The Netivot Shalom explains that the war with Amalek, although played out on a real battlefield outside Refidim, represents the quintessential eternal battle of good versus evil.   Amalek wished to destroy Bnei Yisroel and the special bond we have with Hashem. They wished to blur the line between good and evil so that the world would be viewed only through the prism of nature and happenstance. Only Bnei Yisroel stood in their way, for their continued existence proved that there was a Creator guarding them supernaturally.

But Bnei Yisroel's own inner weakness made them vulnerable to Amalek's attack. They asked, "Is God within us or not?" This moment of doubt had already blurred the line between absolute truth and falsehood within them, leaving an opening for Amalek to enter. This is the point Netivot Shalom identifies as the crux of the battle with Amalek. It is a battle each of us wages on a daily basis within ourselves. Each of us must overturn the Amalek within ourselves, we must clarify the doubts that we allow to creep in when our faith in Hashem falters.

Hashem gave us a day in which we can upend this demon within us more readily, as we overturned the demon of Haman, the direct descendant of Amalek in his day. And the key to help us in this battle is the unity of our people, a unity that mishlaoch manot and matanot la'evyonim is meant to foster.

How did this line between truth and falsehood, good and evil become so unclear? There was a time after creation when there was absolute clarity, but when the serpent convinced Chava to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of right and wrong, when she and Adam made themselves the arbiters of good and evil rather than Hashem, human fallibility clouded human judgment.

The Tosher Rebbe explores this idea more fully. He traces the path of falsehood from the initial snake to Esav and then to Esav's grandson Amalek and his progeny. Esav was the consummate bearer of falsehood. He asked his father questions with the sole purpose of currying favor with him. He understood his lies fully. But at some point, a liar starts believing his own lies. The liar rationalizes his beliefs and actions until he truly believes that the false path he has chosen is the truly good path. In his arrogance, he assumes that his actions are correct, that he is more entitled to the riches or the prestige or the brilliant children, etc. than his neighbor. His arrogance has planted within him seeds of jealousy and discontent. Instead of being happy with the gifts Hashem has given him, he is then filled with discontent. Esav conceale the Godliness in the world, his hand covered God's immanence, "Yad al kais (kisuy-cover) Kah." We are not the descendants of Esav; we must leave this mindset, build our faith in the Almighty and be grateful for the gift of every breath of life He has given us.

Rav Brazil explains that the consequences of Adam's eating of the Tree of Knowledge were meant to be corrective rather than punitive. For him, "thorns and thistles - kotz vedar-dar - will [the earth] sprout." The dar-dar, posits Rav Brazil, does not refer to the thistles that grow from the earth, making farming more difficult. Rather they refer to the confusion one may have between the daled and the reish, a difference of only a short, thorn-like protrusion from the side of the daled that does not appear on the reish. This ambiguity will cause one to confuse Hashem Elokeinu Hashem EchoD, with lo tishtachavu l'el acheR, confusing the One God with another god. This is the doubt that Amalek brings to the world. His very name equals doubt in gematria, Jewish numerology - AMaLeK=240, and safek=240. The eternal battle within us, continues Rav Brazil, is to recognize the dar-dar, Therefore Hashem maintains this battle with Amalek medor dor, from generatino to geenration. It is also the struggle of our own lives, as we are the descendants of Adam and face the consequences of his sin.

Rav Lugassi in BeYam Derech explains that the goal Mordechai and Esther had in writing the Megillah was specifically to show Hashem's presence in all aspects of the world. They omitted Hashem's name intentionally to show that even when we do not see Hashem's hand through overt miracles, we must still it in the hidden miracles of everyday life.

In the desert, Amalek tried to destroy that concept by waging war on our people. In their mind, Bnei Yisroel was nothing special, certainly no better than they were. While God may have performed miracles for them in Egypt, now, in the real world, natural law would take over and Amalek's superior army would vanquish Israel. They lost the battle, but they succeeded in implanting that moment of doubt in our people in the embryonic stage of our nationhood, when the memory of the open miracles of Mitzraim were fresh in our minds. Without Amalek's attack, we would have internalized this faith and never doubted Hashem's guiding hand.

Our Rabbis ordained that we recite the Megillah instead of Hallel on Purim. For the Megillah itself is a song of praise to Hashem Who orchestrates all events according to His plan. The Megillah is the ultimate paean to Hashem's involvement in humankind and especially in the welfare of our people. It is the greatest rebuttal to the Hamans of the world who view Bnei Yisroel as an insignificant people disconnected from each other and dispersed throughout the world. We are meant to tear away the costumes and masks on Purim, continues Rav Lugassi. Although Hashem's hand may be hidden in the world, we must look past the veil and recognize His presence.