Before us is the final portion of Chavakuk's prayer, from the verse "I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction" until the conclusion of the book. There are two primary approaches to interpreting this chapter: Radak, along with Rashi and the other commentators, reads the verses as a historical overview of the miracles and wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for the Jewish people in the past. Malbim, by contrast, reads everything as a prophecy of the future to come: a continuation of the opening "God comes from Teiman," describing the era of Redemption, in which the Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem His people in a supernatural manner. We will follow primarily the approach of the Malbim, while also citing the words of Radak, Rashi, and Targum.
תַּחַת אָוֶן רָאִיתִי אָהֳלֵי כוּשָׁן, יִרְגְּזוּן יְרִיעוֹת אֶרֶץ מִדְיָן׃ - I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian tremble.
According to Radak, the verse describes the mighty deeds Hashem performed for Israel in the war against Cushan-rishathaim through Othniel ben Kenaz, and in Gideon's war with Midian. Malbim, however, explains that everything refers to the days of the Redemption. The Ten Tribes, who are those who "were exiled in darkness," are located beyond the rivers of Cush and are destined to return, as it says: "From beyond the rivers of Cush, My supplicants, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering" - they will return to the way of Hashem and arrive at the time of Redemption.
And when they are redeemed, ruin will begin for the people of Cush who dwell adjacent to them. This is the meaning of "I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction": when the Ten Tribes experience redemption, the tents of Cush will suffer a downfall. Malbim further adds that the Ten Tribes will pass through the lands of the Ishmaelites, and therefore their war will also be against the Ishmaelites, and as they pass through them, disaster will strike the Ishmaelites.
And why is their land called "the land of Midian"? Because the Ishmaelites are also referred to as Midianites. We find this in the sale of Yosef: "Midianite men passed by... and they sold Yosef to the Ishmaelites," and later, "And the Medanites sold him into Egypt." A well-known question discussed by commentators is: after they sold him to the Ishmaelites, the text should have said that the Ishmaelites sold him, not the Medanites. This indicates, Malbim explains, that Ishmaelites are called Midianites. We likewise find in the Book of Shoftim that these Midianites are called Ishmaelites. Thus, the prophet's intention is: the lands of the descendants of Ishmael, who are the Midianites, will tremble when the Ten Tribes wage war against them. And the terms "curtains" and "tents" refer to their dwelling style, as tent-dwellers like the Bedouins, whose tent curtains serve as their homes.
הֲבִנְהָרִים חָרָה ה', אִם בַּנְּהָרִים אַפֶּךָ, אִם בַּיָּם עֶבְרָתֶךָ, כִּי תִרְכַּב עַל סוּסֶיךָ מַרְכְּבֹתֶיךָ יְשׁוּעָה׃ - Was Hashem angry with the rivers? Was Your wrath against the rivers, or Your fury against the sea, that You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots of salvation?
This verse is familiar to the Yemenite community from the Hoshanot. In most communities, they recite "For Your sake, our God; for Your sake, our Creator; for Your sake, Mighty of the mighty," and the alphabetical order stops at the letter Kaf. Rav Saadia Gaon continued past the letter Kaf all the way to Tav, and the only community that maintains Rav Saadia Gaon's text are the Yemenite Jews. Under the letter Mem, they say: "For Your sake, He Who stills the roaring of the seas, Who was wrathful against the rivers." "He Who stills the roaring of the seas" means that Hashem silences the uproar of the seas, which represent the nations raging like the sea; and "Who was wrathful against the rivers" is based on our verse, with the meaning we will explain shortly.
Malbim explains that the prophet depicts two opposite realities here: wherever the Jewish people pass, the seas and rivers dry up and turn into dry land - just as the sea split when they left Egypt, and the Jordan was cut off when they entered the Land. This is the theme of verses 8-9. On the other hand, in all the places where the Ishmaelites dwell, the rivers on the contrary raise their roar, the waters surge and cover the mountains, sweeping everything away, which is described from verse 10 onward.
The word "charah" here carries a dual meaning: both an expression of desolation and drying up, and an expression of wrath. That is to say: as it were, Hashem's wrath burned against the rivers and dried them up. We find a similar idea in Yeshayahu 11: "Hashem will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and wave His hand over the river with the strength of His wind, striking it into seven streams, and let men cross dry-shod" - Hashem dries up the streams and leads His people across them. Concerning this, the prophet asks: Was it because His wrath burned against the rivers that He dried them up? No! The reason is: "That You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots of salvation." The prophet employs personification here: salvation is, as it were, a living entity riding upon Hashem's horses and chariots, galloping onward to deliver us. And when salvation arrives - "You split the earth with rivers" - the earth cleaves the rivers into sections, creating a path and crossing point for the redeemed.
