Parashat Beshalach 5786-31 January 2026 / 13 Sh’vat 5786

“Gaddi’s Notes on the Eternal Wisdom of the Prominent Sages”:

The War Against Amalek and the Cure of Unity

Parashat Beshalakh — Amalek’s Attack From Miracles to Inner Warfare: Doubt, Unity, and the Throne of God

1. Revelation Without Internalization

The Torah testifies that after the splitting of the Sea, “Israel saw the great hand that God wrought in Egypt… and they believed in Hashem and in His servant Moses” (Ex. 14:31).

The Jewish sages note that this belief was reactive, born of overwhelming revelation rather than internalized faith.

The Mechilta explains that seeing miracles can inspire awe, but without sustained inner work, that faith remains vulnerable.

From the outside, the nations trembled. As Shirat HaYam declares, “Terror gripped the Philistines… the inhabitants of Canaan melted away” (Ex. 15:14–15).

The Zohar teaches that at this moment, Israel was surrounded by the Ananei haKavod, Clouds of Glory, which functioned not only as physical protection but as a spiritual membrane, insulating Israel from external forces of impurity.

2. The Collapse of Protection: Complaint and Spiritual Erosion

Yet paradoxically, it is precisely after the greatest miracles that Israel begins to complain. The sages(cf. Sifrei and Midrash Rabbah) explain that repeated grumbling is not merely emotional weakness but a crack in emunah.

When Israel asks, “Is Hashem among us or not?” (Ex. 17:7), this question itself creates spiritual exposure.

According to Rashi, that moment nullified the divine decree stated at the Exodus: “Against the children of Israel, not a dog shall whet its tongue” (Ex. 11:7).

The protection was conditional upon Kiddush HaShem— sanctifying God’s Name through trust and alignment. Once doubt surfaced, the shield fell.

3. Amalek: The Metaphysics of Doubt

It is no coincidence, teach the sages, that Amalek arrives immediately after the question of divine presence.

The well-known Gematriareveals the inner identity of Amalek:

Amalek = uncertain = 240

Amalek = Safek(doubt) This is cited by Baal HaTurim and expanded by later Chassidic masters.

Amalek does not deny God outright; rather, he cools certainty, introducing ambiguity where clarity once ruled.

The Midrash compares Amalek to one who jumps into a boiling bath—he may get burned, but he cools it for everyone else.

Thus Amalek’s war is not merely against Israel, but against “the Throne of God”(Ex. 17:16).

The Zohar explains that God’s Name and Throne are incomplete so long as doubt rules the human heart. Amalek attacks the interface between heaven and earth.

4. Refidim: Weakness, Separation, and Spiritual Physics

The sages read the verse in an ongoing present tense: “Is Hashem among us or not—and Amalek comes and wages war.”This is a timeless spiritual law.

The place of attack, Refidim, is decoded by the sages in two ways:

Rifu (ריפו) – weakening, slackening in Torah and spiritual vigilance (cf. Berakhot 5b)

Pirud (פירוד) – separation, fragmentation, loss of unity (as explained by the Keli Yakar)

When Torah weakens and unity fractures, Amalek enters. This is not geography—it is spiritual causality.

5. The Tikkun: Unity, Prayer, and Embodied Faith

The response to Amalek is precise and instructive. Moses does not fight alone, nor does Yehoshua act independently.

Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascend the hill; Yehoshua leads the battle below (Ex. 17:9–10).

The sages point out a profound remez (hint):

The initials of Aaron (אהרון) , Hur (חור) , Yehoshua (יהושע) , and Moses (מושה) spell:

Brothers — Akhim (Brothers)

This is not poetic coincidence. It is Torah psychology.

Yehoshua represents disciplined action in the physical world

Moses represents emunah and Torah consciousness

Aaron embodies peace and unity

Hur symbolizes mesirat nefesh and moral courage

Victory over Amalekrequires integrated unity— action below aligned with prayer above.

As long as Moses’ hands are raised—symbolizing the heart lifted toward Heaven— Israel prevails. When unity or focus falters, Amalek resurges.

6. Amalek and the Primordial Serpent

The sages draw a striking parallel between Amalek and the Nachash Serpent of Eden. Just as the serpent introduced doubt—“Did God really say?”—so tooAmalek whispers uncertainty into the covenantal relationship.

This is why the Torah concludes: “Hashem has war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Ex. 17:16). The war is ongoing because doubt continually reincarnates—in ideology, fear, cynicism, and spiritual exhaustion.

7. Beit Yisrael International & Gaddi Efrayim Notes — A Living Teaching

Beit Yisrael International emphasizes that Amalek is not only a historical enemy but a living spiritual force encountered whenever Torah is disconnected from daily life. In times of global confusion and exile, Amalek manifests as inner fragmentation— faith without consistency, unity without commitment.

