Psalm 85 deals with the return to Zion following the Babylonian exile - a return that was not a complete redemption. Israel returned to their land but remained under the rule of Cyrus, and what transpired came about through human agency rather than through an absolute, heavenly redemption. In the opening verses, the deficiencies of this return were described: "Hashem, You favored Your land" - solely through the attribute of mercy; "You returned the captivity of Jacob" - an incomplete return; "You forgave the iniquity of Your people, You covered all their sin" - bearing and concealing, but not erasing. From this point forward the petition begins, and the Malbim demonstrates how each request corresponds precisely to one of these deficiencies.
שׁוּבֵנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵנוּ וְהָפֵר כַּעַסְךָ עִמָּנוּ׃ - Return us, O God of our salvation, and annul Your anger with us.
The Radak explains: "God of our salvation" - salvation depends solely on You; from You alone will salvation come, and therefore You are called the God of our salvation. "And annul Your anger" - that very anger which has persisted until now, annul and eradicate it.
The Malbim identifies three petitions here. The first corresponds to "You returned the captivity of Jacob" - an incomplete return, and according to the written form (kethiv) *shevut*, implying that it was Cyrus who returned us rather than the Holy One, blessed be He. Regarding this, the psalmist pleads: "Return us" - Master of the Universe, return us Yourself, in a complete return that is not dependent upon flesh and blood.
The second petition corresponds to "Hashem, You favored Your land," which stemmed from the attribute of mercy. Yet there is a limitation with mercy: if I am deemed worthy of mercy, I receive it, but if Hashem chooses not to, He will not grant mercy. We desire that redemption come through the attribute of justice as well. Therefore, he says "God of our salvation" - the name *Elohim* represents the attribute of strict justice: let the return be brought about through the aspect of *Elohim*, so that even strict justice will agree to it.
The third petition corresponds to "You forgave the iniquity of Your people, You covered all their sin": the iniquity still exists, merely borne and covered. As long as the sin exists, the anger is not annulled. The anger remains, but the Holy One, blessed be He, does not act upon it or carry it out, because He is temporarily bearing the iniquity. When is anger truly annulled? Only when the sin is completely eradicated. Therefore, he pleads: "And annul Your anger with us" - let the forgiveness be absolute, an actual erasure, leaving no remnant whatsoever of that anger.
הַלְעוֹלָם תֶּאֱנַף בָּנוּ תִּמְשֹׁךְ אַפְּךָ לְדֹר וָדֹר׃ - Will You be angry with us forever? Will You extend Your anger to all generations?
The psalmist argues that the anger must inevitably dissipate at some point in time - in the ultimate, complete redemption, anger will cease entirely. Hence his question. The Malbim clarifies the distinction between the terms: *af* denotes anger expressed through punishment, the concept of burning wrath that strikes, consumes, and destroys the Temple. *Anaf*, by contrast, indicates that the wrath (*af*) is brought to an end through the punishment; that is, the punishment has settled the account and no anger remains.
Punishment stemming from *af* is not necessarily complete and can be administered piecemeal: "And on the day I reckon, I will reckon upon them" - anger that does not finalize the account, anger paid in installments. This is comparable to someone sentenced to one hundred lashes who is given one lash, leaving the remainder for future days. In contrast, the punishment stemming from *anaf* is an all-inclusive punishment that leaves no remnant behind, as it exhausts the wrath completely.
And there is another nuance: regarding "will You be angry" (te'enaf), it says "forever" (ha-le'olam), whereas regarding "will You extend Your anger" (timshoch apecha), it says "from generation to generation" (le-dor va-dor). The Malbim explains in several places that le'olam refers to indivisible, eternal time - not merely "a long time," for a long time is insignificant compared to eternity, but time without any boundary at all. In contrast, le-dor va-dor refers to an extended duration divided into discrete units: one generation and then another.
Accordingly: if You exhaust the entire punishment upon us all at once, can it be that "You will be angry forever"? After all, the exhaustion of wrath means that from that point onward there is no further anger, and this cannot pertain to eternity; rather, it must come to an end somewhere. And if You were to say that You do not punish all at once, but little by little, in installments - which is the aspect of wrath that You "extend" - will You then "extend Your anger from generation to generation," endlessly? Surely it must eventually be exhausted in some generation, and not continue until the end of all generations! If so, Master of the Universe, why do the troubles persist without end? Why do You not bring us redemption now and bring the exile to a close?
הֲלֹא אַתָּה תָּשׁוּב תְּחַיֵּנוּ וְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂמְחוּ בָךְ׃ - Will You not return and revive us, that Your people may rejoice in You?