עֶרְיָה תֵעוֹר קַשְׁתֶּךָ, שְׁבֻעוֹת מַטּוֹת אֹמֶר סֶלָה, נְהָרוֹת תְּבַקַּע אָרֶץ׃ - Your bow is made bare and awakened, the oaths to the tribes are a steadfast word, Selah; You split the earth with rivers.
Having mentioned the drying up of the seas and rivers, which represents the subjugation of the power of water, the prophet is reminded of the imagery of the rainbow, which is likewise meant to subdue the power of water. When a deluge is due to come and sweep over the earth, the rainbow in the cloud is what guarantees that the waters will be silenced. Regarding this, the prophet remarks parenthetically: "Your bow is made bare and awakened" - Hashem's bow is awakened and revealed over the waters to subdue them. "Eryah" (bareness) denotes revelation and exposure, as in "naked and bare" (arom ve'eryah).
Yet here, this is not the ordinary rainbow that recalls the oath that a flood will never come again, as it says, "And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living soul." Rather, this is a bow that recalls another oath: the oath that the Holy One, blessed be He, swore to the tribes that He would redeem them at the end of days. Indeed, these two oaths are explicitly compared to one another in the prophets: "For this is to Me as the waters of Noah, as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more pass over the earth, so have I sworn not to be wroth with you nor to rebuke you." This is the meaning of "the oaths to the tribes" (shevuot matot) - the oath that Hashem swore to the matot, the tribes, to redeem them and rebuke them no more. The bow will serve as a reminder of that oath, and through this it is guaranteed that you will be redeemed, and you will not have to wade through waters and rivers; rather, they will split before you.
Radak explains in his own way: just as Scripture compared the great hand Hashem displayed in Egypt to a rider on a horse, so too it compared Him to an archer wielding a bow, waging war against the nations. He likewise interprets "eryah" as an expression of uncovering: Your arm was revealed against them to take vengeance upon the enemies.
רָאוּךָ יָחִילוּ הָרִים, זֶרֶם מַיִם עָבָר, נָתַן תְּהוֹם קוֹלוֹ, רוֹם יָדֵיהוּ נָשָׂא׃ - The mountains saw You and trembled, a torrent of water swept through; the deep uttered its voice and lifted its hands on high.
The Targum explains: when You were revealed upon Mount Sinai, the mountains saw Your glory and trembled; the rain clouds passed over; the deep lifted up its voice; and the hosts of heaven marveled and stood still.
Rashi, like Radak, interprets the verse as referring to the past: "The mountains saw You and trembled" - this refers to the streams of Arnon, where the mountains closed together and collided, crushing in a pincer movement the nations who were hiding in the caves. "A torrent of water swept through" - this refers to the crossing of the Jordan, where the waters were cut off: the waters flowing down toward the lower reaches of the river continued and passed on, while the upstream waters rose and stood in a single heap, as explained in the Book of Joshua. "The deep uttered its voice" - the inhabitants of the earth praised Him; "lifted its hands on high" - the heavenly hosts gave thanks to Hashem, may He be blessed.
Yet the Malbim, in his usual manner, directs all of this toward the future. The Holy One, blessed be He, will dry up the streams and rivers for us to cross, yet He will bring that very same element of water upon the nations to flood them. Here the prophet describes how the waters will surge upward to ascend the mountaintops to take vengeance on the nations, until the element of earth shudders and cowers before the element of water. "The mountains saw You and trembled" - an expression of trepidation and shaking, as the mountains tremble before the waters surging up over them. "A torrent of water swept through, the deep uttered its voice" - the Malbim depicts the deep as possessing voice and speech, shouting and commanding the torrent of water by its decree to surge and wash away. We already find such imagery: "Deep calls to deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have passed over me." In accordance with the command of the deep, the torrent lifts its hands on high - "lifted its hands on high" - climbing even onto the mountains. Thus you see: where Israel crosses, the waters part before them; yet toward the nations, the waters overpower them.
שֶׁמֶשׁ יָרֵחַ עָמַד זְבֻלָה, לְאוֹר חִצֶּיךָ יְהַלֵּכוּ, לְנֹגַהּ בְּרַק חֲנִיתֶךָ׃ - Sun and moon stood in their abode; at the light of Your arrows they walk, at the shining of Your glittering spear.
