עמלק=240=ספק

Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt— how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when the LORD your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

R. Levi declared: This situation may be compared to a child that is being carried on his father’s shoulders. When he sees something that excites him he calls out: “Father, take me there.” The father carries him to that place, and then to another and finally to a third place, yet the child, on seeing another man approaching them, asks: “Have you seen my father?” His father calls out: “You have been riding on my shoulders, and wherever you wished to go I carried you, yet now you ask ‘Have you seen my father?’” He then put him down. Whereupon a dog rushed at the child and bit him. Similarly, when the Israelites left Egypt, He surrounded them with clouds of glory, and when they wanted bread, He sent them manna, as it is said: And He caused manna to rain upon them for food, and He gave them of the corn of heaven (Ps. 78:24). And when they wanted meat, He gave them quail, as it is stated: They asked and He brought quails (ibid. 105:40). That is why it says: He gave them that which they craved (ibid. 78:29). And though He gave them whatever they demanded, yet they asked: Is the Lord among us or not? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: This is what you have been thinking. Therefore, this dog will bite you. Hence, And Amalek came.

Where is Haman indicated in the Torah? In the verse: Is it [hamin] from the tree?

(11) Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?”

(16) Rabban Gamaliel used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, avoid doubt, and do not make a habit of tithing by guesswork.

When a person follows his own intellect and cleverness, he can fall into many mistakes and pitfalls, and come to great evil, God forbid. There are those who have caused tremendous damage, like the famous outstanding villains who have led the world astray—all on account of their cleverness and intellect. The essence of Judaism is to conduct oneself solely with innocence and simplicity, without any sophistication. A person has to ascertain that God is present in whatever he does, without any concern whatsoever for his own esteem. He should do it only if it brings glory to God; but if not, not. This way he will certainly never stumble. And even when he falls into doubts, God forbid—and one’s descent can be extremely great, may the Merciful One spare us, so that one falls into doubts and heretical thoughts and even questions God—even so, the downfall and descent is for the sake of the ascent [that follows].

For “Ayeh (Where) is the place of His glory?” alludes to the supreme glory of the highest utterance, i.e., the Hidden Utterance/ Bereishit , from where the life-force for these places is drawn. And so, when a person seeks and searches “Ayeh is the place of His glory?”—through this itself he returns and ascends to the supreme glory, the concept of Ayeh, which, by virtue of its great concealment and hiddenness, gives life to those places. Thus now, by having fallen there and consequently sought “Ayeh is the place of His glory?” he re-connects himself to there, and so instills vitality into his downfall and rises up to the highest heights.