SHABBATH ZACHOR IS THE SABBATH OF REMEMBRANCE.

It is observed on the Sabbath before Purym.

A special parashah is read in order that we fulfill the commandment to “remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Mitzrayim.”

The Sabbath before Purym is chosen because Haman, the arch-villain of the book of Esther, was an Amalekite.

The scripture readings are: Devarym 25:17-19 and Shemu’el Aleph 15:1-34.

(Devarym 25:17-19)

Remember what Amaleq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim, how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And he did not fear Elohim. Therefore it shall be, when YHWH your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which YHWH your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amaleq from under the heavens. Do not forget!

(Shemu’el Aleph 15:1-34)

And Shemu’el said to Sha’ul, “YHWH sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Yisra’el. And now, listen to the voice of the words of YHWH. Thus said YHWH of hosts, ‘I shall punish Amaleq for what he did to Yisra’el, how he set himself against him on the way when he came up from Mitsrayim. Now go, and you shall strike Amaleq and put under the ban all that he has, and you shall not spare them, and put to death from man to woman, from infant to nursing child, from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey.’”

Then Sha’ul summoned the people and mustered them in Tela’im, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Yehuḏah. And Sha’ul came to a city of Amaleq, and lay in wait in the wadi. And Sha’ul said to the Qeynites, “Go, turn aside, come down from among the Amaleqites, lest I destroy you with them. For you did show mercy to all the children of Yisra’el when they came up out of Mitsrayim.” So the Qeynites turned aside from the midst of the Amaleqites. And Sha’ul struck the Amaleqites, from Chawilah all the way to Shur, which is before Mitsrayim. And he caught Aḡaḡ king of the Amaleqites alive, and put under the ban all the people with the edge of the sword. But Sha’ul and the people spared Aḡaḡ and the best of the sheep, and the cattle, and the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was excellent, and would not put them under the ban. But all material things despised and worthless, that they put under the ban.

And the word of YHWH came to Shemu’el, saying, “I am grieved that I have set up Sha’ul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My words.” And it displeased Shemu’el, and he cried to YHWH all night. And Shemu’el rose early in the morning to meet Sha’ul, and it was told to Shemu’el, saying, “Sha’ul went to Karmel, and see, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and passed over, and went down to Gilgal.”

And Shemu’el came to Sha’ul, and Sha’ul said to him, “Blessed are you of YHWH! I have performed the word of YHWH.”

But Shemu’el said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the cattle which I hear?”

And Sha’ul said, “They have brought them from Amaleq, because the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to slaughter to YHWH your Elohim. And the rest we have put under the ban.”

And Shemu’el said to Sha’ul, “Wait, and let me declare to you what YHWH said to me last night.”

And he said to him, “Speak.”

And Shemu’el said, “Though you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Yisra’el? And did not YHWH anoint you king over Yisra’el? And YHWH sent you on the way, and said, ‘Go, and you shall put under the ban the sinners, the Amaleqites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ And why did you not obey the voice of YHWH, but swooped down on the spoil, and did evil in the eyes of YHWH?”

And Sha’ul said to Shemu’el, “I did obey the voice of YHWH, and I went on the way on which YHWH sent me, and brought back Aḡaḡ king of Amaleq, and I put Amaleq under the ban. But the people took of the spoil, of the sheep and cattle, the best of that which should have been put under the ban, to slaughter to YHWH your Elohim in Gilgal.”

Then Shemu’el said, “Does YHWH delight in ascending offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of YHWH? Look, to obey is better than a sacrifice, to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of YHWH, He also does reject you as king.”

And Sha’ul said to Shemu’el, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the mouth of YHWH and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. And now, please pardon my sin, and return with me, and let me bow myself to YHWH.”

But Shemu’el said to Sha’ul, “I do not return with you, for you have rejected the word of YHWH, and YHWH does reject you from being king over Yisra’el.” And as Shemu’el turned around to go away, Sha’ul took hold of the edge of his robe, and it tore. And Shemu’el said to him, “YHWH has torn the kingdom of Yisra’el from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, better than you. Moreover, the Eminence of Yisra’el does not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

Then he said, “I have sinned. But esteem me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Yisra’el, and return with me, and I shall bow myself to YHWH your Elohim.”

And Shemu’el turned back after Sha’ul, and Sha’ul bowed himself to YHWH. And Shemu’el said, “Bring Aḡaḡ king of the Amaleqites here to me.”

So Aḡaḡ came to him delightedly, and Aḡaḡ said, “Truly, the bitterness of death has turned aside.”

And Shemu’el said, “As your sword bereaved women, let your mother be bereaved among women too.” Shemu’el then hewed Aḡaḡ to pieces before YHWH in Gilgal. And Shemu’el went to Ramah, while Sha’ul went up to his house at Giv‛ah of Sha’ul. And Shemu’el did not see Sha’ul again until the day of his death, for Shemu’el mourned for Sha’ul. And YHWH was grieved that He had made Sha’ul to reign over Yisra’el.

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