This verse is widely known, as it is quoted in connection with the dispute of Korach. It is taught that the sun and moon refused to shine and refused to serve until the Holy One, blessed be He, executed judgment upon Korach and exacted retribution from him for the honor of Amram's son. The Holy One, blessed be He, confronted them and said: For My honor you did not protest, yet for the honor of flesh and blood you protest? Every single day sun-worshipers bow down to the sun and moon, and you never took a sick day, nor did you declare a strike, not even a work-to-rule slowdown; yet suddenly when they rise up against Moshe you declare a strike? It is further related that the Holy One, blessed be He, figuratively shot arrows at them to compel them to go out and shine, and this is the meaning of "sun and moon stood in their abode." Yet the Midrash takes the verse out of its plain context, as is the way of Midrash, whereas we will study the verse within its context.
The Malbim explains: in the war that the Holy One, blessed be He, will wage in the future against the enemies, the sun and the moon will stand still in their abode just as in the days of Yehoshua, and hailstones will also fall, just as they fell upon the Canaanites. It has already been cited that those very stones are still suspended in the heavens, waiting for the War of Gog to fall upon the enemies. "He sent forth His arrows and scattered them, shot forth lightnings and routed them" - and this is "the lightning of Your spear."
Yet there is a fundamental difference between the sun standing still in the days of Yehoshua and its standing still then. In the days of Yehoshua, the sun stood still so that Israel would have time to finish the battle, as it says, "Sun, stand still at Givon... until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies" - we needed an extension of the day to complete the work. But in the future to come, they will not walk by the light of the sun and moon at all, but rather "at the light of Your arrows they walk." That is, the sun, the moon, and the entire host of heaven will not operate according to their usual pattern. The victory will be neither earthly nor material: when the sun, moon, and stars function in their normal order, divine influence descends through the natural system, through the celestial bodies through which all influences descend. Here, it will be far above this - the hand of Hashem Himself, without intermediaries and without the coarse forces of nature: "the battle is Hashem's."
And if the sun and moon stand still, by what shall we walk? "At the light of Your arrows" - the arrows that shoot forth from Him, blessed be He, and "at the radiance of the lightning of Your spear." The Malbim has already explained to us several times that nogah (radiance) is reflected light rather than direct light, like the glow of the moon that receives its light from the sun. Even the reflected light from the arrows and the spear will suffice to illuminate our path. All of this expresses that the war will be supernatural, purely from Him, blessed be He.
The Radak applies this verse as well to history, to the Exodus from Egypt: Israel walked at night while the Egyptians pursued them, pursuing by the light of the lightning and hailstones that the Holy One, blessed be He, hurled at them as they fled from the Children of Israel. The lightning flashes are Hashem's arrows and His spear, and the enemies were struck by them and walked by their light. And should you ask, where is lightning mentioned there? The Radak replies: hailstones do not fall without lightning; furthermore, hailstones are white and brilliant, emitting light by night and day. The battle then took place at night, resulting in a miracle within a miracle, for Hashem illuminated their way through those shining hailstones.
בְּזַעַם תִּצְעַד אָרֶץ, בְּאַף תָּדוּשׁ גּוֹיִם׃ - In fury You march through the earth, in wrath You thresh nations.
Because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not ride to save in a physical manner, but rather He Himself, as it were, marches through the earth in fury - the battle is not conducted naturally, but with the attribute of strict justice. "In wrath You thresh nations" - in His anger He will also punish the sinners. The Malbim explains that the term za'am (fury) is generally linked to death, curse, and punishment, as in: "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I rage where Hashem has not raged?" Thus He will march through the earth with fury and punishment, and in wrath He will punish the sinners.
יָצָאתָ לְיֵשַׁע עַמֶּךָ, לְיֵשַׁע אֶת מְשִׁיחֶךָ, מָחַצְתָּ רֹּאשׁ מִבֵּית רָשָׁע, עָרוֹת יְסוֹד עַד צַוָּאר סֶלָה׃ - You go forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed; You crush the head from the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation unto the neck, Selah.
This is a familiar verse, customarily recited when opening the Ark on the High Holidays, and by way of homiletic interpretation it alludes to crushing the forces of impurity stemming from the blemish of the covenant - "laying bare the foundation (yesod)," referring to the spiritual attribute of Yesod. But we will study the literal meaning.
