shabbos zachor - planting the seeds of subversion

1) Why read parshas zachor on shabbos?  Why not some other day, e.g. Purim morning?  

The gemara (Shabbos 118) tells us אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: אִלְמָלֵי שָׁמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל שַׁבָּת רִאשׁוֹנָה לֹא שָׁלְטָה בָּהֶן אוּמָּה וְלָשׁוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יָצְאוּ מִן הָעָם לִלְקוֹט״, וּכְתִיב בָּתְרֵיהּ: ״וַיָּבֹא עֲמָלֵק״  Had Klal Yisrael properly observed even one shabbos, we would have been immune from attacks by the nations of the world.  However, since even that first Shabbos in the midbar was broken by people going out to collect mon, Amalek was able to attack.

The Midrash links "zachor" of Shabbos with "zachor" of Amalek.  It is specifically on Shabbos that we speak about waging war with Amalek because if we get Shabbos right, then Amalek has no power. Amalek attacked those who were outside the protection of the ananei ha'kavod.  On Shabbos we ask, "u'fros aleinu sukas shelomecha," that Hashem should envelop all of us in a canopy of shalom, that no one should be left out.

2) I have an idea that is only half baked so far, but I'll mention it anyway even though I just have the scaffolding and not the completed building. Immediately preceding the battle with Amalek, the Torah describes Bnei Yisrael's rebellion in Refidim.  Chazal darshen that "rafu y'deihem min haTorah."  Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim and are praised for going out to a desert with nothing, "lechtech acharai ba'midbar b'eretz lo zeru'a..."  (Yirmiyahu 2:2) Sefas Emes explains (unless you justify it as being a poetic keifel ha'inyan b'milim shonot, a midbar is an eretz lo zeru'a, so the pasuk is repetitive) that an eretz lo zeru'a means that Bnei Yisrael left Egypt and stepped into a life still barren of Torah and mitzvos; there was nothing that could spiritually grow and develop yet because mattan Torah had not yet happened.  Sometimes you can have a rebellion or a movement that is inspired by and fueled by ideas.  There are all kinds of -isms that drive people even if achieving their dream or goal involves tremendous hardship and difficulty.  That's not what happened in yetzi'as Mitzrayim.  We embarked into eretz lo zeru'a, the spiritual goal was unknown, the ideology we were signing up for was not clear yet.  There was nothing that could push us forward except for our belief that we were following Hashem somewhere -- even without knowing ideologically where that somewhere was.  That's what Amalek capitalized on.  "Asher karcha BA'DERECH...  Zachor es asher asah lecha Amalek BA'DERECH."  We were on the road to somewhere, but to where exactly?  It's a hard state to be in, a vulnerable state -- just as any teenager (or these days, even those in their 20's). 

After Haman is forced to lead Mordechai around Shushan and tell everyone how great Mordechai is for saving the King, Haman returns home upset and tells his family what happened.  The Megillah then tells us (end ch 6) how his family reacted:  וַיְסַפֵּ֨ר הָמָ֜ן לְזֶ֤רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ֙ וּלְכׇל־אֹ֣הֲבָ֔יו אֵ֖ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר קָרָ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֩אמְרוּ֩ ל֨וֹ חֲכָמָ֜יו וְזֶ֣רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אִ֣ם מִזֶּ֣רַע הַיְּהוּדִ֡ים מׇרְדֳּכַ֞י אֲשֶׁר֩ הַחִלּ֨וֹתָ לִנְפֹּ֤ל לְפָנָיו֙ לֹא־תוּכַ֣ל ל֔וֹ כִּֽי־נָפ֥וֹל תִּפּ֖וֹל לְפָנָֽיו׃.  Very strange!  Tiferes Shlomo asks: the whole story we've been reading in the Megillah is about how Haman wanted to destroy the Jews because Mordechai, a Jew, would not bow down to him.  What do you mean, אִ֣ם מִזֶּ֣רַע הַיְּהוּדִ֡ים מׇרְדֳּכַ֞י , If Mordechai is "mi'zera ha'yehudim?"  What's the safeik?!

It's not the Tiferes Shlomo's answer, but based on Sefas Emes I think what Haman's family was telling him was that if Mordechai is just an ordinary Jew, then don't worry about it.  He will go back to his Shabbos cholent and you go back to your plans.  But if Mordechai is "mi'ZERA ha'yehudim," if he is a planter, if he lives to put down seeds that inspire others, if he is the antithesis of "eretz LO ZERU'A," then you have trouble and forget about winning.  When we grow and are inspired, when we live to inspire others, Amalek has no power over us.

L'havdil, it reminds me of the trial of Socrates, tried and executed for the subversive act of teaching others and prodding them to think.  You know, the type person who someone with a blue check mark next to their name reports to the proper authorities because they dare to publicly question and thereby cause others to question whatever the current orthodoxy is. The authorities of Athens saw this as rebellion.  The gemara describes Haman approaching Mordechai to tell him that by order of the king he must lead him around and proclaim how great Mordechai is, and what is Mordechai doing?  He is teaching students the halachos of the korban ha'omer (Meg 15). There was a book written a long time ago by two Queens college professors called "Teaching as a Subversive Activity."  By teaching Torah, Mordechai too was "mi'ZERA haYehudim," planting the seeds of rebellion, or subversion -- not political rebellion, but ideological rebellion, a rejection of the hedonistic norms of Shushan society.

R' Akiva was surely one of the greatest teachers of Torah sheba'al peh, a highly subversive activity in the time of Bayis Sheni when the Romans outlawed our religion.  "Ohr ZARU'A la'tzadik u'lyishrei lev simcha," the last letters of the words spell out the name Akiva. 

Perhaps this is being alluded to in the Megillah, when it tells us that Mordechai and Esther establish the holiday of Purim קִיְּמ֣וּ [וְקִבְּל֣וּ] הַיְּהוּדִים֩ ׀ עֲלֵיהֶ֨ם ׀ וְעַל־זַרְעָ֜ם.  "Aleihem v'al ZARAM."  It's all about continuing to plant those seeds that keep Am Yisrael flourishing.  

And Maybe this is also the reason Rama O.C. 695 writes  יש אומרים שיש לאכול מאכל זרעונים , as "zironim" shares the same root as "ZERA."

So to come back to  לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ אַֽחֲרַי֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ לֹ֥א זְרוּעָֽה, the words everyone knows because it's a beautiful song, the next pasuk continues קֹ֤דֶשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לה׳  רֵאשִׁ֖ית תְּבוּאָתֹ֑ה, that we are the true 'reishit," the first fruits of those seeds that got planted, not the pretender 'reishit goyim Amalek," and therefore, כׇּל־אֹכְלָ֣יו יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ רָעָ֛ה תָּבֹ֥א אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם נְאֻם ה׳, we ultimately will overcome and defeat them.