Erasing Amalek in thought, speech, deed

בפרשת זכור דרשו חז"ל זכירה בפה ואל תשכח בלב.

On Parashas Zachor, Chazal expounded: "Remember" — with the mouth; "do not forget" — in the heart.

The mitzvah to remember Amalek operates on two planes: verbal remembrance ("Zachor") and inner remembrance of the heart ("al tishkach").

כי הנה עמלק ימ"ש הוא קליפה המתפשטת בכל צד כדאיתא בזוה"ק בשלח.

For behold, Amalek — may his name be erased — is a kelipah (a force of impurity) that spreads in every direction, as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh, Parashas Beshalach.

Amalek is not a single point of evil but a pervasive klipah that infiltrates every dimension of a person.

והוא בא להלחם בבחי' מחשבה דיבור ומעשה.

And it comes to wage war in the aspect of machshavah (thought), dibbur (speech), and ma'aseh (deed).

Amalek attacks all three faculties through which a person serves Hashem — thought, speech, and action.

ורמזו חז"ל בפ' אשר קרך טמאך במעשה.

And Chazal hinted at this in the posuk "who happened upon you (asher karcha)" (Devarim 25:18): "he defiled you" — in deed.

Reading "karcha" as related to defilement, Chazal indicate Amalek's assault on the realm of ma'aseh — corrupting one's deeds.

וקראך ראובן שמעון בדיבור.

"He called out to you (karacha)" — Reuven, Shimon — in speech.

Another reading, "he summoned you by name," points to Amalek's attack on dibbur — drawing a person into harmful or empty speech.

וציננך הוא במחשבה שנתקרר התלהבות הקדושה בבנ"י על ידו.

"He cooled you (kircha)" — this is in thought, for through him the burning enthusiasm of holiness in Bnei Yisrael was cooled.

Chazal's image of Amalek "cooling" Bnei Yisrael describes his attack on machshavah — chilling the inner fire and fervor for kedushah.

ולכן צריכין למחות אותו באלה הג'. בלב ודיבור.

Therefore we must blot him out in these three — [now, in galus, we can do so] in heart and in speech.

Since Amalek strikes on three fronts, he must be erased on all three; at present we can wage this battle in thought and speech.

ובמעשה יתקיים והי' בהניח כו'.

And in deed it will be fulfilled [when] "and it shall be, when [Hashem gives you] rest…" (Devarim 25:19).

The final blotting-out in action awaits the future time of rest, when the mitzvah to erase Amalek physically can be carried out.

כי לעת עתה בגלות אי אפשר במעשה להלחם עמו.

For at present, in galus, it is impossible to fight him in deed.

In exile we lack the means to wage the physical war against Amalek.

זולת בימי הפורים שנזכרים ונעשים יש לנו כח גם במעשה למחות הסט"א:

Except on the days of Purim, [of which it is said] "they are remembered and performed (nizkarim v'na'asim)" (Esther 9:28) — we have power even in deed to blot out the sitra achra (the side of impurity).

Purim is the exception: because its events are both "remembered and performed," even in galus we gain the power to strike Amalek through deeds as well as thought and speech.

Summary: Amalek is a pervasive klipah that wars against a person in thought, speech, and deed, "cooling" the fire of kedushah. The mitzvah to remember and erase him therefore operates on all three planes; in galus we fight chiefly in heart and speech, with the final blotting-out in deed reserved for the future — except on Purim, "remembered and performed," when we gain power to blot out the sitra achra even in action.