The Malbim says: these words refer to the time of the Redemption. When You bring the people of Israel out to salvation and the kingdom of King Mashiach is revealed, Mashiach will fight his battles and Hashem will be with him and save him. And then, "You crush the head from the house of the wicked." The Malbim notes precisely: machatz denotes a small blow, a slight wound, yet this small blow will "lay bare the foundation unto the neck" - it will undermine and uproot the foundation, namely the skull and the brain, all the way to the neck. Arot is an expression of destruction and razing, as in "Raze it, raze it, down to its very foundation," and "The broad walls of Babylon... shall be utterly demolished." That is to say, He will strike the head of the enemies so thoroughly that they will never again be able to raise their head against the Jewish people.
נָקַבְתָּ בְמַטָּיו רֹאשׁ פְּרָזָו, יִסְעֲרוּ לַהֲפִיצֵנִי, עֲלִיצֻתָם כְּמוֹ לֶאֱכֹל עָנִי בַּמִּסְתָּר׃ - You pierced with his own rods the head of his hordes; they stormed out to scatter me, their jubilation was like devouring a pauper in secret.
Here, according to the Malbim, the prophet describes the third part: what the Jewish people endured throughout the exile, the troubles and severe hardships, the raging waters that washed over us. This manifested in two ways. The first way was when the nations gathered to wipe out the Jewish people on a collective scale, slaughtering them everywhere with cruel and gruesome deaths. The Malbim does not elaborate on the Crusades, but he does elaborate on "the religion of Muhammad by the sword." It is known that the Jewish people suffered twice: once during the Crusades waged by the Christians, who marched from place to place to impose their faith, killing anyone who refused to accept it; and a second time in the campaigns of Muhammad's followers, who declared that the law of Muhammad is by the sword - whoever refuses his religion must be slaughtered. This did not start with ISIS; the Muslims have been so "sympathetic" like this for thirteen hundred years, and their way is hardly new.
Yet there were also periods without mass persecutions, and yet individual persecutions persisted: they consumed them relentlessly in secret, seizing their property and money. Both forms appear in the verse. "Nakavta" (You pierced / specified) - from the language of explicit pronouncement, as in "which the mouth of Hashem will designate (yikavenu)" and "and he blasphemed (vayikov)... the Name"; Rashi explains that one who nokeiv specifies something explicitly. That is: what You decreed and pronounced. "Be-matav rosh perazav" (with his own rods the head of his hordes) - when the nations extended the flanks of their armies, and their hordes from unwalled towns spread out to strike the Jewish people, march against Jerusalem, and conquer the Land, whether during the Islamic conquests or the Christian Crusades. This was the decree You specified: "yis'aru la-hafizeni" - that they would storm against the Jewish people and their land to expel them and destroy them.
Then the prophet transitions to the second condition, where they could not march forth as vast hordes. The desire to destroy is ever-present, but they were not always able to carry it out as a multitude, which did not stop them from perpetrating individual acts: "Alitzutam kemo le'echol ani ba-mistor" - "their jubilation was like devouring a pauper in secret." What brought them joy? If they managed to murder a single Jew in hiding. How chillingly this describes our reality today. Whoever recalls the incident in France, where a Jew was randomly abducted to an apartment and murdered there - what was that about? "Their jubilation was like devouring a pauper in secret." They rejoice if they succeed in murdering even one Jew, even in secret. Thus, during eras when they could not destroy the community as a whole, they did not hold back from doing so to the individual.
דָּרַכְתָּ בַיָּם סוּסֶיךָ, חֹמֶר מַיִם רַבִּים׃ - You trampled through the sea with Your horses, through the surge of mighty waters.
During that era, "You trampled through the sea with Your horses" - yet the sea did not split as in days of old; on the contrary, there was "chomer mayim rabbim" (a surge of mighty waters). The Malbim cites several explanations for the word chomer: First, as an expression of boiling or foaming, as in "its waters foam (yechmeru)", where the waters churn up foam. Second, that the rush of water churns up mud and clay (chomer). Third, an expression of gathering in heaps, as in "they piled them into heaps upon heaps (chomarim chomarim)", meaning the waters gather and amass. Broadly speaking, the underlying theme is the same: the sea is churning and tempestuous. The waters surge high and do not yield before the awe of Hashem, but come to sweep away the Jewish people - the exact opposite of the Redemption, where the sea split and the waters dried up before Israel. So too will it be during the war of Gog and Magog, which will be like mighty waters that do not rest from their fury, but roar and foam to swallow and destroy the Jewish people. Thus, the prophet is addressing both the eras when individuals rose against us and the eras when vast hordes came against us.
