{"id":11635,"date":"2025-02-19T20:34:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T20:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?p=11635"},"modified":"2025-02-19T20:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T20:34:09","slug":"why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Since everything that happens is from God and the Nazis were merely agents to carry out His Master Plan, why are people always denouncing the Nazis? In addition, if the Holocaust was just the fulfillment of what God foretold would happen if we don\u2019t keep the Torah properly, shouldn\u2019t the focus be on fixing ourselves? In the same vein, I don\u2019t understand the mitzvah of destroying Amalek. Our rabbis tell us that Amalek \u2014 as well as Haman, a descendant of Amalek \u2014 was given power over the Jews only because they sinned. If so, why is there a mitzvah to destroy them?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blinding Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You are certainly right that the focus should be on improving ourselves. If we keep the Torah the way Hashem (God) wants, we will not be subjected to harm from any other nation. But at the same time, anyone who harms us still deserves to be punished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We find this concept in the Torah itself. Hashem told Avraham ( Abraham) that his descendants were destined to endure suffering in a foreign land, and the nation that persecutes them would subsequently be punished. Here the question is even more glaring: Since this was clearly Hashem\u2019s plan, why should the persecutors deserve a punishment? If anything they should be rewarded for carrying out God\u2019s plan! These questions are discussed by many of the early commentators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Didn’t Have to Be You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ramban explains that the fact that the Jews were supposed to suffer still does not justify the evil done by the other nation. Hashem alone is the One Who can bring suffering, and humans have no place and no reason to get involved. If they do, they deserve to be punished for their evil doing, even if they were the conduit for carrying out God\u2019s plans. This explains why the Egyptians were punished for enslaving the Jews, and the same will hold true for Haman and the Nazis. Ramban adds that the same applies to every murderer. Although the person killed was destined to die, the murderer still deserves to be punished, since he did evil, even if he was the vehicle for executing God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amalek is even more evil than the Egyptians, and that is why we are commanded to destroy them and their philosophy. The Egyptians enslaved the Jews for their own financial benefit, as well as to keep them from taking control of the country. Amalek, however, had nothing to gain, and came to fight with the Jews purely out of hatred for what we stand for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Amalek Must Be Eradicated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We believe in Hashem\u2019s Divine Presence and intimate involvement in our world. Amalek, on the other hand, is diametrically opposed to this worldview and claims that God left the world to run on its own, and everyone can do as they please, without any restrictions. This is why we must destroy Amalek before they destroy us spiritually, by influencing the world with their false philosophy. For this reason, Rambam (Maimonides, a primary codifier of Jewish law) writes, when an Amalekite converts, or even just accepts upon himself to keep the Seven Noahide Laws, we are no longer commanded to kill him. Once he has changed his ways and is not part of their corrupt culture, he is no longer a danger to society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the truth of the matter is that we do indeed tend to become sidetracked, and put the blame on the Nazis and not on ourselves. When we learn about the Holocaust being predicted in the Torah, we see that Hashem wants us to focus on ourselves, by taking the message to heart and repenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short:<\/strong> One who does evil deserves to be punished, even if he was carrying out God\u2019s plan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Learn more about the essence of God with a TorahMate. Sign up for a weekly learning partner today!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have another question to ask a rabbi<\/a>? You can ask Rabbi Mintz your own question at asktherabbi@oorah.org<\/a>, or head to oorah.org\/asktherabbi\/<\/a> to watch the latest Q&As or join Ask the Rabbi Live, Tuesdays at 9PM ET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Since everything that happens is from God and the Nazis were merely agents to carry out His Master Plan, why are people always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[584,598,761,702,8,701],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-semitism","category-ask-the-rabbi","category-jewish-faith","category-jewish-philosophy","category-judaism-101","category-mitzvot"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Since everything that happens is from God and the Nazis were merely agents to carry out His Master Plan, why are people always […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/torahmates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/warsaw-boy-hands-up.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"TorahMates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@oorah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@oorah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TorahMates\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"TorahMates\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/df1cd798c41777159e9fee85cb392ef9\"},\"headline\":\"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\"},\"wordCount\":721,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Anti-Semitism\",\"Ask the Rabbi\",\"Jewish Faith\",\"Jewish Philosophy\",\"Judaism 101\",\"Mitzvot\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\",\"name\":\"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/\",\"name\":\"JEWISH RESOURCES by Oorah's TorahMates\",\"description\":\"brought to you by Oorah's TorahMates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization\",\"name\":\"TorahMates\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tm.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tm.jpg\",\"width\":921,\"height\":824,\"caption\":\"TorahMates\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/torahmates\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oorah\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/torahmates\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/oorah-inc?original_referer=https:\/\/www.oorah.org\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/oorah\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/OorahKR\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oorah_(organization)\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/df1cd798c41777159e9fee85cb392ef9\",\"name\":\"TorahMates\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/26e85981eb7a7ffe0e513841f5d6b26a09f4f1ab01d3eff73b79b111f5b3a80c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/26e85981eb7a7ffe0e513841f5d6b26a09f4f1ab01d3eff73b79b111f5b3a80c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"TorahMates\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources","og_description":"Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Since everything that happens is from God and the Nazis were merely agents to carry out His Master Plan, why are people always […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/","og_site_name":"Jewish Resources","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/torahmates","article_published_time":"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":319,"url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/warsaw-boy-hands-up.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"TorahMates","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@oorah","twitter_site":"@oorah","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"TorahMates","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/"},"author":{"name":"TorahMates","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/df1cd798c41777159e9fee85cb392ef9"},"headline":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents?","datePublished":"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/"},"wordCount":721,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Anti-Semitism","Ask the Rabbi","Jewish Faith","Jewish Philosophy","Judaism 101","Mitzvot"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/","url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/","name":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents? - Jewish Resources","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-19T20:34:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T20:34:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/why-focus-on-the-nazis-and-amalek-if-they-are-merely-gods-agents\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Focus on the Nazis and Amalek, if They Are Merely God\u2019s Agents?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/","name":"JEWISH RESOURCES by Oorah's TorahMates","description":"brought to you by Oorah's TorahMates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#organization","name":"TorahMates","url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tm.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tm.jpg","width":921,"height":824,"caption":"TorahMates"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/torahmates","https:\/\/twitter.com\/oorah","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/torahmates\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/oorah-inc?original_referer=https:\/\/www.oorah.org\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/oorah\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/OorahKR","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oorah_(organization)"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/df1cd798c41777159e9fee85cb392ef9","name":"TorahMates","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/26e85981eb7a7ffe0e513841f5d6b26a09f4f1ab01d3eff73b79b111f5b3a80c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/26e85981eb7a7ffe0e513841f5d6b26a09f4f1ab01d3eff73b79b111f5b3a80c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"TorahMates"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11635"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11652,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11635\/revisions\/11652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}