Remembering Our Enemies, and Even More, Our Friends

Yael Eckstein  |  March 13, 2025

Just before Purim, which begins tonight at sundown, Yael tells us that in an uncertain and cruel world, we must choose to focus on the goodness and blessings in our lives to endure:

To remember Amalek is not just to remember our enemies; it is to be prepared, to stand guard, to ensure that when hatred comes, as it always does, we are strong enough to face it. But that is only half the story.

The Torah does not just teach us what to resist; it teaches us what to embrace.

For every command not to steal, there is an unspoken call to respect another’s dignity. For every command not to murder, a call to cherish life. And for every command to remember Amalek, there is an equal and opposite imperative: remember those who love you.

I was reminded of this last month when, after pledging not to leave Israel until the war was over, I traveled to Texas for a Fellowship event. I braced myself for hostility—the protests, the campus disruptions, the rising tide of antisemitism. But what I found was something else entirely. Thousands of people lined up to shake my hand, to offer their unwavering support, to say again and again: “We stand with Israel. We love the Jewish people.”