“Remember what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt. When they encountered you on the way, and you were tired and exhausted, they cut off those lagging to your rear, and they did not fear God. Therefore... you must obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.” (Deut. 25:17-8)
True Erasing
The Torah prohibits 39 categories of melachah — activities which are forbidden on the Sabbath. One is to erase writing. There are, however, different forms of erasing. Erasing merely to blot out what is written is a destructive act, and destructive acts are not forbidden on Shabbat by Torah law. Melachah is constructive activity, similar to God’s creative acts when forming the universe.
So what form of erasing is prohibited on the Sabbath? “Mocheik al m'nat lichtov” — erasing with the intention of writing again. One’s intention must be to clean the surface in order to write over the original letters. This type of erasing is a positive, constructive activity, and therefore is incompatible with the special rest of the Sabbath day.
Restoring God’s Name and Throne
Rav Kook explained that this principle may also be applied to the mitzvah of ‘erasing’ Amalek. The mitzvah is not simply to obliterate Amalek so that there will no longer be any more Amalekites in the world. That would be a purely destructive act.
What then is the true mitzvah of destroying Amalek?
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