If God Is Good, Why Destroy Amalek? A Torah Response to the Hardest Moral Question

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, as you were leaving Egypt — how he encountered you on the road and attacked all the stragglers at your rear, when you were weary and exhausted, and he did not fear God. And it shall be, when the Lord your God grants you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land that the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget.”

A Late-Night Knock at the Door

A few years ago, Rabbi Aharon Halevi told me, he heard knocking at his door late at night. When he opened it, a young man stood there, visibly anxious. Sensing real distress, the rabbi invited him inside, even though no meeting had been scheduled. He assumed the visitor was facing a medical or financial emergency and needed urgent advice.

To his surprise, what troubled the young man was the commandment to erase Amalek. He spoke in a rush, barely able to calm himself enough to organize his thoughts.

“If God Is Good, How Can He Command Genocide?”

“I’m a baal teshuvah,” the man said. “For several years I’ve been studying in a yeshiva for people returning to Judaism. I’m convinced the Torah was given by the Creator, and the Torah way of life has brought me happiness like nothing else. But a few days ago I ran into an old friend. I tried sharing some of what I’ve been learning, and he said just one sentence: ‘If God is good, He would never command genocide.’”

The friend added, “You don’t even know the Torah you’re learning — there’s a commandment to wipe out an entire people. Look it up.” And with that, he walked away.

“Since then,” the young man continued, “I haven’t had a moment of peace. I immediately knew he meant Amalek. We were taught about morality and the rules of war — about the difference between fighting soldiers and killing civilians, prisoners, women, and children. That’s called genocide. The question keeps echoing in my head day and night: If God is good, how can He command genocide? I can’t live normally. Rabbi, please help me.”

Trying to Understand, Not to Judge

The rabbi told me he didn’t feel comfortable smiling. On one hand, the man was clearly in distress; on the other, his question seemed far removed from everyday life. Still, we are meant to try to understand God’s commands as much as we can. We cannot judge what is good or evil from the Creator’s all-encompassing perspective — but trying to understand is legitimate.

He could have answered simply: God sees all generations. When Israel once spared Agag, the Amalekite king, Agag later fathered a child — leading eventually to Haman, who nearly annihilated the Jewish people across the Persian Empire. If God commands something, there is a reason.

But the rabbi sensed the man needed something more tangible that would settle his heart. So he shared an account he had read in an ancient source.

Amalek and the “Cooling of the Bath”

An early historian named Abū al-Faraj preserved pre-Islamic Arab traditions. One describes massive clouds hovering over the desert near Egypt. The Amalekite tribe saw them and raced toward the site.

All the surrounding nations knew extraordinary events had taken place in Egypt. Many were afraid and acknowledged that these were acts of God. Even Pharaoh ultimately broke and admitted God’s hand. Moav knew it had no chance by natural means and tried, unsuccessfully, to enlist Bilaam to fight Israel through supernatural means. God protected Israel.

But one nation acted differently: Amalek.

They did not flee in fear. They rushed straight toward the miracle. They lacked nothing in their own land, yet they sought to prove that there is no such thing as a people protected by God. They attacked Israel and even managed to capture a single captive before Yehoshua defeated and scattered them.

They didn’t win, but they accomplished something else. They “cooled the bath.” They showed the world that Israel could be attacked.

A Dangerous Message to the World — and to Israel

How could Amalek harm Israel at all?

Amalek revealed a truth, but distorted it. God’s covenant with Israel is not a one-sided insurance policy. Israel’s protection depends on its spiritual state. When Israel weakens spiritually, Amalek can cause limited harm.

Other nations learned the wrong lesson: If Amalek succeeded even a little, maybe God isn’t always with Israel. That idea spread.

Worse still, it seeped into Israel itself. Instead of understanding that vulnerability comes from spiritual failure, some concluded that God simply does not always care. This misunderstanding gave room for doubt, cynicism, and moral erosion.

Without Amalek’s audacity, the nations, and Israel, would have understood that any suffering could be repaired through return to God. After Amalek, the yetzer hara (negative impulse) had an argument: “Do what you want — nothing will happen. Look, others weren’t punished.”

Amalek as an Ideology, Not Just a Nation

Amalek was not merely a philosophical skeptic. Their entire way of life opposed faith. God demands justice and moral integrity; Amalek systematically violated these principles. The Sages describe extreme cruelty in their warfare.

Some identify Amalek with the ancient Hyksos, a people described by early historians as defined by two traits: cruelty and desecration of the sacred. Archaeology from their cities, especially Avaris, supports these descriptions.

If so, Amalek was not a society with civilians and soldiers. It was a nation of ideological predators — robbery and violence were their way of life. Women and children were raised within that culture and actively sustained it.

In such a case, the usual rules of war do not apply. This was not a conventional army but an entire society built on destroying moral order and faith in God.

Even today, when pirates are encountered — such as in parts of the Somali coast, they are neutralized entirely. These are people whose livelihood depends on murder and plunder. That helps us understand how Amalek was viewed: an ideological threat whose very existence undermined justice and belief in God.

Why Amalek Had No Remedy

Other brutal regimes tried to justify themselves with lofty ideals including equality, justice, progress. Such people can sometimes be rehabilitated. Amalek made no such pretense however. They destroyed, mocked the sacred, and glorified cruelty as doctrine.

An ideology that openly sanctifies cruelty and denies moral accountability leaves no room for correction. That is why the Torah commands its eradication.

Peace of Mind Restored

When the rabbi finished, it was already late. But he saw the light return to his unexpected guest’s eyes. He finally understood, not only the commandment, but its necessity.

“Remember what Amalek did to you.”