Rabbi Dosta'Ey Bar Yannai Said In The Name Of Rabbi Meir: "Whenever Anyone Forgets Any Of His Torah Knowledge, The Torah Considers It As If He Were Guilty Of A Mortal Sin, For It Is Said:[36] 'But Beware And Guard Your Soul Scrupulously, Lest You Forget The Things Which Your Eyes Have Seen.'
"One Might Think That This Applies Even If The Subject Matter Was Too Difficult For Him [And Therefore He Forgot], Hence The Torah Adds:[37] 'And Lest They Be Removed From Your Heart All The Days Of Your Life.' One Is Not Guilty Of A Mortal Sin Until He Sits And Causes Them To Be Removed From His Heart."
We are commanded
[38] to obliterate the memory of Amalek. This appears to contradict the injunction mentioned in this
mishnah, for there are several passages in the Torah which mention Amalek, and obliterating the memory of this nation would seemingly require forgetting these passages.
This difficulty can be resolved as follows: It is forbidden to think about Amalek for any purpose other than the destruction of that nation. When, however, the remembrance has as its goal - as do the Torah passages associated with that nation - the utter annihilation of the people and all its possessions, the remembrance of Amalek fulfills a mitzvah.[39] Obliterating Amalek's memory thus does not relate to the Torah passages concerning that nation, but to the actual existence of the nation.
Homiletically speaking, there is a connection between the battle against Amalek and Torah study, as reflected by the fact that Amalek first attacked the Jewish people after the Exodus from Egypt, when they were on their way to receive the Torah.
Amalek represents the cold rationality which makes us question everything we do or experience.[40] This interferes with our ability to internalize the Torah within our personalities (the key to memory). Wiping out our inner Amalek makes it easier to ingrain the Torah in every aspect of our being, and this will prevent it from be easily forgotten.
(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIV, p. 91; Vol. XXI, p. 190ff)
In his
Hilchos Talmud Torah (2:10), the Alter Rebbe writes that the majority of a person's study should focus on the practical application of Torah law, and that the person should review those laws so that he does not forget them. He should, however, take a portion of his study time to learn the
Talmud and the
Midrashim, so that he will have studied the entire Oral Law.
Although he will surely forget what he studies, he need not worry, "in the Era of the Redemption, he will be reminded of all that he forgot against his will." The forgetting of this material is thus not permanent. Moreover, "before the Throne Your glory, there is no forgetting,"[41] and even in the present era, in the spiritual realms, a person's Torah study serves as a continuous positive influence.
When does the prohibition against forgetting the Torah apply? When the person "sequesters himself from the Torah."[42] In one sense, this refers to a person who instead of studying devotes his attention to idle matters.[43] Moreover, even when a person studies other subjects in Torah, but intentionally ignores reviewing a subject he has studied, he can be considered to have "sequestered himself from it." If, however, his forgetfulness comes against his will, it is not considered as a negative quality.
(Likkutei Sichos, Vaes'chanan, 5747)
Notes:
- (Back to text) Devarim 4:9.
- (Back to text) Ibid.
- (Back to text) Ibid. 25:18.
- (Back to text) Note the Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos (pos. mitzvah 189), who associates the mitzvah to remember Amalek with "arousing a desire... to battle them." See Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Seitze, sec. 9; Rashi, Devarim 25:18; Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, p. 294.
- (Back to text) Cf. Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, ibid., which focuses on the numerical equivalence between the name () Amalek and the word , meaning doubt. See also ibid., p. 65.
- (Back to text) Berachos 32b.
- (Back to text) Sefer Mitzvos Gadol, neg. mitzvah 13.
- (Back to text) Yereim.
Chapter Three - Mishna 7