I visited the Lion Park in South Africa this week with my family, a place included in Newsweek’s top 100 tourist destinations worldwide, and we were not disappointed.
We saw all kinds of lions, but the real treat was holding the lion cubs. Their trainer, Sapi, showed them to us, and helped us handle them safely. What absolutely gorgeous creatures they are!
Although they were only four months old, the cubs were pretty big, and their claws and teeth quite developed. As held one of the cubs, he gave me a lick, and that’s when I felt the roughness of his tongue. It was rougher than sandpaper, which surprised me. But the handler explained that their tongues are covered with hard, sharp papillae to help them scrape meat from the bones of the prey they kill and eat.
The trainer also showed us how sharp the lion cubs’ claws are even at the young age of four months—already sharp enough to be deadly. These African lions are the largest of Africa’s big cats. And the handler told us how constantly aware and vigilant he has to be, because of the animal’s killer instincts. Even though he has raised these cubs since birth, and will continue to care for them as they age and mature, the cats will never lose that killer instinct, even towards their trainers. They must be handled with caution and awareness.
By the age of six months, they can already hunt and kill on their own.
In this week’s Torah portion, G-d instructs us to obliterate the nation of Amalek—the first people to attack us as we left Egypt. Our Chassidic masters explain that Amalek refers to doubt. It is the icy voice that attempts to inculcate us with apathy and immunize us against passion and inspiration. When we get excited about spirituality, Amalek is the doubt that creeps us and gets us to “cool off.” This Amalek – this doubt – is what we need to obliterate.
The very first chapter of the Code of Jewish Law tells us “One should strengthen himself like a lion to get up in the morning to serve his creator.” 
When we get up in the morning, and our Amalek—doubt—tempts us to sleep in, skip prayers, etc., we need to pounce like an African killer lion.
When hunting, Lions display incredible patience. They will wait hours for their pray, quietly stalking and watching the animals’ every move.
We can learn from that patience. We may need to fight with our Amalek day in and day out, but with patience and determination, we will prevail.
With Rosh Hashanah just three weeks away, now is a good time to take a closer look at the lion, and try to emulate him. Be strong, conquer our doubt, and when the High Holidays arrive, we will be able to stand in front of G-d with a clean slate.