Haman went to a soothsayer one day, and asked, "On which day will I die?"The soothsayer answered, "On a Jewish holiday."
Horrified, Haman asked, "Which one?"
Replied the soothsayer, "Any day on which you die will be a Jewish Holiday!"
Amalek - Blinded by Nature
by Rabbi Yehudah Prero
.... Amalek, the descendant of Esav, is the nation of falsehood. The nation of Israel is commanded to eradicate the nation of Amalek because this falsehood can not exist. Random happenstance does not exist in the world. It is merely the product of the imagination, a superficial method of explaining away events. Amalek's entire existence is based on the non-existent. Therefore, we are to treat Amalek as they believe: we treat them as if they are a freak of nature, an anomaly never intended to exist, and therefore, under the laws of nature, subject to destruction, relegated to the realm of nothingness. Not even the memory of the nation of Amalek should exist.The holiday of Purim is centered on recognizing divine providence (See I:66, III:29, 30). The villain of the Purim story, Haman, was from the nation of Amalek. Haman did all the right things, as far as nature goes, to ensure the destruction of the nation of Israel. However, he failed to recognize, as did his forefathers, that G-d is running the show. Haman was defeated by those he thought were doomed. He and his entire family were wiped out. His downfall was his belief system. And as the Rambam states, we have to assure that we do not meet the same fate.
"And this (calling out and trumpeting when tragedies befall the nation) is from along the paths of repentance. At a time when tragedies occur and they call out about it and trumpet, all then know that because of their evil deeds, the suffering came . . . and this is to cause them to remove the suffering from upon them. However, if they do not call out and they do not herald the suffering, but they say this is natural event, an occurrence in the course of the world, and this suffering just happened, this attitude is from the path of brazenness and causes them to cling to their evil ways, and additional tragedies will occur. . . ." (Hilchos Ta'anios 1:2-3)
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