I
Our parsha records the miraculous victories of Bnei Yisrael over Sichon, the king of the Emori, and Og, the king of Bashan, in battles led by Moshe Rabbeinu himself (Bemidbar 21:21-35 and Rashi to v. 35). The victories over their enemies were absolute; there were no survivors, and their land was conquered and later settled by some of the tribes (ibid. v. 24-25, 35, Devarim 3:34). In direct contrast to these triumphs, stands the battle against Amaleik recorded in parshas Beshalach (Shemos 17:8-12). There, Yehoshua was sent by Moshe to fight Amaleik, and the outcome, although in the Jewish people’s favor removing the immediate danger, was not absolutely decisive. “ויחלוש יהושע את עמלק לפי חרב – And Yehoshua weakened Amaleik by the sword” (ibid. v. 13). Since Hashem is the true Ish Milchama and it is He alone who determined the outcomes of these respective battles, why were there such pronounced differences? Why did Moshe lead the battles against Sichon and Og himself, whereas against Amaleik he sent Yehoshua?
Both Malbim and Ha’ameik Davar (to Shemos ibid. v. 9) postulate that the latter battles against Sichon and Og were guided by supernatural Divine Providence (hanhaga nisiyis) whereas the former one against Amaleik was fought within the confines of the natural order although also guided by Hashem (hanhaga tiv’iyis).[1] Moshe was the agent of the former type of Divine Providence; Yehoshua, as would be the case when he led the Jewish people in conquering the Land of Israel, was the agent of the latter form. Since the Jewish people had sinned soon after the Exodus from Egypt, questioning Divine Providence over them in the desert (ibid. v. 7), they did not merit a supernatural victory over Amaleik. Indeed, the very coming of Amaleik to war against them was a punishment for this spiritual lapse (see Rashi to v. 8). Knowing this, Moshe Rabbeinu sent Yehoshua, the appropriate individual to lead the Jewish people in a “natural” battle against Amaleik. Consquently, the results, although leading to a Jewish victory, were not complete; Amaleik was weakened but not destroyed.
Perhaps we can add some additional reasons for the difference in outcomes between these battles. Ha’ameik Davar (ibid. v. 4) notes[2] that although all the nations above were deemed evil by Hashem Yisbarach, Sichon and Og fought to defend against the threat of invasion of Bnei Yisrael and the conquest of their lands. Amaleik, by contrast, did not feel threatened by imminent conquest of their land. Their primary motives were 1) hatred of the Jewish people inherited from their ancestor, Esav and 2) hatred of G‑d Himself and the concept of Divine Providence representing the relationship between the infinite Creator and His creations which His chosen people, Bnei Yisrael, were charged to bring to the world. Amaleik sought to impose the worldview of everything operating solely based on the rules of nature – to allow man to actualize only his animal nature, not his Divine one – not through Divine Providence calibrated to bring man to his ultimate spiritual destiny. Consequently, Amaleik attempted, and his spiritual descendants continue to attempt, to eradicate the nation representing elevated Divine ideals and relationship. The total victory over Amaleik and, even more fundamentally, the concepts he represents, will only occur in the long-awaited Messianic era when “ביום ההוא יהיה השם אחד – on that day G-d will be One and His name will be One” (Zecharya 14:9). While Amaleik exists,"אין השם שלם ואין הכסא שלם" (Rashi Shemos 17:16). Consequently, victory over Amaleik can only be partial, can only reach “ויחלוש” – to weaken but not to eradicate totally – until that great day when "כל הרשעה כולה כעשן תכלה כי תעביר ממשלת זדון מן הארץ".
Furthermore, in the Jewish people’s sacred mission to eradicate evil from the world both on a spiritual and a physical plane, there is a real and present danger that if their enemies are defeated totally, they will attribute the victory to their own military prowess and cease to recognize Hashem as the true overseer of Jewish and world history. As a result, perhaps we can suggest that Hashem only allows evil nations and regimes to be partially defeated leading to a more heightened need to recognize that Hashem alone determines total victory over the enemies of Israel and the concepts they represent. The more loyal the Jewish people are to their exalted mission, the closer they will be to total victory over their enemies.
