A people secure in its mission does not need to achieve spirituality and fulfillment at the expense of others. When the Torah demands that we annihilate a nation such as Amalek, it does so because of the spiritual threat that nation poses, not because we need to save its soul as part of our own redemption.
In contrast, all the nations that have sought to enhance their standing at our spiritual or physical expense have operated out of a position of core deficit. They had little positive to offer and nothing of value was proposed to fill the void, which means they would never achieve genuine contentment.
An adversary that can never be happy is an extremely dangerous enemy indeed. I offer my prayer that one day Hamas and its many Arab allies will come to echo Eisav’s words when he said, “Let what you have remain yours” – so that we can live with greater peace and security until the time of our final redemption.
