Turning Amalek Into Jew vs. Jew
This week, we read Parashat Ki Teitzei, which concludes with the injunction to destroy and forget the tribe of Amalek, the worst enemy of the Jewish people. In this season of repentance, at least one Haredi Jewish leader is discussing who he sees as modern-day Amalek. Ynet News reports that “Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, a prominent leader in the haredi world, says that Lapid is Amalek, the archetypical enemy of Israel from biblical times. This Saturday, when the parasha of Amalek is read, Shteinman instructed his disciples to have Lapid on their minds as they utter the words telling of the great enemy of the Israelites….Sources close to Shteinman also said that he tells pupils to think of Lapid and of Education Minister Shai Piron when saying Birkat haMinim, which is said three...