Rectifying Negative Energy of Amalek
Question
King Shaul tried to sacrifice the livestocks of Amalek. It seems that he wanted to tikun negative energy of Amalek. But it made HaShem angry, and ultimately HaShem took away the kingship from Shaul. Is it impossible to tikun negative energy of Amalek? Is there any specific yetzer hara which is impossible to be tikuned?
Answers
The Rabbis teach us that the only rectification that there is for the negative forces of Amalek is to completely uproot it from our existence. There are no redeeming factors to Amalek, and subsequently there are no actions that can be done to reverse the negative energy into something positive.
The Rambam, discussing the Mitzvah of exterminating the Seven Nations states that after the dispersion of Sancheriv we can no longer identify any nation, and therefore the Mitzvah can not be fulfilled. The very next sentence states that it is a Biblical commandment to eradicate any trace of the memory of Amalek. The Chasam Sofer learns from this that Amalek, unlike the other nations, is not just a people but an ideology. According to this, it is possible for a person who has no physical connection to Amalek to be considered a member of the Amalekite People because of his ideology. Once a member, that person would be worthy of the death penalty.
As we learn, Amalek is not a people like the other peoples of the world. Because of their destructive ideology, it is not possible to coexist with them. The Sages teach us that we should not try to be “kinder than God” – the fact that the eradication of Amalek is a Commandment in the Torah is an indication of just how negative their ideology really is.
King Saul was instructed to destroy any vestige of Amalek and allowed King Agag to remain alive (albeit for only one night). A direct extension of that “merciful act” was that Haman almost destroyed the entire Jewish People.
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