Shabbat Zachorשַׁבַּת זָכוֹר

Shabbat Zachor (“Sabbath [of] remembrance” שבת זכור) is the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim. Deuteronomy 25:17-19, describing the attack by Amalek, is recounted. There is a tradition from the Talmud that Haman, the antagonist of the Purim story, was descended from Amalek. The portion that is read includes a commandment to remember the attack by Amalek, and therefore at this public reading both men and women make a special effort to hear the reading. Shabbat Zachor is one of the four special Shabbatot (Arba Parshiyot) that lead toward Passover, and it falls on the Shabbat immediately before Purim. Its theme is the Torah's twofold charge: to remember the unprovoked attack Amalek launched on the weak and the stragglers as Israel left Egypt (Exodus 17:8-16), and never to forget it. By reading this passage just before Purim, the day frames the festival as a fresh confrontation with Amalek's spiritual heir. What sets Shabbat Zachor apart from an ordinary maftir is its weight: many halachic authorities regard hearing the Zachor reading as a Torah-level (biblical, d'oraita) obligation, one of the very few public Torah readings treated this way, which is why congregants take special care to be present and to hear every word.

Shabbat Zachor is observed on the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim, always within Adar (Adar II in a Jewish leap year) and typically the Shabbat before 14 Adar, often around 11-13 Adar. Depending on the year it accompanies the weekly portion of Tetzaveh, Tzav, or Vayikra. There is no Israel/Diaspora date difference for Shabbat Zachor itself (unlike Purim, which is observed a day later in walled cities). The chief rite-dependent difference is in the Haftarah's starting verse (see readings).

Two Torah scrolls are taken from the ark: one for the regular weekly portion and a second for the special maftir, Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (3 verses) from the end of Parashat Ki Teitzei, the "Zachor" passage that opens "Zachor et asher asah lecha Amalek" (Remember what Amalek did to you) and closes with "lo tishkach" (do not forget). The Haftarah is from I Samuel 15, recounting King Saul's war against Amalek and his failure to destroy King Agag: Ashkenazim read 15:2-34, while Sephardim begin one verse earlier at 15:1-34. No Megillah is read on Shabbat Zachor itself; the Book of Esther is read on Purim. The readings use standard Torah cantillation (taamei ha-mikra) rather than a special holiday melody like the Eicha trope of Tisha B'Av or the Esther trope of Purim. The signature trope-related custom is at the words "the memory of Amalek," which the reader chants twice to cover both Masoretic vocalizations: once as "zeicher Amalek" (with a tzere) and once as "zecher Amalek" (with a segol). On Parashat Zachor the Ashkenazi order is "zeicher" first, then "zecher" (the order is reversed for Beshalach and Purim).

Because hearing Parashat Zachor is widely treated as a biblical obligation, attendance is strongly emphasized and both men and women make a special effort to be present; many congregations hold an additional reading for anyone who missed the main one. Two Torah scrolls are used, and the reading is ideally given to an experienced, observant reader fluent in pronunciation and cantillation so as to discharge the congregation's obligation. The doubled "zeicher/zecher Amalek" reading is the day's hallmark practice. Sephardic communities prefer to hear it in Sephardi pronunciation and cantillation, ideally from a Sephardi scroll. Falling right before Purim, the reading flows thematically into the festival, reinforcing the tradition that Haman descended from Amalek.