Parashas Ki Sisa: A Moment of Inspiration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman

[Music] there was a midst when clel came into Earth Israel to destroy or remove the Seven Nations of Canan and in later times some of them did remain in AR Israel and caused a great deal of harm to Claus Ro but in later generations SV s Asher committed what what today would be called Ethnic Cleansing he conquered countries and he made all the inhabitants leave and spread them out all over so that they could not get together and you know with nationalism and make a revolution so they're essentially they're gone they're no can on them today we don't know who they are they're all spread out and the rambam records the mitzvah of the seven um the Seven Nations of Canan and he says any memory of them is gone they're not Canan today and then he also says the mitzah the Mitzvah to destroy am removed amik also from their country but the ran does not say the r does not say that their memory is gone and the Torah says you have to destroy the memory of memory of a mik has to be completely make it disappear thean says that he does not he does not say regarding aik that the memory is gone the memory is still here what does that mean brisker explains that it could very well be and and it's true that the actual descendants of amolik we don't know who they are but but the memory of what amalik wanted to do that remains amalik wanted to prevent clro from receiving the Torah amalik wanted to wipe out Claus the actual descendants of amalik perhaps are not here anymore but in history Romans Crusaders Bolsheviks in Russia and the and today also there are there are nations who want to obliterate CL Israel and commit their own version of genocide so the ramom does not say that the memory of amik is gone the memory of amolik is still with us still all around us and as we see in recent years the rise of anti-Semitism the rise of anti-em ISM even in the United States in the college campuses and to our humiliation many of the leaders of those who are anti-israel who in effect are anti Israel are even Jews the Z of am unfortunately is still quite strong and the mitzvah for us in our lives to remove that memory from our surroundings and not let our children be contaminated by it that Mitzvah always remains until bhia [Music]