If You are destined to return and revive us, it is impossible that You would bring utter destruction upon us, nor is it possible that You will "be angry forever" - for there is a promise that the people of Israel will never be eradicated. The Malbim explains: even if we compare the collective body of the Jewish nation in its exile to dry bones, to dead corpses, of which an observer would say that nothing will remain - You are destined to return and revive this collective body, as it says, "Behold, I will open your graves." Anyone looking upon the Jewish people after the Holocaust in Europe, or after harrowing periods of exile, would have asked: What hope is there for their survival? And yet, they endure.
Like the phoenix (chol) in the Midrash, the Jewish people wane and then rise again. During the seventy years of the Babylonian exile, they reached the lowest depths, even marrying foreign women; yet then came the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, and they rose once more. For this reason, the nations are compared to the sun, while Israel is compared to the moon. The nations are in a static and constant state; Israel is like the moon - revealed and concealed, rising and falling, and rising once again. This is what we recite in Birkat HaLevanah, that "they are destined to renew themselves like her": even though at the end of the month the moon appears completely gone, it shines anew and renews its days as of old. If so, it is impossible that "You will be angry with us forever," for "You will return and revive us"; nor is it possible that "You will extend Your anger from generation to generation," for "Your people may rejoice in You" - we are confident that You will restore our captivity and that we will rejoice in You with complete joy.
הַרְאֵנוּ יְהֹוָה חַסְדֶּךָ וְיֶשְׁעֲךָ תִּתֶּן לָנוּ׃ - Show us Your kindness, Hashem, and grant us Your salvation.
The Psalmist asks, explains the Malbim, that this eternal salvation occur in our very days: if You will not be angry forever, and the matter will not drag on from generation to generation, and You are destined to redeem us - why not now, in our generation? And let this not be a temporary redemption or a fleeting rescue born of the arousal of the attribute of mercy (rachamim), but an enduring redemption, a true and complete redemption, brought about through Your kindness (chesed).
What is the difference between chesed (kindness) and rachamim (mercy)? The Malbim explains: an essential condition of chesed is that it never ends. Mercy is temporary - today one has mercy on you, and tomorrow perhaps not; for mercy and all the other attributes depend on the recipient. Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger - all these function according to the state and actions of the recipient, based on whether he is worthy and deserving. But chesed is an outpouring of the Holy One, Blessed be He, that is independent of the recipient. Therefore the verse states, "And with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you" - a mercy that endures forever and is never revoked, because it is rooted in the Creator's kindness rather than our own merits.
Likewise, "and grant us Your salvation" (ve-yish'acha titten lanu) means that salvation should not be determined by our deeds and efforts, for then it would be termed "our salvation" (yish'enu), but rather "Your salvation": according to the salvation that is in Your power, inherent in Your nature and Your attributes. Such salvation is an eternal salvation rather than a temporary one, for whatever depends on us fluctuates according to our standing - at times we are worthy and at times we are not - whereas the salvation of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is like His chesed: just as He does not change, so too His kindness and salvation do not change. Therefore, it is fitting that You spare us, have mercy upon us, and grant us grace according to Your attributes and not according to our deeds, so that the redemption may be an everlasting redemption.
The Radak notes on the wording yish'acha that many mistakenly read, "yeshu'atcha titten lanu," which is incorrect; the text reads yish'acha. He explains that this presents no difficulty, just as we find "and do not chastise me in Your wrath" alongside the phrasing "do not rebuke me in Your anger," where even if another phrasing could have been used, this was the wording written - so too here, yish'acha is entirely legitimate grammar.
In the sefer Tehillot Maharitz, the verse "Show us, Hashem, Your lovingkindness" is explained based on the words of Chazal: anyone who is saved in the merit of others does not merit to see the downfall of his enemy, while one who is saved through his own merit does merit to see the downfall of his enemy. This is why Lot was warned, "Do not look behind you" - had you been worthy and upright on your own, you would have been permitted to look; but since you are not worthy on your own account, you have no right to look upon their downfall. Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt, meaning she joined together with them. But one who possesses merits of his own merits to see the downfall of the wicked.
And this is the meaning of "Show us, Hashem, Your lovingkindness": grant that we may see with our own eyes the kindnesses You perform for us. And when will we merit this? When "You grant us Your salvation" - when the salvation comes in our own merit and not through the merit of others. "To us" - to us as worthy and upright individuals, and then we will be able to see the great kindnesses; but if the salvation comes through the power of another, we will not merit to see Your lovingkindness or the downfall of our enemies.
