Oh, That’s Cold! Part 1

I love studying really practical discourses! This one was about Purim and Haman’s origins from Amalek.

There are many explanations about Amalek, his intentions and complexities, but this one was original.

Amalek is classified in the Talmud “as knowing his Master and intentionally rebelling against Him”. This begs the question, if Amalek knows his Master (G-d) and witnessed the miracles of the Jewish People (in Egypt and in other times) then how could he intentionally rebel against G-d?

When someone doesn’t know when their intentions are not founded on anything substantive. But if you do know and you understand than how can you rebel against the very thing you understand?!

There are two types of arrogant folks. There is the arrogant one who has some substance behind his arrogance. For example an arrogant scholar or a person who is haughty with their wealth. Both of these people may have an over inflated sense of self worth based on what they have accomplished in acquiring knowledge or wealth.

The fact that they are moved by their own knowledge or wealth means that something moves them – they can be moved. And therefore when they encounter someone wiser or wealthier than them they are moved to demonstrate some humility in recognition of the others wisdom and wealth.

(In truth, both wisdom and wealth are not things to cause arrogance. King Solomon says “let not the wise pride themselves with their wisdom or the wealthy with their wealth”. In fact wisdom in it of itself wants to learn more and ought to bring one to a place of humility – the more you know the more you know that you don’t know.)

The 5th Rebbe calls this “blended arrogance”.

The second type of arrogance is an arrogance that has no substance. The persons arrogance is not motivated by scholarship or wealth, not because they don’t have any, but rather because their arrogance is completely unsubstantiated. They are essentially arrogant.

When one is essentially arrogant then nothing moves them, they mock everything, nothing is of value and there is no convincing them otherwise.