Shabbat Zachor- Hashem's Plan

Insight of the Week

On Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat before Purim – we read as the haftarah the story of the war waged by Shaul, the first king of Israel, against the wicked nation of Amalek (Shmuel I, chapter 15). Haman descended from this nation, and so on this Shabbat, we read of the war that was fought between our ancestors and Haman’ ancestors. The story begins with the prophet Shmuel conveying to Shaul Hashem’s command to eradicate the entire nation of Amalek. Shaul promptly mobilized an army and waged war against Amalek, but he fell short of full compliance with Hashem’s command. He allowed Amalek’s king, Aggag, to live, bringing him alive as a prisoner of war, instead of killing him. Additionally, he allowed the people to bring with them Amalek’s animals as spoils of war, rather than killing them as Hashem had instructed. Shmuel later approached Shaul, and Shaul proudly proclaimed, הקימותי את דבר ה' – “I have fulfilled G-d’s word” (Shmuel I 15:13). The prophet then proceeded to inform Shaul that he would be punished for failing to comply with Hashem’s command by keeping alive Aggag and the animals. Shmuel then went over to Aggag, who was being held prisoner, and killed him. We might ask, what is the meaning of Shaul’s declaration, הקימותי את דבר ה' – that he fulfilled G-d’s word? If he did not fully comply, why did he say that he did? The answer can perhaps be found in the Midrash’s account of the events. The Midrash teaches that Shmuel killed Aggag the day after he was captured by Shaul. During the night in between, he had a relationship, fathering a child. That child would turn out to be the ancestor of Haman, who sought to annihilate the Jewish Nation. As we know from the Megillah, Haman’s plot not only failed, but also backfired. It led to his execution and the execution of his children, and, moreover, it resulted in the ascension of Mordechai, his nemesis, to the position of vizier – the position which Haman had held. And, Haman’s edict inspired a process of repentance and growth among the Jews. The Megillah says that in the aftermath of Haman’s downfall and the Jews’ victory over their enemies, קיימו וקיבלו היהודים (9:27), which the Gemara (Megillah 88a) explains to mean that the Jews reaffirmed their ancient commitment to the Torah ( קיימו עליהם מה שקיבלו כבר ). The fear of Haman’s decree had the effect of the awakening the people to teshuvah , and bringing them back to Hashem and to Torah devotion. With all this in mind, we can perhaps go back to Shaul’s remark to Shmuel: הקימותי את דבר ה' . Without realizing it, Shaul was affirming that he was fulfilling Hashem’s plan. Of course, he acted incorrectly. He should not have kept Aggag alive. He did not fulfill Hashem’s command. But ultimately, Hashem’s plan was fulfilled through his mistake. Shaul disobeyed Hashem – but Hashem saw to it that His plan would be carried out through this misdeed. This might be the meaning of הקימותי את דבר ה' – that Hashem’s plan was, ironically enough, fulfilled through Shaul’s mistake. Hope and optimism are integral components of the Jewish experience. We do not give up, we do not despair, and we do not wallow in helplessness or guilt. When we encounter difficult situations – and even when we created these situations through our own mistakes and wrongdoing – we do not break down. We maintain our belief that Hashem can turn every curse into a blessing, and can transform any misfortune into a source of joy. Instead of despairing, we get to work doing everything we can to help one another, and to try to grow from the experience. Just as the Jews utilized the crisis of Haman’s edict as a catalyst for positive change and growth, we, too, must strive to turn every challenge and every failure into a meaningful learning experience, recognizing that they, too, are very much part of Hashem’s plan, and that they offer us the opportunity to improve ourselves and strengthen our connection to Him.