Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen tells a wonderful parable: a magnificent, exceptionally beautiful garden surrounded the royal palace. This garden was the apple of the king's eye. He allowed no one to enter it, not even members of his own family.
One day, the king's young son managed to outwit the guards and slip into the garden.
However, a very unpleasant surprise awaited him there: an enormous guard dog...
The dog lunged at him and bit him, drawing blood. The guards rushed to help and rescued the boy. From then on, whenever the king wanted to remind his son that he was forbidden to walk in his private garden, he would say to him: “Remember the dog.” And the boy would lose all desire even to go near the garden…
Similarly, Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen explains, the Almighty warns us so that abandoning the Torah should never even enter our minds.
So that we do not forget, G-d forbid, that the Almighty watches us Himself and knows exactly what we are doing at every moment.
This warning is given to us through the reminder of the war with Amalek and the command not to forget: this calamity befell us only because “their (the Jews') hands had slackened in their hold on the Torah.” And merely recalling that dog's painful bite is enough to remove any sinful thoughts from our hearts!
Translation: Mrs. Leah Shukhman