A similar idea is explained in the Haggadah of the Maharitz on the verse, "He who walks along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, will surely come with joy, bearing his sheaves." In the future to come, at the time of the Redemption, people will merit to see all the miracles and wonders in the downfall of the wicked - but only those who prepared merits for themselves on their own account. Those redeemed solely in the merit of their ancestors will not merit to see the downfall of the wicked. This is the meaning of "He who walks along weeping, carrying the bag [lineage] of seed": anyone whose sole merit is the "drawing of seed" - that he descends from the seed of so-and-so, from a certain Rebbe, from a certain Rav, but has no merit of his own - will walk along weeping with regret, for he will not merit to see the downfall of the enemies. But "he will surely come with joy, bearing his sheaves" - this refers to one who carries his own sheaves, the mitzvot and good deeds that he himself plowed, sowed, and reaped; he will come with joyful song and see the wonders of Hashem, blessed be He, with his own eyes.
אֶשְׁמְעָה מַה יְדַבֵּר הָאֵל יְהֹוָה כִּי יְדַבֵּר שָׁלוֹם אֶל עַמּוֹ וְאֶל חֲסִידָיו וְאַל יָשׁוּבוּ לְכִסְלָה׃ - I will hear what God, Hashem, will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His pious ones, and let them not turn back to folly.
Rashi explains: I will merit to hear what the Holy One, blessed be He, speaks when He speaks peace to His people, and through this they will not turn back to folly - they will not return to sin and commit foolish acts.
The Radak explains that the prophet is saying: I listen to what God will speak - He Who possesses ultimate power. A mortal man can promise and say many things, but does not necessarily have the power to fulfill them; but the Holy One, blessed be He, has the power to bring whatever He says into reality. And what does He speak? "He will speak peace to His people" - to take them out of exile. "And to His pious ones" - even those in the category of the pious among the nations will ultimately turn to the faith of Israel when Israel returns from exile. And through this, they will no longer return to deeds of folly and evil, as it is stated, "And Your people are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever."
From here, Radak proves that the psalm speaks of the current exile and not of the return from the Babylonian exile: for during the Second Temple era they did turn back to folly, acted corruptly, and were exiled once more, so one could not say of them, "and let them not turn back to folly." Rather, the verse speaks of the future Redemption, in which the redemption will be complete and there will no longer be any downfall or corruption, but rather, "He will swallow up death forever," and evil will cease to exist in the world.
The Malbim explains that after the prayer he offered, he listens, as it were, and hears the response that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to his request. And the answer is: "He will speak peace to His people and to His pious ones" - that the Redemption will come in a manner of absolute perfection. To understand this, one must examine two divine attributes: Chesed (lovingkindness) and Emet (truth).
If divine bounty flows through the attribute of Truth - meaning solely according to what we deserve - then it is enough that we falter slightly in our deeds, and we will no longer be worthy, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will grant us no more. It turns out that both attributes have a deficiency: in Chesed - the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows bounty even when we do not deserve it, yet this itself is a deficiency, for there is no dignity in it; it is shameful, "the bread of shame" (nahama d'chisufa). In Truth - the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows only according to what is deserved, so there is no shame here, but this giving lasts only as long as one is deserving; the moment we err, we are no longer entitled, and the bounty is thereby limited.
What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He joins the two together and chooses the middle path between lovingkindness and truth. The beginning of the salvation will stem from the attribute of truth - the Holy One, blessed be He, begins to deliver us because we are worthy, because we have corrected our ways, on account of the merit of the generation and their righteousness, and in this we have honor. But once salvation has been revealed through the attribute of truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows from lovingkindness, guaranteeing that the bounty will be eternal - not "as long as you remain righteous," but an overflow that never ends. Thus, lovingkindness and truth meet one another: the inception of salvation is for the sake of truth, and its continuation - its quantity and quality - is in accordance with lovingkindness, rather than our limited merits.
And since this lovingkindness is awakened by truth, by the merit of the generation, the Malbim explains that the supernal lovingkindness will necessarily preserve the very cause that awakened it - meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, will safeguard us so that we do not turn back to folly. For otherwise a contradiction would arise: He is bestowing bounty upon them while they are unworthy. Therefore, within the outpouring of lovingkindness, He will protect us from falling into corruption, remove the spirit of impurity from the land, ensure we do not stumble into sin, and prevent the lovingkindness He bestows from collapsing.
And this is called "peace" (shalom) - something complete (shalem) and enduring. As the Malbim explains in several places, physical health is called peace: "Peace be to you, and peace to all that you have." For what is illness? A struggle and war between the organs of the body, where one organ fails to provide what is needed - such as a diabetic whose body has an issue with its insulin supply, an internal discord where one of the organs does not function properly. Peace, however, is whole and healthy, where everything functions in harmony. This is the meaning of "For He speaks peace to His people and to His pious ones" - that they will always be at peace and whole with the Holy One, blessed be He, and complete in their joy, never returning to corruption. For had He given solely according to truth, there would be concern that they might sin again; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will bestow upon them through the dimension of lovingkindness. This will be seen in the following verses.
