Then and Now
It is commonly accepted that we read Parashat Zachor before Purim because Haman was a descendant of Amalek, and Zachor is the commandment upon B'nei Yisrael to “[N]ot forget” (Deuteronomy 25:19) what Amalek did to them. We are also charged with remembering what happened on Purim. Why do we need to remember both things? Additionally, it says in The Scroll of Esther that Haman was an Agagi, or a descendent of the Amaleki king Agag (who fought Saul in Samuel I). Why doesn't the Megillah expressly tell us the connection between Haman and Amalek, thereby not requiring us to read Zachor at all?
When we look at B'nei Yisrael in the desert (which is when the commandment of Zachor was given to them), they would have been what one might call a “fledgeling nation.” They relied on God for almost everything — food, shelter, and protection from their enemies and the harsh desert climate. In comparison, when we look at the Jews in Megillat Esther, they are a nation, albeit in exile. They are able to band together — as a nation — and fend off their enemies, and ultimately save themselves from annihilation.
Perhaps these two passages that we read on Purim are not meant to complement each other, but to be compared to one another. When we look at Zachor, we see a nation that is being given everything by God, and that seems to be one of the underlying themes of the last four books of the Torah: B'nei Yisrael's dependence on God. In comparison, we see that God's name is not mentioned once in the entire Megillah; the Jews were able to fend off their enemies without God's direct intervention. In the Megillah, there is no manna falling from the sky. Perhaps these passages show us the growing and maturation of the Jews as a nation that ultimately became what we are today.
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