Holy Chutzpah
It takes chutzpah to live as a moral and observant Jew in our immoral and amoral secularized society. It is this power of chutzpah that makes our generation unique and qualified for Redemption.
Amalek’s Identity
At the end of this week’s parsha, the Torah commands us to remember what Amalek did to us shortly after we were liberated from Egypt.
Who is Amalek and what does he represent?
First and foremost Amalek was a nation, descended from Esau, the son of the Patriarch Isaac and grandson of the Patriarch Abraham. Soon after the Jewish people departed from Egypt, they were attacked by the Amalekites.
Our sages tell us that despite the fact that all the nations of the world were terrified of the Jews and no one would have ever entertained the thought of attacking them, only Amalek was brazen enough to launch an attack against them. Their hatred for the Jewish people was so diabolical, that nothing would deter them—not even the prospects of suffering an ignoble defeat—from attacking the Jewish people.
Amalek, to be sure, is the name of an ancient, evil nation, but, it has come to mean much more than that. Amalek, is the name that can be applied to the spiritual heirs of the original Amalekites. These are the evil people, blinded by unmitigated hatred towards the Jewish people, who want to see their total annihilation.
One does not have to look far to find these modern day Amalekites. They were the Nazis who perpetrated the Holocaust and their heirs throughout the world who strike indiscriminately at Jewish men, women and children.
We are commanded to remember the evil of this nation. By remembering their evil, G-d empowers us to destroy it and see it that this evil will finally disappear.
The Internal Amalek
But there is yet another dimension to Amalek. There is the Amalek that exists within each and every one of us. This Amalek trait can be identified by its unmitigated gall and hubris, that we call chutzpah.
There are times when our desire to do something that is contrary to Torah is tempered by a sense of shame, guilt and often trepidation. There is always a part of us that does not agree with what we are about to do. The sense of guilt is like the sensation of pain. It is uncomfortable but without it we would never seek medical attention. The same is true in the moral sense. A person who feels guilt will either desist from improper behavior or in the event that they succumbed to it they will be remorseful.
The reason we have guilt is because the evil that we possess is not the essential, concentrated form of evil. It does not take over. Our innate goodness and sense of decency may not have a veto over the impulses we have, but it surely has a vote.
But, when we discover that we are undaunted by the consequences of evil action, we should realize that this is the most potent adversary and the battle to vanquish it will prove most difficult. When we no longer feel any guilt we must recognize that the evil has penetrated to our very core and has stilled any and all opposition.
No matter how much logic we try to use to persuade the Amalek type people that what they are doing is wrong, they will not care. No inspirational experience and no rational discourse can dissuade Amalek tainted individuals from doing what they desire.
Perhaps this is why our sages tell us that one of the negative traits that will characterize the last generation before the final Redemption is Chutzpah. Before Moshiach comes to usher in an age of spiritual enlightenment, where evil will finally be eliminated—particularly, the unadulterated form of evil represented by Amalek—the world will experience a resurgence of Amalek; its “last stand.”
Chutzpah in Reverse
The way to combat this evil chutzpah is to use chutzpah in the reverse. No matter how many arguments can be made against one’s involvement with G-d and Torah, a Jew with “holy” Chutzpah remains undaunted.
The Jews, who in the former Soviet Union defied the regime, and remained steadfastly loyal to Judaism, despite threats to their lives, utilized this kosher form of Chutzpah.
When a Jew, born and bred in America, refuses to surrender to the forces of assimilation that demands that we give up our “old fashioned” ways and melt into the modern culture, he or she is using Chutzpah in the positive sense of the word.
When young people rebel against the secularism and materialism of their parent’s generation and demand more Jewish knowledge and a more meaningful and altruistic spiritual life, this is holy Chutzpah.
And it is this holy Chutzpah that has the power to defeat the unholy Chutzpah of Amalek.
As we look around us and become aware of the various manifestations of the evil Amalek, we should realize that we are now living in momentous times that call for extraordinary responses. The response that we should have is chutzpah, to stand up against anything that stands in our way to greater commitment to the principles of Torah.
This will surely hasten and prepare us for the ultimate redemption through Moshiach.
Chutzpah Plus One
In the realm of remez, the dimension of Torah interpretation that often focuses on the numerical value of a word, we find an interesting correlation between the word chutzpah and its positive application. The word chutzpah in Hebrew numerology yields the number 189, one short of 190. The word ketz, which is the Biblical word that denotes the “end of days,” i.e., the Messianic Era, is numerically equivalent to 190.
Translating this in practical terms this suggests that chutzpah, in and of itself, falls short of the end. It goes a long way, but one must add the number one—the ideal of G-dly unity—into chutzpah. Chutzpah without the “One” is not Redemption, although it may be a harbinger of the imminence of Redemption.
What makes Redemption materialize? When the Chutzpah is permeated with an overarching desire to make the oneness of G-d pervade all of one’s life and that it should spread to the entire world. That takes Chutzpah!
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ki Seitzei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
