The Battle with Amalek

What does propaganda and modern public relations have to do with the battle between Edom and Ishmael, and what can we do about it?

Amalek attacked the moment after we experienced the greatest miracle ever: the splitting of the sea. Right as the world universally recognized us as Hashem’s chosen nation, they went to war. Their mission wasn’t to defeat us. We were protected by Hashem and there was no way that could happen.

Their mission was to make us bleed. If they could prove that we weren’t invincible, then we weren’t really so connected to Hashem, Who is. Invincible. In exposing the disconnect Amalek created doubt, and skepticism. Amalek gave the world reason to reconsider whether or not the Jewish People’s mission came from G-d, and by extension, whether or not it was a holy mission at all.

The Jews who made it to the Holy Land were those who refused to heed any doubt. They knew the truth and they saw through the smoke screen. Their emuna wasn’t shaken by those who tried to question the unquestionable.

Today is no different.

The incident of a nation losing all of its military advantages while watching four armies gather around all of its borders, and not only avoiding total devastation, but defeating all armies in 6 days is historically unparalleled. The reunification of Jerusalem was an absolute miracle from He Who decreed the time had come for the Jewish People to return to their Ancient and Eternal City.

From the moment of this miracle Amalek has been sowing the same doubt. Despite extending the rule of law to all peoples living in the land, we are called occupiers. Despite Jewish residents of the West Bank building only on lands proven not to belong to any civilian property holder, we are referred to as thieves. Despite religious Jews being among the most patriotic citizens of the State, we are called “fanatics.”

That’s not truth. It is doubt being raised to call into question our holy and G-dly mission.

Who is doing this?

The true enemies are the people involved in the worldwide public relations propaganda war against the Jewish People. These are the ones who don’t seem to have time for the 250,000 dead in Syria, the billions stolen by the leaders of Iran as they starve their people, or the horrors going on in ISIS-occupied lands, but have time to hold a magnifying glass to everything we do. The media can change the article titled, “3 Palestinians die at the Hands of Israeli Police” to read “Israeli Police Neutralize 3 terrorists trying to stab Children in a Mall.”

But they don’t. Who is behind the double talk?

It’s Edom. They are the ones who invented it. They are the ones who perpetuate it. There can be no doubt that the people demonizing everything we do are the people of the west. We just learned that they smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars to buy out our media, and to buy out the "human rights" organizations to change the narrative from the truth of G-d's Torah, to the Amalekite version.

So what’s the solution? How do we stand up to this?

With Emuna.

It is up to every Jew to see the mission to settle the Land of Israel as purely good. It is up to us to uphold the conviction that living here is a Commandment from Hashem, and nothing more. Everything we do to hold, expand, and develop our presence here is purely holy, and gives G-d great joy.

It’s up to us to go beyond the stereotypes. A settler is someone who holds the land. He lives in Efrat. She lives in Hebron. They live in Itamar. A settler is also a family from Netanya, Tel Aviv, Katzrin, and Beer Sheva. A settler is a hi-tech employee learning web programming or search engine optimization. A settler is a designer of high-end sportswear striving to make Afula the new center for top notch running shoes worldwide. A settler is a college kid from Berkley saying thank you to Jeff Seidel for the address to his first Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem.

The mitzvah of dwelling in the land is not limited to our greatest heroes holding the most challenging corners of it. It extends to all of us who do everything we can to make Israel great, and larger tomorrow than it is today.

We are commanded in every generation to wipe out Amalek. To destroy all doubt. If we can erase any opposition to doing everything we can to strengthen our Land, nothing will stand in our way.

But first we have to have the Emuna in Hashem that it is something completely holy.