Remember This - Even When Tired

On the Shabbat before Purim – and this is the Shabbat before Purim – we read a passage reminding us of an attack on the Israelites,  “when you were tired – Ayef - and weary – Yagaya - and had no awe – Yirah - for God.” Amalek came then and, we are warned, Amalek will come again and again into our national future. Even beyond the point where God has given us rest from all the other enemies surrounding us.

 

Sure enough, in Kings we read of the battle between Saul and the Amalekite King Agag, and then, of course, comes Haman (boo) the Agagite.

 

In Chasidic thought Amalek becomes no longer a physical opponent, but rather a state of mind, the weakness that preys on our tiredness and weariness and our lack of Yirah – awe. It’s an interesting triplet. Tiredness, of course, comes to us all – it’s a function of sleep and effort and exists in the realm of the physical. If weariness is not to be identical with tiredness, therefore, it therefore becomes a more existential behaviour; giving up, not wanting to go on. And Yirah (for God) is entirely within the realm of the spiritual. Yirah is that which reminds who we are and our relationship with our Creator. Yirah reminds us how much we have to be grateful for. Yirah lifts us beyond our physical immediacy and places us before the Kiseh Cavod – God’s throne of glory. It becomes the force that can and should pull us away from existential torpor and give us strength, even in our physical tiredness. Its root is in the ability to turn our attention to that which is beyond our immediate physical need and tiredness. And Amalek is that which preys on an existential torpor grounded in a failure to realise we should be grateful.

 

Everyone gets tired, and these are surely the most wearisome of times, but we can’t allow our weariness to strip us of Yirah. In fact a little Yirah will give us strength even in the face of weariness. Feeling tired? Get out the house (if allowed), look towards the heavens, express gratitude. Feeling weary? Do something for someone else. Develop a sense of Yirah, particularly on Shabbat. Daven. Join us on-line or find your own way. Don’t lose Yirah, even when tired. Purim is coming.