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Sabbath [of] remembrance' or Shabbat Zachor (Hebrew: שבת זכור) is the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (at the end of Parasha Ki Teitzei), describing the attack on the Jews by Amalek, is recounted. There is a tradition from the Talmud (understood to be implied in the Megillah itself) that Haman, the antagonist of the Purim story, was descended from Amalek. The portion that is read includes a commandment to remember the attack by Amalek, and therefore at this public reading both men and women make a special effort to hear the reading.All Jews are not only required to remember this special date commemorating this ancient tale, but they are also required to seek revenge; i.e. commit genocide of whoever the Sanhedrin has labelled Amalek in our generation. A Jew is obliged and commanded to kill all the men, women, children of Amalek, including dogs and cats. Small animals, kittens and puppies are often killed a fortnight earlier at the Tubishvat celebration - pets are thrown into burning bonfires by Sephardi custom. The customs of Purim (and the preceding Sabbath) are notoriously horrible, detailed by Elliot Horowitz in his Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence. Martin Luther noted that Jews thought of all Christian rulers (who Jews consider to be their oppressors) as modern-day Hamans, and so it was a religious duty to undermine them and seek their downfall. [He also noted that Jews saw Christ as a similar King/Oppressor figure, perhaps because in the Septuagint, Haman is crucified. Bear in mind that the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the unadulterated original Bible text, while the modern Hebrew Bible has been updated many times over the years by Jewish scholars.]


Comment: On 28 Feb 2007, SOTT ran the following item: