Blotting out Amalek in thought, speech, deed

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

On Parshas Zachor Chazal expounded: "Remember" means remembrance with the mouth, and "do not forget" means in the heart.

The mitzvah to wipe out Amalek has two parts — an active "zachor" voiced aloud, and a "lo tishkach" guarded inwardly in the heart. The Sefas Emes will build on this division of speech and thought.

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

For behold, Amalek — may his name be blotted out — is a klipah (husk of impurity) that spreads in every direction, as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh on Beshalach.

Amalek is not a localized enemy but a pervasive klipah, a force of spiritual impurity that infiltrates every domain of a person's life.

והוא בא להלחם בבחי' מחשבה דיבור ומעשה.

And it comes to wage war against the dimensions of thought, speech, and deed.

Because the klipah of Amalek spreads everywhere, it attacks all three channels through which a person serves Hashem — machshavah (thought), dibbur (speech), and maaseh (action).

ורמזו חז"ל בפ' אשר קרך טמאך במעשה.

And Chazal hinted at this in the verse "asher karcha" (who happened upon you): "he defiled you" — in the realm of deed.

One reading of "karcha" relates to tumah (defilement), corresponding to Amalek's assault on the level of action — dragging a person into impure deeds.

וקראך ראובן שמעון בדיבור.

And "he called out to you" — like calling "Reuven, Shimon" — corresponds to speech.

Another sense of "karcha" is "he called you," which the Midrash pictures as luring people by name; this is Amalek's attack on the realm of speech.

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

And "he cooled you off" is in the realm of thought, for through him the burning enthusiasm of kedushah in Bnei Yisrael was cooled.

The famous derashah that Amalek "cooled" Yisrael (like one who jumps into a scalding bath) is the assault on machshavah — chilling the inner fervor and excitement for holiness.

ולכן צריכין למחות אותו באלה הג'.

Therefore we must blot him out in these three.

Since Amalek attacks thought, speech, and deed, our mitzvah to erase him must likewise be carried out on all three fronts.

בלב ודיבור.

In the heart and in speech.

In our present galus we can already fulfill the erasing of Amalek on the levels of heart (thought) and speech — the inner resolve and the verbal "zachor."

ובמעשה יתקיים והי' בהניח כו'.

And in deed it will be fulfilled with "and it shall be when [Hashem gives] you rest…"

The actual physical wiping out of Amalek — the dimension of maaseh — is reserved for the time of "rest," the future when Bnei Yisrael are settled and at peace.

כי לעת עתה בגלות אי אפשר במעשה להלחם עמו.

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

While we remain in exile we lack the power to physically war against Amalek, so the battle is confined to thought and speech.

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

Except on the days of Purim — which are "remembered and re-enacted" — we have power also in deed to blot out the sitra achra (the side of impurity).

Purim is the exception: because these days are "remembered and re-enacted" each year, their original power is renewed, granting us strength even on the level of maaseh to erase the forces of impurity.

Summary: Amalek is a pervasive klipah that attacks thought, speech, and deed, so the mitzvah to blot him out must be waged on all three; in galus we can fight only through heart and speech, but the days of Purim — "remembered and re-enacted" — renew our power to defeat the sitra achra even through action.