stronger our faith in Him, the less vulnerable we are to Amolek’s onslaughts.