Positive Commandment 187 (Digest)
Destroying the Seven Canaanite Nations
"For you shall utterly destroy them"—Deuteronomy 20:17.
We are commanded to kill the members of the Seven Canaanite Nations—to utterly eradicate them. This is because they were the original source of idolatry and its prime practitioners. In many places the Torah encourages and urges us to observe this mitzvah, and explains the reason for this mitzvah: so that we should not learn from these nations' heretical ways. The battle against the Canaanite nations is considered a "mitzvah battle."
This mitzvah was fully completed by King David, who killed the remaining members of these nations that had survived till his day, besides for a few who scattered and were absorbed into other nations.
[Translator's Note: In the Laws of Kings, Maimonides explains that the killing of the Seven Nations was a last resort, only done if the nations refused to evacuate the Holy Land, or to remain, but reject idolatry and accept upon themselves Jewish sovereignty.]
The 187th mitzvah is that we are commanded to kill and destroy the seven nations [of Canaan] because they are the prime worshippers and original source of idolatry.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "You must wipe them out completely." [Scripture] explains the reason for this commandment is to keep us from learning from their heresy. Many verses encourage and urge that they be killed, and waging war against them is a milchemes mitzvah [mandatory war].
Since these seven nations no longer exist a person could think that this commandment is not noheg l'doros [for all generations]. But only someone who does not understand the concept of noheg l'doros would think such a thing. A command that can be fulfilled without being limited to a certain time is considered noheg l'doros, because if the act would become possible in any generation, the mitzvah would apply. When G‑d will totally destroy the descendants of Amalek and remove them for all time — as will be speedily in our days, as G‑d (exalted be He) promised, "I will wipe out the memory of Amalek" — will we say that the mitzvah to wipe out the memory of Amalek was not noheg l'doros? This is not true, for in any generation when one finds a descendant of Amalek, he must be killed. The same applies to this mitzvah of killing all descendants of the seven nations, which is a milchemes mitzvah. In every generation we are required to uproot them and search after them down to the last individual. We did this until King David destroyed them completely, with the survivors being scattered and assimilated among the nations until they disappeared.
But although they no longer exist, the mitzvah to kill them is still considered noheg l'doros, just as the mitzvah to wage war against Amalek is considered noheg l'doros even after their destruction. This is because it is not dependant on a certain time or place, such as in Egypt or in the desert. The mitzvah is dependant solely upon the object of the mitzvah: whenever they are found, the mitzvah must be fulfilled.
The general rule is that you must understand and contemplate upon the difference between the commandment itself and this that the commandment deals with. There are mitzvos where the object of the commandment has ceased to exist in a certain generation, but this does not render the mitzvah not noheg l'doros, since the commandment itself applies forever.
For a commandment to be considered not noheg l'doros, the opposite would be true. The specific object in the specific state does exist; but the obligation to perform the specific act or follow the certain law only applies at a certain time. Today, even though the object exists, the commandment does not. An example of this would be an elderly Levite, who was not allowed to serve [in the Mishkan] in the desert, but is allowed today, as we explained in the proper place. Be sure you understand this and keep it in mind.
Negative Commandment 49 (Digest)
Sparing the Seven Canaanite Nations
"You shall not leave a soul alive"—Deuteronomy 20:16.
We may not allow even one individual from the Seven Canaanite Nations to live, for they would have a negative effect on the Jewish inhabitants of the land and influence them to worship idols.
[For more on this mitzvah, see Positive Commandment 187.]
The 49th prohibition is that we are forbidden from allowing any individual from the seven nations to live. [This is commanded] in order that they not ruin other people and cause them to err by following idolatry.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "Do not allow a single soul to live."
Killing them is a positive commandment, as we explained in P187. One who had the opportunity to kill one of them, and did not do so, transgresses a prohibition.
Positive Commandment 188 (Digest)
Destroying Amalek
"You shall erase the memory of Amalek"—Deuteronomy 25:19.
We are commanded to wipe out the descendants of Amalek, men and women, old and young.
This is one of the three mitzvot the Jews were commanded upon entering the land—the other two were appointing a king and building the Holy Temple.
The 188th mitzvah is that we are commanded to wipe out — from among all the descendants of Esav — the descendants of Amalek, male and female, young and old.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "Wipe out the memory of Amalek."
We have mentioned previously the statement of our Sages, "The Jewish people were commanded three mitzvos upon entering the Land of Israel: to appoint a king, to build the Beis HaMikdash, and to destroy the descendants of Amalek."
Waging war against Amalek is also a milchemes mitzvah [obligatory war].
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the eighth chapter of tractate Sotah.
Positive Commandment 189 (Digest)
Remembering Amalek's Deed
"Remember what Amalek did to you"—Deuteronomy 25:17.
We are enjoined to remember that which Amalek did to us, that they were the first to "greet" us [after we left Egypt] with evil [i.e., battle]. We must verbally recall this at all times, and awaken our souls to battle them. We must call upon people to hate them, so that the matter not be forgotten, and the hate should not abate with the passage of time.
The 189th mitzvah is that we are commanded to constantly remember what Amalek did to us, i.e., to be the first to attack us [after we were redeemed from Egypt]; and to speak of it constantly; to arouse people to wage war against them and hate them, in order that it not be forgotten or the hatred towards them lessened with the passage of time.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "Remember what Amalek did to you. [Do not forget.]"
The Sifri says, "The phrase, 'Remember what Amalek did to you,' refers to doing so verbally. The phrase, 'Do not forget,' means in one's heart." This means that one should say verbally words that cause people to keep this hatred in their hearts. The Sifra says, "From the verse, 'Remember what Amalek did to you,' you might think it means in your heart. But when it says, 'Do not forget,' that means in your heart! How do we explain the commandment to 'remember?' It means to speak about it verbally." You can see how the Prophet Shmuel went about fulfilling this commandment: first he remembered them [verbally] and then commanded that they be killed. This was done when he said, "I remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people when they came up from Egypt."
Negative Commandment 59 (Digest)
Forgetting Amalek's Deed
"You must not forget"—Deuteronomy 25:19.
We are enjoined to never forget that which Amalek did to us, that they were the first to "greet" us [after we left Egypt] with evil [i.e., battle]. We must never allow the hate from Amalek to be forgotten from our hearts.
The 59th prohibition is that we are forbidden from forgetting what the descendants of Amalek did to us, i.e., to be the first to attack us [after we were redeemed from Egypt].
In P189 we explained that remembering what the descendants of Amalek did to us and constantly renewing our hatred towards them is a positive commandment. Similarly, we are forbidden from ignoring it and forgetting about it, and it is an actual prohibition.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement, "Do not forget."
The Sifri says, " 'Remember,' means verbally. 'Do not forget,' means in one's heart." This means that you should not ignore hating him, nor remove it from your heart.
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