Whether the English “Remember,” the Hebrew “Zachor” or the Yiddish “G’denk,” it is a sacred obligation of all Jews to remember our past in order to move forward meaningfully into any Jewish future.

There are individuals in this world who, either directly or overseeing the acts of others, are responsible for some of the most heinous crimes against humanity. The Talmud, citing a verse in Psalms, highlights that we are to pray for the destruction of evil in people first, and only after that effort has been fully exhausted, do we pray for the destruction of these evil individuals.

To learn more, read this illuminating analysis entitled: “Parashat Zachor: ‘Hating as a Mitzvah” from Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald’s Torah message for Vayikra-Purim 5784-2024. Out of respect for Shabbat, please consider printing it on Friday afternoon if you plan to read it on Shabbat.