II
The historic Divine salvation from the genocidal designs of the evil Iranian regime is still very fresh. Although tragically tens of Jews were killed, thousands were wounded, and thousands had their homes destroyed and still remain homeless, the enormous salvation on the homefront was apparent to all the residents of Israel. The deadly missiles and drones had the potential to cause thousands of deaths and many more injuries. Many stories of near misses and last-minute evacuations abound. On the offensive front, the IDF’s achievements are nothing short of extraordinary. The achievement of effective fly-over freedom through the destruction of Iranian anti-aircraft systems both from the air and from the ground in Iran by Mossad agents and the bombing of hundreds of missile batteries and sensitive nuclear sites were absolutely amazing. These recent last 12 days of battle come after two additional Iranian attempts at causing enormous Israeli casualties in the past year; practically all of the hundreds of missiles and drones were shot down in these Iranian attempts of wreaking havoc, and, in reprisal, the IAF destroyed most of Iranian air defenses before this last war even began. The immediate danger of Iran attempting to produce more than 8,000 missiles and the quite apparent rush to produce nuclear weapons was seemingly set back at least several years. The decision of the President of the United States to greatly assist by utilizing American advanced weaponry to destroy three Iranian nuclear facilities was unparalleled in US-Israel relations. The Prime Minister of Israel, not a religious man, stated that these accomplishments were clearly “b’siyata dishmaya” and offered prayers of thanksgiving at the Kotel Hama’aravi, something I do not recall his ever having done in the past. Clearly, the Divine hand in history was again openly manifest for all those who would open their eyes to see, but it was still all under the mask of the natural order: Iron Dome anti-missile batteries, F-15s, smart bombs, hundreds of covert Mossad missions and explosives, and intelligence gathering all contributed to the remarkable offensive successes and defensive protection. We did not yet merit hanhaga nisiyis, but G‑d still directed enormous salvation even within hanhaga tiv’iyis.
Many (including myself) found themselves disappointed over the fact that through United States’ pressure, the war was stopped (including a last minute IAF massive retaliatory bombing canceled by Trump’s direct order) with the evil Iranian regime still in power and with a lot of uncertainty of how long it would take Iran to restore its march toward manufacturing nuclear weapons and its deadly missiles. I took solace in the concepts presented in the first section. Until the final redemption, evil as expressed by those who have taken up Amaleik’s mission to destroy the nation representing Hashem’s true Will in the world will only be weakened, not totally defeated. We always must rely on Hakadosh Baruch Hu and must constantly strive to increase our efforts toward actualizing our unique mission to bring the world to a place where ויקבלו כלם את עול מלכותך by increasing our tefilos¸ our Torah study, our dikduk b’mitzvos and our care for others. Over Shabbos, I heard from R. Reuven Jacobson, that the Chasam Sofer, after Napoleon mysteriously ended the battle of Pressburg, told his community that far from just collectively breathing a sigh of relief, they must view this as a mechayeiv to strive ever more in Divine service as a result of the Divine salvation they benefited from. The same applies in our situation. Whether living in Eretz Yisrael having personally experienced the frequent rushes to fortified rooms during sirens and seeing or hearing bursts of explosions in the air or living in Chutz La’aretz but hearing about and seeing from a distance the momentous salvation, I trust that Jews worldwide will internalize the magnitude of the deliverance that has occurred and will react accordingly as the Chasam Sofer taught. May we speedily witness the ultimate downfall of the memsheles zadon and the day when the whole world will recognize Hashem’s unity and the uniqueness of his beloved people, and when Hashem’s manifest Presence will return to the world in the Beis Hamikdash!
[1] The concept of these two distinct types of Divine Providence is an oft-appearing theme in the writings of these two commentaries. Also see Harcheiv Davar (to v. 10) for additional contrasts between the battles reflecting this fundamental difference. Also see Ha’ameik Davar on our parsha (20:8) who similarly explains based on the two types of Divine Providence why Moshe was told to speak to (or pray at) the rock rather than hit it with the matei haElokim.
[2] Also see Malbim to v. 8.