Raised Hands Defeating Amalek

בפסוק וישמע הכנעני אמרו חז"ל שמע שמת אהרן והפסוק מסיים שבאו דרך האתרים

On the verse 'And the Canaanite heard' (Bamidbar 21:1), Chazal said that he heard that Aharon had died, and the verse concludes that they came 'by way of Asarim' (the route of the spies).

The verse about the Canaanite hearing of Aharon's death is linked to Bnei Yisrael traveling by the route of the spies, hinting that the very need to fight stemmed from the episode of the spies.

והנה אמרו חז"ל אם לא שלחו מרגלים לא היו צריכין לכלי זיין

Now, Chazal said that had Bnei Yisrael not sent spies, they would not have needed weapons of war.

Chazal teach that the sending of the spies introduced the need for physical warfare; without it, Bnei Yisrael would not have had to rely on weapons at all.

דכתי' והידים ידי עשו

For it is written, 'and the hands are the hands of Esav' (Bereishis 27:22).

The proof is the verse 'the hands are the hands of Esav' — physical force and weaponry belong to the realm of Esav, not to Yaakov.

וע"י שהוצרכו לכלי זיין בדרך מלחמה זה דרך האתרים לכן קדם להם עמלק

And because they were compelled to take up weapons of war by way of battle — this being 'the way of Asarim' — therefore Amalek came upon them first.

Once Bnei Yisrael were drawn into the mode of physical battle, they descended to a level where Amalek, the enemy who attacks at the lower rung, could come upon them first.

כי הקול מיוחד רק לבנ"י וכשבני ישראל דבקים בבחי' הקול קול יעקב אין לעמלק מגע בהם

For the voice is uniquely the domain of Bnei Yisrael, and when Bnei Yisrael cleave to the level of the voice — 'the voice is the voice of Yaakov' (Bereishis 27:22) — Amalek has no contact with them.

The 'voice' is the unique strength of Yaakov and his children; as long as they cling to the power of voice — Torah and tefillah — Amalek can find no hold on them.

אכן בבחי' התחתונה שהיא בחי' ידים יש מלחמה

However, on the lower level, which is the level of 'hands,' there is war.

But when they operate on the lower plane of 'hands,' the realm of physical might, that is where they become vulnerable to war.

והעצה לזה הרמת הידים כדכתיב כאשר ירים משה ידו

And the counsel for this is the raising of the hands, as it is written, 'and it was, when Moshe raised his hand' (Shemos 17:11).

The remedy is to raise the hands upward, as Moshe did during the battle with Amalek, lifting the lower level toward Heaven.

וזה הכח הי' לאהרן כדכ' וישא אהרן כו' ידיו

And this power belonged to Aharon, as it is written, 'and Aharon lifted up his hands' (Vayikra 9:22).

This power of raising the hands was Aharon's, as expressed when he lifted his hands to bless Bnei Yisrael.

וזה בחינת נשיאת כפים והוא בחי' מלה דקיימא בעובדא שאהרן ע"י מעשה העבודה וקרבנות הקריב מדריגה תחתונה למדריגה עליונה ואז לא הי' לעמלק שליטה גם בבחי' ידים

And this is the level of the lifting of the hands in Bircas Kohanim, and it is the level of 'the word that is fulfilled through deed,' for Aharon, through the act of the avodah and the korbanos, raised up the lower level to the upper level — and then Amalek had no dominion even on the level of 'hands.'

This is the avodah of Bircas Kohanim — the spoken word made real through deed — whereby Aharon, through the korbanos, elevated the lower realm to the upper, leaving Amalek no grip even on the plane of 'hands.'

ואיתא בזוה"ק ירים ידו כתי' דבעי לארמא ימינא על שמאלא ואהרן בחי' ימינא

And it is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh: 'he shall raise his hand' is written (in the singular), for one must raise the right over the left — and Aharon is the level of the right.

The Zohar notes the singular 'his hand,' teaching that one must raise the right above the left, and Aharon embodies the attribute of the right (chesed).

ירים גי' אהרן עם ד' אותיות אהרן

'Yarim' (he shall raise) has the gematria of 'Aharon' together with the four letters of the name Aharon.

The gematria of 'yarim' equals 'Aharon' plus the four letters of his name, hinting that the raising of the hand is bound up with Aharon's spiritual power.

ועיין בזוה"ק ד' קפ"א ב'

And see in the Zohar HaKadosh, folio 181b.

The Sfas Emes directs the reader to the source for this teaching in the Zohar HaKadosh.

ובזה הענין יש לפרש ג"כ ענין מי מריבה דכתי' שמעו נא המורים ועי"ז המאמר הי' שם מגע עמלק והוצרך להרים ידו, רמז לדבר דכתי' המן הסלע ושם כתיב המן העץ

And along these lines one may also explain the matter of the Waters of Strife (Mei Merivah), where it is written, 'Listen now, you rebels' (Bamidbar 20:10) — and through this utterance there was there the contact of Amalek, and he was compelled to raise his hand; a hint to this being that it is written 'shall we bring forth for you water from this rock' (Bamidbar 20:10), and there (by Amalek's allusion) it is written 'from the tree.'