אַךְ קָרוֹב לִירֵאָיו יִשְׁעוֹ לִשְׁכֹּן כָּבוֹד בְּאַרְצֵנוּ׃ - Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.
The Radak explains: If all of Israel fear Him, the salvation will come soon - this is "His salvation is near to those who fear Him." And as it is stated, "Then Hashem your God will bring back your captivity... when you turn to Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul": if you repent, through this Hashem will be close to you.
And from the words "that glory may dwell in our land," the Radak brings further proof that the psalm speaks of our present exile, for during the Second Temple era they did not merit that glory should dwell in their land. Our Sages expound on the verse in Chaggai, "And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified (ve'ekaved)" - it is written ve'ekaved lacking the letter hei, yet read as ve'ikavdah. Why is the hei missing? These correspond to the five things that were present in the First Temple but absent in the Second Temple: the Ark with the cover (kaporet) and the cherubim (the cover being the lid of the Ark with the cherubim atop it, and the Ark was hidden away) - that is one; heavenly fire descending from heaven - two; the Shechinah - three; the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) - four; and the Urim and Thummim - five. It follows that one cannot say that during the Second Temple we merited for glory to dwell in our land, since ve'ikavdah was not fulfilled. Rather, with the coming of the Redeemer and the building of the Third Temple, everything will return, and only then will it be fitting to say "and I will be glorified" and "that glory may dwell in our land."
The Malbim explains: "Surely near" - he asks that salvation should not come through the attribute of lovingkindness alone, without the merit of the generation and their righteousness, for then the salvation is distant from those who fear Him: it does not come through their merit but solely by grace, whether they are worthy or unworthy, and the salvation arrives from Above rather than through them. On the other hand, he does not ask that it come through the attribute of truth alone, solely on account of the generation's righteousness, for then those who fear Him would be the ones effecting the salvation, attributing it to themselves rather than to the Holy One, blessed be He. Moreover, this has a deficiency - the moment we veer even slightly, we would no longer be worthy of the bounty, since everything would depend strictly on the attribute of truth.
Therefore, he asks that the matter proceed along a middle path: "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him" - "His salvation" refers to the salvation of the Holy One, blessed be He, from the attribute of lovingkindness; yet it is "to those who fear Him," because they revere Him, stemming from the attribute of truth that they deserve it. And since the beginning is initiated through the attribute of truth - first because we are worthy, and afterward Hashem bestows boundlessly through His lovingkindness - closeness is established through the deeds and righteousness of those who fear Him: "near to those who fear Him."
And in this itself there is a novel insight: even though this is the salvation of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is infinite and boundless, nevertheless He is close to those who fear Him. For one might have thought that no connection is possible between the boundless Creator and a creature formed of clay - this being the argument of the nations mentioned several times: How could the Holy One, blessed be He, forge a bond with the lower realms, with corporeal man? To this the verse responds that although He is high and exalted, He is also "with the contrite and lowly of spirit" - the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells among the lowly.
Through this, we gain two things. First: "glory in our land" - for had the salvation come solely through lovingkindness, there would be no glory in it, as bread of charity is an embarrassment for us; here, however, we merit glory. Second: "that [it] may dwell" - that this glory will be permanent and never revoked, dwelling among us forever. For the bounty stemming from lovingkindness is continuous, whereas through truth alone, "to those who fear Him," it would have been limited in time - as long as you fear Him. But here, since the salvation is the salvation of the Holy One, blessed be He, through the attribute of lovingkindness, it is "to dwell": it will dwell with us permanently, and there is no fear that our merits will run out; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause His glory to dwell here forever.
From the verse "Restore us, God of our salvation" onward, the psalm opens with a petition addressing the three shortcomings of the first redemption: a restoration brought about by the Holy One, blessed be He, rather than by flesh and blood; a redemption to which even the attribute of strict justice agrees; and complete forgiveness that uproots wrath at its core. From there, the Psalmist argues that divine wrath cannot endure forever or for all generations, for "Will You not revive us again?" - Israel is like the moon, which is obscured only to return and renew itself. Therefore, he pleads, "Show us Your chesed, Hashem" - a chesed that does not depend on the recipient and thus never comes to an end, and "grant us Your salvation" - a salvation earned through our own merit, which alone enables one to witness the downfall of the enemies. And the answer he hears is "He will speak peace to His people": a synthesis of truth and chesed - an initial awakening based on the generation's merit, which carries honor, followed by a continuation born of chesed, which brings permanence and guards against returning to folly. And this is "Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land" - glory earned by our own merit, and the Shechinah dwelling among us forever.