ABSTRACT
Maimonides' philosophical stance shapes his halakhic decision-making through an additional device that has been explored by David Hartman: the idea that halakhic processes contain self-corrective mechanisms to counter potential abuses and to revitalize outmoded laws. Maimonides explicitly addresses the subject of Amalek twice in the Guide. Maimonides describes how the prophet Samuel used the commandment to remember what Amalek did to arouse the people's hatred in order, in turn, to spur them on to war. There is one part that Amalek plays in Maimonides' conception of the war against idolatry. This role emerges in two passages in the course of Maimonides' explanation of how the Torah combats Sabian idolatry through the hukkim and, in particular, the Mosaic sacrifices. The story of Saul's war against Amalek is Maimonides' parable for the greatest failure of all time to defeat idolatry.
