Neither Hamas Nor the Nazis Are Halachically Amalek According to the Rambam

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 36 minutesSynopsis: I've heard it said that "Amalek" refers to any nation or group which harbors an antisemitic ideology and poses an existential threat to the Jewish people (e.g. the Nazis, or Hamas). This position is ascribed to the Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik) in the name of his father, R' Moshe Soloveitchik. I have no objection to this view per se. I do, however, object to the claim that this is the Rambam's view. This morning (10/27/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we review the position of the Rav and his father, after which I attempt to demonstrate why it is IMPOSSIBLE to learn the Rambam this way. I raise seven objections to this view, the majority of which come from R' Nachum Rabinovitch. I conclude by sharing my thoughts on why this misconception matters, and on what those who have clung to this view may think and feel as an alternative. -----מקורות:שמות יז:ח-טזדברים כה:יז-יטרמב"ם - משנה תורה:ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות הקדמה; ה:א,ד-הרדב"ז - שם ה:דרמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, מנין המצוות, עשה קפ"ז-קפ"ט, לא תעשה מט,נטרמב"ם - פירוש המשניות ידים ד:דרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי ביאה יב:כהקול דודי דופק, דפים לג-לד, הערה כגRabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik - "Fate and Destiny: From the Holocaust to the State of Israel" (translated by Lawrence Kaplan)abbi David Holzer, "The Rav Thinking Aloud: Transcripts of Personal Conversations with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik")ר' מיכל זלמן שורקין - הררי קדם חלק א סימן רטר' נחום רבינוביץ מלומדי מלחמה ג:ג, גדר מצות מחיית עמלקרמב"ם - ספר המצוות, עשה קפז-קפחמורה הנבוכים ג:מא,נRabbi Stanley Boylan - "A Halakhic Perspective on the Holocaust," p.212 n.3 (published in B. Rosenberg and F. Heuman eds., "Theological and Halakhic Reflections on the Holocaust")José Faur, "The Horizontal Society: Understanding the Covenant and Alphabetic Judaism," Appendix 25: Erasing the Memory of 'Amaleq-----This week's Torah content has been sponsored anonymously, in honor of everyone who is doing the work of "lech lecha'ing."-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com