The Contemporary Relevance of the Commandment to Eradicate Amalek

Is there a mitzvah of killing Amalek nowadays?

Thank you for your question.

Leading up to Shabbos Zachor, many ask this question, don’t we have to actually fight Amalek and blot it out from the face of the earth? Let's first understand the source of this mitzvah, which is mentioned twice in the Chumash. First, in Parshat Beshalach, where Amalek fought with Am Yisrael after we crossed the Red Sea, and second, in Sefer Devarim, where we are commanded not to forget what Amalek did to Am Yisrael and to eradicate their total existence from the face of the earth. These are the two verses:

שמות פרק יז, יג-יד

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר וְשִׂים בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כִּי מָחֹה אֶמְחֶה אֶת זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם:

Exodus 17:13-14:

And Hashem said to Moshe, Write this as a memorial in the book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.

דברים פרק כה, יז-יט

תִּמְחֶה אֶת זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח:

Deuteronomy 25:17-19:

You shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget it.

In Sefer Shmuel, it is recounted that the prophet Samuel, when commanding King Saul to fight Amalek, instructed him that this was not just any war where you fight until the enemy surrenders. Rather, it was a war to obliterate the existence of Amalek by killing the entire population—men, women, and children—and also to burn down their houses and all their belongings until there was nothing left. This is how it is written:

שמואל א פרק טו, ג

(ג) עַתָּה לֵךְ וְהִכִּיתָה אֶת עֲמָלֵק וְהַחֲרַמְתֶּם אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ וְלֹא תַחְמֹל עָלָיו וְהֵמַתָּה מֵאִישׁ עַד אִשָּׁה מֵעֹלֵל וְעַד יוֹנֵק מִשּׁוֹר וְעַד שֶׂה מִגָּמָל וְעַד חֲמוֹר:

Shmuel 1 15:3:

(3) Now go and strike Amalek, and destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.

The reason for this commandment.

The reason the war with Amalek is so much different and more severe than with the other nations, is brought Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah 603:

We are commanded to remember what Amalek did to Israel when they first attacked them as they were leaving Egypt, before any nation or kingdom had lifted a hand against them. As it is written in Numbers 24:20, 'Amalek was the first among the nations,' and its Targum (translation) is 'Amalek was the first to wage war against Israel.' Everyone feared the nation of Yisrael because of the great miracles that Hashem had performed for them in Egypt, but the Amalekites, with their evil hearts and bad nature, did not take this to heart and attacked them, thereby removing the great fear of the other nations towards the nation of Israel.

Is it applicable today?

There are three opinions as to when exactly we are commanded to wage war against Amalek:

1. The Chinuch, Mitzvah 604, writes that this is a continuous mitzvah throughout the generations for each and every Jew who has the ability to do so, to wipe out the nation of Amalek from the face of the earth.
2. The Rambam, in Hilchot Melachim, Perek 6, Halacha 4, writes that this is a mitzvah only at a time of war, and only in the case that Amalek does not accept the sovereignty of Israel.
3. The Sefer Ha'Smag, Lav 206, holds that this is a mitzvah only at the final redemption, when Mashiach comes, as it says, “When Hashem has given you rest from all your enemies around you… you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

According to the above, the only opinion is from the Chinuch, who writes that if one sees an Amalekite, he is commanded to kill him. However, the Minchas Chinuch (Ibid) writes that today, even according to the Chinuch, we would not be able to fulfill this mitzvah since we cannot verify who is a true descendant of Amalek. This is because King Sennacherib of Assyria forced the various nations under his empire to relocate and live in different countries to prevent rebellion among the conquered peoples. Since then, we do not truly know who is a real Amalekite, and therefore, we cannot perform this mitzvah nowadays, even according to the opinion of the Chinuch.

Wishing you a Purim Sameach.

Exodus 17:13-14, Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Sefer Shmuel: 1 Samuel 15:3

Sefer HaChinuch: Mitzvah 603 & 604

Rambam: Hilchot Melachim, Perek 6, Halacha 4

Sefer Ha'Smag: Lav 206

Minchas Chinuch Mitzvah 604