Gaddi Efrayim’s notes stress that the true defeat of Amalek is not through memory alone, but through active Kiddush HaShem: living Torah visibly, joyfully, and collectively. When Israel functions as akhim— brothers bound by prayer, Torah, and shared mission—the throne of God is restored.

8. Conclusion: From Doubt to Dwelling

Parashat Beshalakh teaches that miracles may open the door, but only emunah lived in unity keeps it open. Amalek thrives where doubt cools devotion and separation weakens the soul. The cure is ancient and eternal: Torah strengthened, hearts unified, and hands lifted in prayer.

When Israel stands as one, Amalek falls—and God’s Presence dwells among us once again.

“Yehoshua’s Ears: Sod, Silence, and the Hidden War Against Amalek”

1. “Place It in the Ears of Yehoshua” — Why the Ears?

The verse states with striking precision: “Write this as a remembrance in the book and recite it in the ears of Yehoshua” (Exodus 17:14). The Jewish sages ask: why not “teach Yehoshua,” or “tell Yehoshua,” but specifically “in the ears”?

The sages explain that the ear represents inward reception, concealment, and sod—the hidden dimension of Torah. Unlike sight, which is public and external, hearing is internal and intimate. Thus, this command signals that the war against Amalek is not only external, but rooted in secrets transmitted quietly to the future redeemer-leader.

2. BeOznei = Sod — The Language of Secret Redemption

The phrase “beOznei Yehoshua” ( "באזני" ) carries a profound remez . The word BeOznei shares the same gematria as Sod ( "סוד" )—secret.

This aligns with the verse:“The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him” (Psalms 25:14). The sages teach that Amalek cannot be defeated first in the open realm; he must be subdued in the hidden dimension—in thought, consciousness, and spiritual root. Amalek’s power is safek (doubt); therefore, his defeat begins in the concealed

clarity of sod, before manifesting in history.

3. Sod in Milui and Mashiach ben Joseph

According to Kol HaTor (2:98, 148), when the word Sod is expanded in milui (letter-filling), its numerical value corresponds to Mashiach ben Yosef. This is a critical teaching of the Vilna Gaon’s school: the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef operates primarily in the hidden phase of redemption.

Thus, Yehoshua—descendant of Yosef and prototype of Mashiach ben Yosef—receives the secret method of confronting Amalek. This is not through spectacle, but through quiet inner mastery, rectifying doubt at its spiritual source.

4. Yehoshua Enters the Depths

The verse in Joshua states: “Yehoshua went that night into the midst of the valley (betokh haEmek)” (Joshua 8:13). The sages in Megillah 3a interpret Emek (valley) as Omko shel Halakha—the depths of Jewish law.

This teaches that Yehoshua did not rely solely on military tactics. He descended into the deep structure of Torah, especially its hidden layers. The Maharal explains that true leadership requires mastery of both revealed law (nigleh) and concealed wisdom (nistar). Amalek, rooted in celestial accusation through Samael, can only be neutralized by Torah that reaches beyond surface intellect.

5. Samael and the Strategy of Silence

The sages teach that Amalek is empowered by Samael, the prosecuting force. Public confrontation alone strengthens accusation. Therefore, the initial battle must occur in silence—in Torah study, prayer, and inner rectification. This is why the command is whispered into Yehoshua’s ears.

This reflects a larger Torah principle: redemption begins invisibly. Yosef is hidden in Egypt before revealing himself. Moshe is concealed for years before confronting Pharaoh. Yehoshua absorbs sod before leading conquest. Mashiach ben Yosef prepares redemption quietly, clearing spiritual blockages long before revelation.

6. Torah of Mashiach: Revealing Without Ego

The sages teach that Mashiach will “reveal new understandings in Torah”—yet not innovations detached from Sinai, but the inner unity already embedded within Torah. This revelation is not for intellectual dominance, but for tikkun—repair of Israel and elevation of the nations.

Yehoshua’s sod is thus the Torah of unity: dissolving doubt, restoring trust, and aligning creation with the Creator. Amalek thrives on fragmentation; sod restores oneness.

7. Beit Yisrael International & Gaddi Efrayim Notes

Beit Yisrael International emphasizes that the final redemption unfolds through quiet builders, not loud conquerors. The work of Mashiach ben Yosef—and of Yehoshua as his archetype—is to labor in Torah, unity, and spiritual infrastructure, often unnoticed.

Gaddi Efrayim’s notes highlight that the “ears of Yehoshua” symbolize the capacity to receive divine strategy without ego. True leaders first listen deeply—to Torah, to Heaven, and to the hidden currents of history. Only then can they guide others toward revealed redemption.

