Amalek as Israel's inverse on the scale

המשך פרשת זכור אחר שקלים דכתיב והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל כו' ובמשנה וכי ידיו של משה עושות מלחמה כו' בזמן שישראל מסתכלין כלפי מעלה מתגברין כו'.

The connection of Parshas Zachor following [Parshas] Shekalim: as it is written, "And it was, when Moshe raised his hand, that Yisrael prevailed..." (Shemos 17:11). And in the Mishnah: "But do the hands of Moshe make war...? Rather, when Yisrael looked upward [and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven] they would prevail..." (Rosh Hashanah 29a).

The Sefas Emes opens by connecting Zachor (the war against Amalek) to the preceding Shekalim, and cites the Mishnah that victory over Amalek came not from Moshe's hands but from Bnei Yisrael directing their hearts upward to Hashem.

והענין הוא דבנ"י שורשן בעולמות עליונים מאוד.

And the matter is that the root of Bnei Yisrael is in very lofty upper worlds.

The essential root of Bnei Yisrael lies in the highest spiritual realms, far above this world.

ומ"מ הם אומה בעולם הזה כמ"ש ובגוים לא יתחשב כו'.

And nevertheless they are a nation in this world, as it says, "and among the nations it is not reckoned" (Bamidbar 23:9).

Despite their exalted root, Bnei Yisrael also exist as a nation here below — yet "not reckoned among the nations," set apart from them.

וכל התנגדות האומות ואשר יכולין להרע להם הכל בבחי' תחתונה הנ"ל.

And all the opposition of the nations, and whatever harm they can do to them, is entirely in that lower aspect mentioned above.

The nations can only attack Bnei Yisrael on the lower, this-worldly plane where they exist as a nation — never at their lofty root.

אבל כאשר הם מתדבקין בשורשם לית תמן מגע נכרי כלל.

But when they cleave to their root, "there no foreign touch reaches at all."

When Bnei Yisrael bind themselves in dveikus to their supernal root, no foreign nation can reach or harm them there.

ואיתא כשקורין פ' שקלים זוקף משה רע"ה ראשן של ישראל.

And it is taught that when Parshas Shekalim is read, Moshe Rabbeinu lifts up the "head" of Yisrael.

Parshas Shekalim — "ki sissa es rosh," lifting the head — raises Bnei Yisrael up toward their lofty root, where they are beyond Amalek's reach. This is why Zachor follows Shekalim.

וממילא כשזה קם זה נופל דכתיב ולאום מלאום יאמץ.

And consequently, when this one rises, that one falls, as it is written, "and one nation shall prevail over the other" (Bereishis 25:23).

The rise of Bnei Yisrael automatically brings the fall of their enemy, as with Yaakov and Esav: when one ascends, the other descends.

והוא כדמיון כף מאזנים כשכף אחד מתעלה הכף השני יורד מטה מטה.

And this is like the image of the pans of a scale: when one pan rises, the other descends lower and lower.

Bnei Yisrael and their enemies are like two pans of a balance — as one is elevated, the other is pushed down.

ועיקר התנגדות של ישראל הוא עמלק כדכ' ראשית גוים עמלק ואחריתו עדי אובד.

And the primary opposition to Yisrael is Amalek, as it is written, "Amalek is the first of the nations, but his end is utter destruction" (Bamidbar 24:20).

Amalek is the chief antagonist of Bnei Yisrael; though "first of the nations," his ultimate destiny is total ruin.

כי כל האומות יראו מגשת לבנ"י והוא שיסה את כולם.

For all the nations feared to approach Bnei Yisrael, and it was he [Amalek] who incited them all.

The other nations were too afraid to attack Bnei Yisrael; Amalek was the one who provoked and incited all of them to do so.

והוא היפוך לגמרי מבחי' בנ"י.

And he is the complete opposite of the aspect of Bnei Yisrael.

Amalek stands as the polar inverse of Bnei Yisrael — their absolute antithesis.

ופרשנו כמ"ש בבנ"י שנוטלין חלק עם האומות אע"פ שעיקר ברכתם למעלה למעלה.

And we have explained, as it is said regarding Bnei Yisrael, that they take a portion together with the nations, even though the essence of their blessing is far above.

Even though Bnei Yisrael's true blessing is rooted on high, they also receive a share in this lower world alongside the nations.

כמ"ש ז"ל ע"פ ובגוים לא יתחשב שאין נחשב להם מן החשבון.

As Chazal said on the pasuk "and among the nations it is not reckoned" — that [the harm] is not counted to them from the [general] reckoning.

Chazal interpret "not reckoned among the nations" to mean that when judgment or downfall is meted out to the nations, Bnei Yisrael are not included in that count — they stand apart.

כן להבדיל בין הטהור לטמא בעמלק ימ"ש לאשר הוא ראשית גוים נוטל חלק בכל נפילת אומה נלקה ונמחה שמו באותה קללה ונפילה של כל אומה ואומה.

So too, to distinguish between the pure and the impure: with Amalek, may his name be erased, since he is "the first of the nations," he takes a portion in the downfall of every nation — he is stricken and his name is blotted out in that curse and fall of each and every nation.

As the mirror-opposite of Bnei Yisrael: whereas Bnei Yisrael are excluded from the nations' downfall, Amalek — "first of the nations" — is included in every nation's downfall, absorbing a share of each curse and collapse.

וזה מלחמה כו' בעמלק מדור דור שבכל המלחמות נוטל חלק קללה כנ"ל.

And this is [the meaning of] "war... against Amalek from generation to generation" (Shemos 17:16) — that in every war he takes a portion of the curse, as above.

"War against Amalek in every generation" expresses that in the downfall of any nation in any era, Amalek receives a portion of the resulting curse and ruin.

ומ"מ עיקר אחריתו עדי אובד יותר מכולם כנ"ל:

And nevertheless, his ultimate end is "utter destruction" — more than all of them, as above.

Beyond sharing in every nation's downfall, Amalek's own final end is the most complete annihilation of all — "acharaiso adei oved."

Summary: Zachor follows Shekalim because Shekalim "lifts the head" of Bnei Yisrael toward their lofty root, where no enemy can reach them. The nations can only harm Bnei Yisrael on the lower plane where they exist as a nation; when Bnei Yisrael cling to their supernal root, "no foreign touch reaches them," and like the pans of a scale, when Yisrael rises, their enemy falls. Amalek, "first of the nations," is the absolute inverse of Bnei Yisrael: just as Bnei Yisrael are excluded from the nations' downfall, Amalek shares in the curse and fall of every nation in every generation — and his own final end is the most utter destruction of all.