The same idea explains Mei Merivah: the harsh utterance 'Listen, you rebels' opened a contact-point for Amalek, forcing Moshe to raise his hand, and the words 'rock' and 'tree' link the episode to Amalek's realm.

הסלע' גי' הע'ץ

'HaSela' (the rock) has the gematria of 'ha'eitz' (the tree).

The gematria equivalence of 'the rock' and 'the tree' textually ties the rock of Mei Merivah to the 'tree' associated with Amalek.

ורמזו בגמ' המן מן התורה מנין המן העץ

And they hinted in the Gemara: 'Where is Haman alluded to in the Torah? From the verse Hamin ha'eitz (from the tree)' (Chullin 139b).

Chazal find Haman alluded to in the words 'from the tree,' and since Haman descends from Amalek, this strengthens the link between the 'tree' and the Sitra Achra.

שהי' כאן שליטת הסט"א וכת דילי' ולכן כתיב וירם כו' ידו כו' במטהו שהוא העצה נגד עמלק

For there was here the dominion of the Sitra Achra and its company; and therefore it is written 'and he raised his hand with his staff' — for the staff is the counsel against Amalek.

Because the forces of the Sitra Achra held sway there, Moshe had to raise his hand together with his staff — the very instrument of counsel against Amalek.

ויר'ם גי' אהרן דבאמת משה ואהרן אחד הם וכל כחו של אהרן נמסר למשה

'Vayarem' (and he raised) has the gematria of 'Aharon,' for in truth Moshe and Aharon are one, and all the power of Aharon was transmitted to Moshe.

The gematria of 'vayarem' equals 'Aharon,' showing that Moshe and Aharon are essentially one, with Aharon's power vested in Moshe.

וכן מפורש בתורה ואהרן וחור תמכו בידיו ולכן נענש גם אהרן כמ"ש במד' המשל שנטל ב"ח חלקו וחלק שכנו ע"ש

And so it is explicit in the Torah, 'and Aharon and Chur supported his hands' (Shemos 17:12); and therefore Aharon too was punished, as is stated in the Midrash with the parable of one who borrowed and took his own portion and his neighbor's portion — see there.

The Torah itself shows Aharon supporting Moshe's hands in the war with Amalek; hence Aharon shared in the punishment of Mei Merivah, as the Midrash's parable of the borrowed portions illustrates.

ורצון השי"ת ה' שיתן המים שלא ע"י מריבה

And the will of Hashem Yisbarach was that He give the water not by way of strife.

Hashem's true desire was that the water be given peacefully, not through the mode of strife and battle.

דיש מי מריבה בבחי' מלחמה וסתם מלחמה הוא בעמלק כדכתיב מלחמה לה' בעמלק

For there are 'waters of strife' on the level of war, and war unqualified refers to Amalek, as it is written, 'a war for Hashem against Amalek' (Shemos 17:16).

There is a path of 'waters of strife,' which belongs to the realm of war — and war in its essence is the war against Amalek.

ויש מי מנוחות והוא בחי' שבת קודש שנק' יום מנוחה יום שכולו תורה בחי' הקול יעקב כמ"ש ודברתם אל הסלע:

And there are 'waters of rest,' and this is the level of Shabbos Kodesh, which is called a day of rest, a day that is entirely Torah, the level of 'the voice of Yaakov,' as it is written, 'and you shall speak to the rock' (Bamidbar 20:8).

But there is also a path of 'waters of rest,' which is Shabbos Kodesh — the day of rest, wholly Torah, the realm of the 'voice of Yaakov' — corresponding to speaking to the rock rather than striking it.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds his piece on the contrast between the 'voice of Yaakov' and the 'hands of Esav.' As long as Bnei Yisrael cleave to the power of the voice — Torah and tefillah — Amalek has no hold on them; it is only when they descend to the lower plane of 'hands,' the realm of physical warfare introduced through the episode of the spies, that Amalek can attack. The counsel against this is the raising of the hands heavenward, the avodah embodied by Aharon in Bircas Kohanim, who elevated the lower realm to the upper through the korbanos, leaving Amalek no dominion even on the plane of hands; this is reinforced through the gematrios linking 'yarim' and 'vayarem' to Aharon, showing that Moshe and Aharon are essentially one. The same dynamic explains Mei Merivah, where the harsh words 'Listen, you rebels' opened a contact-point for the Sitra Achra, forcing Moshe to raise his hand and staff, with the gematria of 'the rock' equaling 'the tree' that hints at Amalek and Haman. Ultimately Hashem Yisbarach's will was that the water be given not through strife but through 'waters of rest' — the level of Shabbos Kodesh, the day that is wholly Torah and the voice of Yaakov, corresponding to speaking gently to the rock rather than striking it.