שָׁמַעְתִּי וַתִּרְגַּז בִּטְנִי, לְקוֹל צָלְלוּ שְׂפָתַי, יָבוֹא רָקָב בַּעֲצָמַי וְתַחְתַּי אֶרְגָּז, אֲשֶׁר אָנוּחַ לְיוֹם צָרָה, לַעֲלוֹת לְעַם יְגוּדֶנּוּ׃ - I heard and my innards trembled; at the sound, my lips quivered; rot entered my bones, and I trembled where I stood; that I might rest on the day of distress, when he ascends against the nation to attack it.
The Malbim reorganizes the verse: "I heard and my innards trembled, rot entered my bones and I trembled where I stood - at the sound my lips quivered, that I might rest on the day of distress." He explains: Israel had a received tradition that the Redemption comes only through suffering, through the birth pangs of Mashiach (chevlei Mashiach). Not without reason are they called "birth pangs of Mashiach," and not without reason does the prophet compare them to a woman in labor when her contractions begin. For just as with labor pains, as the pangs and agony intensify and grow closer together, we know that the birth is near - at first slight pain, then the pain steadily escalates, and when the woman in labor is crying out and screaming, we know that very soon another sound will be heard, the cry of the newborn - so too they understood that the troubles, persecutions, suffering, and decrees of extermination are like labor pains: a sign that the Redemption is near and salvation is right at the door.
It turns out that the troubles themselves instill hope in them, granting them patience and trust. This is the meaning of "le-kol tzalelu sefatai anoo'ach le-yom tzarah": tzalelu denotes speech that rings in the ears; the people murmur with their lips and say - a time will come when I will find rest from exile, for the distress itself is the herald of rest and Redemption, just as labor contractions testify that birth is imminent. And the distress itself, says the Malbim, comes so that the nations will gather into troops upon troops and assemble for the war of Gog and Magog - "la'alot le'am yegudenu" (to ascend against the nation that bands against him) - and upon them the distress will fall, while I shall rest. The distress will turn around: for the nations there will be destruction, while for us there will be relief and redemption. And this is "I heard... and my innards trembled, and rot entered my bones" - that the stomach and all the limbs tremble at this sound ringing in the ears: that redemption can only come through distress.
כִּי תְאֵנָה לֹא תִפְרָח וְאֵין יְבוּל בַּגְּפָנִים, כִּחֵשׁ מַעֲשֵׂה זַיִת וּשְׁדֵמוֹת לֹא עָשָׂה אֹכֶל, גָּזַר מִמִּכְלָה צֹאן וְאֵין בָּקָר בָּרְפָתִים׃ - For the fig tree shall not blossom, and there shall be no yield on the vines; the produce of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls.
This, too, the Malbim explains, is part of what the quivering lips of the nation will say. The people say: When we see that the entire world is desolate and everything is ruined, it is a sign that one should anticipate salvation. In the words of Chazal, in the generation in which the Son of David comes, many troubles will be renewed, the vine will not yield its fruit, and there will be famine and widespread suffering in the land. When you see that the fig tree does not blossom, that there is no yield on the vines, that the olive withholds its strength and yields nothing, and that the fields fail to produce food; when you see that the flock is cut off from the fold - the enclosure where the sheep are kept - and there is no cattle in the stalls; when you see that everything is depleted and gone, both the produce of the fields and the livestock - that itself is the sign of the redemption. Thus will speak those whose lips quivered.
וַאֲנִי בַּה' אֶעְלוֹזָה, אָגִילָה בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי׃ - Yet I will exult in Hashem, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The prophet declares: Then the power of Hashem will awaken, and then a new rejoicing (*gilah*) will awaken over His special providence upon me. The Malbim analyzes the precise difference between the two terms. *La'aloz* denotes outward celebration expressed in action, such as dancing, as in the phrase "lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult." By contrast, *simchah* and *gilah* are feelings felt within the heart. And what is the difference between *simchah* and *gilah*? *Simchah* is the regular, steady, and constant joy, whereas *gilah* is experienced when something new occurs - when a distinct, extraordinary reason for rejoicing arises.
