Parshas Zachor

This past Shabbos we listened to Parshas Zachor, a Mitzvah D'Oraisa to remember what Amalek did to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt and to eradicate Amalek from the Earth.

We then proceeded to listen to the appropriate Haftara that tells the story of King Shaul and God's command to go forth and actually fulfill the Mitzvah of eradicating Amalek completely. This should have, would have, brought about the complete geulah. Shaul had united the tribes after nearly (over?) four hundred years of division, on-again off-again idol worship, and general low level anarchy.

And, of course, Shaul F****D it up. God told him, through Shmuel the prophet, "go and strike down Amalek and destroy everything he has; have no pity on him. Kill man and woman alike, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." In other words, completely destroy all vestiges of the existence of Amalek.

And yet, it just didn't happen. Again. Still. Whatever. Instead, Shaul and his army had mercy on the livestock and the spoils, and on Agag, the Amalekite ruler. I'm not quite sure why they had mercy on Agag. That part just makes NO sense at all. But they did.

And Shaul pissed God off. And regrets making him king. And yells at Shmuel for it. And Shaul tells Shmuel he was just listening to his people who wanted to keep the spoils and livestock and bring sacrifices to God from all the livestock.

My question: What the hell was this, a democracy?! Shaul was KING! He had a direct commandment from God Himself to destroy it ALL! And Shaul says, "Well, the people wanted...?!" All Shaul had to do was stand up and in a very loud voice say something like, "I know this all looks great, but God has made this decree, so destroy it all in the GLORY OF GOD!!!" I mean, that's a cry that has worked for CENTURIES for many religions. It would have worked for the Israelites as well.

And Shmuel gives him a "what-for," THE "what-for" of Shaul's life. "Though you are small in your own eyes, you are the head of the tribes of Israel and God has anointed you to be king over Israel." "Yes," says Shmuel, "you are a humble person, and you don't think you deserved to be made king. But God did think so, and made you king, Shaul. And while there is a time for humility, and when you were chosen was an appropriate time, there is a time when humility is out of place. And this time as the war, what was supposed to be the final war, against Amalek. In this case, at this time, in this place," Shmuel tells Shaul, "there was no place for humility. You are the KING! YOU decide what goes and what doesn't. And they would have followed you and listened to you.

"And you FAILED, Shaul. You failed miserably, and because of that failure, not only will God take the kingship away from you and give it to your better, but your failure will also have repercussions for millennia to come. Not just decades or centuries. MILLENNIA."

And he did. I mean, this war should have been it. The BIG IT. Instead, it was just another failed opportunity in a long list of failed opportunities.

And it was another, relatively early, example of people deciding for themselves what's best, regardless of God's desires. Oh, sure, this gave us Purim, but we wouldn't have NEEDED Purim if Shaul had had a backbone and exerted his leadership a bit more aggressively than he had.

More during the week...