Questions on Parshas Zochor to think about and discuss:

1. When is this read?
2. What does it talk about?
3. Why is Parshas Zochor always read the Shabbos of the week before Purim?
4. Why is Amolek singled out as the only nation to be totally annihilated?
5. Can a ger, convert, come from the nation of Amolek?
6. Why do shuls have special readings of Parshas Zochor for women?
7. How is Homon from Amolek?
8. The Jewish nation has the nature of being merciful. Why then is no mercy to be shown to Amolek?
9. Does Parshas Zochor, remembering Amolek, need to take place every year or every twelve months – the difference being in a leap year?
10. How many times is a parsha with Amolek mentioned in the Torah and why pick this reading from Parshas Ki Tseisei?
11. What are the mitzvos of Parshas Zochor?
12. How is Parshas Zochor different to all the other of the four parshious that revolve around the month of Adar?
13. How can we do this mitzva of killing Amolek nowadays as who are they?

Ideas for answers on Parshas Zochor:

1. It is read on the Shabbos before the week when Purim falls.
2. It talks about the obligation to wipe out all memory of Amolek.
3. Based on the possuk – נזכרים ונעשים, we first mention about remembering to wipe out Amolek before doing it in practice in the form of the killing of Homon and ten sons.
4. Amolek was the first nation after the revelation by the Yum Suf to dare go against the Jews, the chosen nation of Hashem. …
5. The Gemora (Gittin  ) brings that descendants of Homon were learning Torah in Bnei Brak. This implies that we can accept Amoleki converts. …
7. When King Shaul was told to destroy Amolek, he left alive Agog, the Amoleki king. From that night, Amolek offspring were conceived and a descendant from this was Homon. …
8. When we realise what Amolek is, then we can understand…
9. Most opinions hold only every year. However, the Chasam Sofer says that in a leap year one should concentrate when hearing the end of Parshas Ki Tseisei in order to fulfil his obligation to remember Amolek every twelve months.
11. The Chinuch (603-605) counts here three mitzvos: To remember what Amolek did to the Jews when they left Mitzrayim; to destroy the descendants of Amolek; to not forget the actions of Amolek.
12. All the other parshious really only apply during the times of the Beis Hamikdosh. The exception is Parshas Zochor that applies still nowadays.
13. Practically speaking we do not since from the times when King Sancherev of Ashur mixed together the other nations there is no one place of the nation of Amolek. We then apply the principle that whoever separated from a nation comes from the majority of nations. Since we do not know for definite who is from Amolek we practically do not do this. However, the mitzva still applies in principle that we must be prepared to kill Amolek should we know who they are for sure.