A parallel distinction exists between the Divine Names: "Hashem" refers to His universal sovereignty, ruling over the entire world, while "the God of my salvation" refers to His personal providence (*hashgachah pratit*), saving me specifically. Accordingly: "Yet I will exult in Hashem" - when we witness the governance of the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed over the entire world and all humanity acknowledges His kingship, there will be outward celebration, dancing, and joy: "Let every creature know that You have created it, and let every formed being understand that You have formed it, and let all who have breath in their nostrils say: Hashem, the God of Israel, is King, and His kingdom rules over all." Rav Yerucham of Mir notes that even if there were a single drunken gentile far off in Rwanda who did not recognize the Holy One, blessed be He, that would represent, as it were, an absence in the completeness of His kingdom. "For they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" - meaning all who will remain. At all events, we see that the ultimate purpose is the complete knowledge of Hashem.
"I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" - beyond that universal joy, there will be a special *gilah*, a renewed joy over the fact that Hashem saves me individually. The nations of the world are like stepchildren, whereas we are "children to Hashem, your God." Over this there will be a distinctive joy, an awakening of *gilah* inspired by the miracles the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for us from time to time.
Targum Yonatan interprets "the fig tree shall not blossom" as referring allegorically to the foreign empires: the kingdom of Babylon will not endure and will no longer exercise dominion over Israel; the kings of Media will be slain; the mighty idolaters will not succeed in ruling over us; and the Romans will be destroyed and will no longer levy tribute from Jerusalem. In other words, all foreign rule over the Jewish people will come to an end.
The Radak follows this line of interpretation: the verse refers to the nations that will assemble against Jerusalem in the days of Gog and Magog. They will not succeed in their war against Israel, but will perish there, while those who escape will be stricken in their flesh, as it is written: "...their flesh shall rot away... and their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths." This will stand as a sign to all the nations: when they see what befell those who came to wage war against Jerusalem, they will think twice.
It is noted in sacred texts that when Russia passes through the Dardanelles Straits toward Turkey, know that the war of Gog and Magog is near. And even without that, the winds of war are already felt: Russia threatens to arm Syria with advanced anti-aircraft systems, Israel warns that it will destroy them, and Russia cautions that the result would be catastrophic; Tehran announces that retaliation for strikes is imminent. Even when efforts are made to soothe tensions, it is evident that matters are heating up. What does this mean for each of us? It means that now is the time to recalculate our course, the time to do teshuvah. When Mashiach arrives, the opportunity closes; that moment captures the final reality, and changes can no longer be made. The birth pangs of Mashiach are near, and who will be spared? Those who cling to Torah and acts of loving-kindness. Whoever participates in Torah classes, whoever performs acts of chesed - therein lies his salvation.
ה' אֲדֹנָי חֵילִי, וַיָּשֶׂם רַגְלַי כָּאַיָּלוֹת, וְעַל בָּמוֹתַי יַדְרִכֵנִי, לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹתָי׃ - Hashem God is my strength; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and causes me to stride upon my high places, to the conductor with my songs.
The Malbim explains: "Hashem God is my strength" - Hashem is my power. "He makes my feet like hinds" - He will make my feet swift like hinds, so that I will be able to run quickly to Eretz Yisrael, which represents the tidings of redemption. "And causes me to stride upon my high places" - this refers to Mount Zion and Eretz Yisrael, which are elevated, meaning that Hashem will bring me to tread upon a lofty place, upon the land that is higher than all other lands. "To the conductor with my songs" - and there, in the Beis HaMikdash, I will recite songs and praises before Him. May Hashem grant that we merit to witness the complete redemption speedily.
In this part of Chavakuk's prayer, the prophet portrays, according to the Malbim, the order of the future redemption: the return of the Ten Tribes and the downfall of the tents of Cush and the curtains of the land of Midian; the drying up of rivers before the redeemed and their overflowing upon the nations; the bow that recalls the oath to the tribes; the standing still of the sun and the moon as a sign that the war will be supernatural and without intermediate means; the crushing of the head of the house of the wicked; and contrasting with these, the description of the tribulations of exile - both for the masses and for individuals. The tradition held by Israel is that redemption comes only through birth pangs, and therefore it is specifically the troubles and the desolation of the world that serve as a sign that salvation is near. To this the prophet sets his seal: "Yet I will exult in Hashem" - exultation over the revelation of His kingship throughout the entire world; "I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" - a unique joy over His individual Providence upon us; and Hashem will make our feet like hinds to ascend to the Land and sing before Him in the Beis HaMikdash. Completed and concluded is Sefer Chavakuk.