During the Spanish Civil War, a nationalist general, Emilio Mola, commented to a journalist that he had four columns of troops in his army and a fifth column of civilians was waiting for him in Madrid. Citizens that supported the Nationalists and would support him and undermine the Republican Government from within. Since then the term stuck. During WWII many democratic nations felt most threatened by the ideological enemy within – resulting in the imprisonment and deportation of many foreigners.
The Torah records various military conflicts the Jewish people experienced throughout their journey from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land. Typically, a nation that felt threatened or wronged by the success of the Israelites reacted in the most expected way – bear arms and make war. The Egyptians felt cheated out of their slaves and the Midianites felt the Jews were an immediate threat to their sovereignty.
There was one nation that picked a fight with us for no good reason at all. Immediately after the miraculous exodus from Egypt, our cousins, the Amalekites, made the arduous journey toward our position in the dessert and attacked us like a schoolyard bully. Most peculiar about this specific military campaign is that Amalek was quite certain that they would be defeated in battle. Why would they choose to voluntarily start a fight they cannot win?
The Exodus from Egypt was a miraculous event that played out in full view of the entire civilization. Egypt was the center of the world and cataclysmic show down between Moses and Pharaoh became an immediate international sensation. The climax of all this was the Splitting of the Red Sea and the effects of this particular miracle reverberated throughout the world. All were in awe of the power of G-d and had the greatest respect and fear for His people Israel.
The Jews themselves were like in a trance – on a spiritual high from all they had experienced and anticipating the revelation at Sinai in a few short weeks.
It was this global divine awareness that Amalek could not tolerate and they were willing to risk defeat so long as the Jewish invincibility be disproven. And in this they succeeded. They delivered a devastating blow to Jewish morale and every nation in the world put the idea of war with the Jews back on to the planning table.
Since their goal was ideological and not tactical, their humiliating defeat on the battle field was not considered a final victory. The chilling effects of Amalekite influence reach far beyond national concerns. Every one of us has the Amalek from within, the voice of doubt and confusion in all issues concerning our service of G-d.
Therefore, we are cautioned once again in our Parsha, to never be lulled into a false sense of security. We must always realize that any rationalization that discourages us from the observance of a particular mitzvah, keeping a steady Torah study schedule or from providing assistance to another – is the work of our diabolical enemy Amalek.
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, let us fortify ourselves with additional mitzvoth and increased Torah study. Most importantly, be sure to invite friends and family to Rosh Hashanah dinner and to join us in Shul to hear the Shofar.