B"H

PARSHATH TERUMAH/ZACHOR
By Yitzhak Kolakowski

"Remember what Amalek did to you when you were on the way out from
Mitzrayim.  How he 'korcha' "just happened", cooling you off by the
way.  How he (in his cowardace) smote you from behind, attacking
those who were weakest in the back.  When you were tired and faint,
and he feared not G-d... You should completely blot out Amalek from
under the heaven.  Do not forget!"  (Parshath Zachor)

"Korchah".  There are several different interpretations of "Korchah".
 Some relate it to the Hebrew word "kar", which means "cold".  Others
say it means "just happened".

My dear holy friends, we all know that nothing "just happens".
Many people say there are "coincidences", but many people are wrong.
We know that everything comes from Hashem.  Nothing is an accident.

That cold world of "coincidences" or "just happened" is the world of
Amalek.  We are required to utterly blot out Amalek and everything
having to do with him.  We have to be warm people.  We have to know
everything is from HaShem.

In Parshas Terumah, HaShem tells Moshe Rabbenu (Moses) about how to
make the Mishkan (Tabernacle).  The Mishkan was a portable Beis
HaMikdash (Holy Temple) to be used until the erection of the
permanant one in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).  The purpose of the
Sanctuary was to be a place where we can come close to HaShem.  A
place we need as people so that HaShem should "dwell within us."
There we brought (and will soon bring again) korbanos (offerings) as
a means of coming close to HaShem.

When a person is in the Mikdash, he knows G-d exists.  He knows that
G-d controls everything.  The fire of the mizbeach (altar) dismisses
any of these cold, Amalekite thoughts of "it just happened" , "it was
a coincidence".

We all must build a Mishkan in our hearts.  We must come close to
Hashem through the intense, eternal, holy, and true fires of Ahavath
HaShem (love of G- d), Ahavath Yisrael (love of our fellow Jew), and
Ahavath HaTorah (love of the Torah).  These fires intrinsicly have
within them an intense hatred of Amalek and all which even has a
scent of his cold world.  If we have this fire constantly burning on
the mizbeach of our heart, we will completely eradicate the
coldness of Amalek.  We will never think anything "just happened".
We will always remember that HaShem is in charge of everything.  We
must not forget.

May we soon see the complete, utter, and final defeat of
Amalek; even the annihilation and erasing of all he stands for.  May
the fire of the mizbeach soon not be able to contain itself only in
our hearts, but may it explode and spread back to the heart of
Yerushalayim, and warm the entire world, leaving no trace of coldness
behind.

Gut Shabbos.