8. Conclusion: The Secret That Precedes Victory

The Torah teaches that before Amalek is erased from history, he is erased from consciousness. This begins with a whisper, not a shout. “Place it in the ears of Yehoshua” reveals that the deepest victories are born in sod—in hidden faith, disciplined study, and quiet alignment with the Divine Will.

Yehoshua’s ears receive the secret because redemption itself listens before it speaks—and conquers before it is seen.

“Yehoshua Below, Moshe Above: Emunah, Amalek, and the Inner War of Faith”

1. Two Battlefields, One War

The Torah presents the war with Amalek as a dual-front conflict. Below, Joshua leads Israel in physical combat. Above, Moses wages a spiritual war, his hands lifted heavenward. The sages emphasize that victory below is entirely dependent on alignment above.

When Moshe’s hands are raised, Israel prevails; when they fall, Amalek strengthens. This is not a military strategy but a spiritual law: the state of faith (emunah) determines the outcome of history.

2. “His Hands Were Emunah” — Faith Made Visible

The Torah’s language is precise: “His hands were steady (emunah) until sunset” (Ex. 17:12).Rashi and later commentators note that emunah here does not merely mean steadiness, but faith embodied in action.

This directly parallels the episode of the bronze serpent: when Israel looked upward, they were healed. The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) teaches that it was not the serpent or the hands themselves that saved Israel, but the turning of the heart toward Heaven.

Thus, the war with Amalek is revealed as a confrontation between faith and doubt, clarity and confusion.

3. Faith as the Foundation of Torah

The Talmud teaches: “Habakkuk came and based all of Torah on one principle: ‘The righteous shall live by his faith’” (Makkot 24a). The prophet Habakkuk is not reducing Torah, but revealing its inner axis.

Rabbi Daniel Krentzman explains that this verse points directly toMashiach ben Yosef, whose defining trait is emunah. Amalek, the extension of Esav, channels doubt (safek). Against him stands Yosef HaTzaddik—and his continuation—whose life demonstrates unwavering faith within concealment, exile, and struggle.

4. Rebbe Nachman: Faith Must Reach the Hands

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov deepens this teaching by internalizing it.Faith, he says, must spread through the entire body until it reaches the extremities—the hands. Only then can prayer ascend fully.

When a person lifts his hands in prayer with embodied faith, he draws down salvation-power, the same כוח associated with Mashiach.Moshe’s raised hands thus become the prototype of redemptive prayer, transforming inner faith into cosmic effect.

5. The Rod of God: Tree of Life and Tree of Choice

Moshe stands atop the hill holding the mateh Elokim — the Rod of God. The Zohar reveals a startling identity: “The Rod of God is Mattatron.” This identifies the staff as a channel between heaven and earth, life and judgment.

Rebbe Nachman explains that the mateh contains dual potential. When Torah is violated, it channels bitterness from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When repentance occurs, it becomes the Tree of Life, sweetening the waters. This is why the Torah says, “God showed him a tree, and the waters became sweet” (Ex. 15:25).

The Zohar goes further, teaching that the staff is the Tree of Life itself, linked to the divine structure of Yud–Hei–Vav. Thus Moshe, holding the staff, becomes a living axis— Moshe– Mashiach —standing between worlds.

6. Right, Left, and the Middle Line

Moshe is not alone. Aaron stands to his right, embodying (loving-kindness).Hur stands to his left, embodying gevurah (strength and sacrifice). Together they support the middle line—Torah-emunah.

The sages teach that when right and left are unbalanced, destruction follows. Amalek exploits imbalance. Unity restores flow. This is why the hands of Moshe must be supported— faith cannot be sustained in isolation.

7. Beit Yisrael International & Gaddi Efrayim Notes

Beit Yisrael International emphasizes that this scene is not history alone but daily avodah. Every generation faces Amalek externally and internally—through cynicism, fragmentation, and loss of clarity. Victory requires both Yehoshua’s disciplined action below and Moshe’s lifted faith above.

Gaddi Efrayim’s notes stress that true leadership is not charisma or power, but consistent emunah under pressure. When Israel stands unified— right, left, and center—supported by prayer, Torah, and humility, Amalek collapses automatically.

8. Conclusion: Raising Faith Until Sunset

The Torah concludes:“His hands were emunah until sunset”. Sunset symbolizes the boundary of time, concealment, and exile. The message of the sages is clear: redemption unfolds when faith is sustained until the very edge of darkness.

Moshe above and Yehoshua below teach one truth: when faith is lifted, doubt has no ground to stand on—and the path to redemption opens once again.