Sefer Chavakuk is the eighth book of Trei Asar (the Twelve Minor Prophets). Radak, Ibn Ezra, and others note: "We do not know this prophet's generation nor his family." Scripture does not write "Chavakuk the son of" so-and-so, in the manner of "Yonah ben Amitai", nor does it state the era in which he prophesied. Indeed, opinions differ concerning his time period.
In Seder Olam, cited here by Radak, it states: Yoel, Nachum, and Chavakuk prophesied during the days of Menasheh. If you wonder why Scripture does not mention this explicitly, as it does with other prophets who are identified by the reign of a particular king, the answer is: Menasheh was an unworthy king, and Scripture did not wish to associate them with his name. Therefore, neither Yoel, Nachum, nor Chavakuk mentions the king's name.
A second explanation, well known to many, appears in the introduction to the Zohar HaKadosh (daf 7b): "Rabbi Shimon trembled and wept" over the verse "Hashem, I have heard report of You and I am afraid." The Zohar states: Chavakuk uttered this verse when he foresaw his death and was revived through Elisha. That is to say, Chavakuk recited this verse when he saw his impending death, and ultimately was sustained and restored to life through Elisha. According to the Zohar, Chavakuk was the son of the Shunamite woman whom Elisha revived.
And so the story unfolded: When that woman hosted Elisha, the prophet asked what could be done for her, and his servant told him she had no son. Elisha blessed her with a son, and she responded, "Do not deceive your handmaid." In time, the boy went out with his father to the reapers on a scorching day, and he breathed his last. The mother rushed to Elisha - "Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor Shabbat" - and she replied, "It is well." She came before him and said: Did I not tell you not to deceive your handmaid? I did not ask for a son; I pleaded that it not be a temporary child, Heaven forbid, and now the child has died! Elisha then bent over him, his mouth upon his mouth, his hands upon his hands, and his eyes upon his eyes, until the child's flesh grew warm, and he returned to life.
Why was he called Chavakuk? The Zohar explains: Because it is written, "At this season next year, you shall embrace (choveket) a son" - that is one embrace (chibuk). And later, "he placed his mouth upon his mouth" - that is a second embrace. There were two embraces here, which is why his name is Chavakuk, reflecting a double embrace: one embrace and then another. The first embrace was the promise, "you shall embrace a son," and the second embrace was Elisha reviving him.
According to this calculation, Chavakuk lived roughly two hundred years before the time of Menasheh. During the days of Elisha, Yehoram reigned, while Menasheh ruled eight kings later. Thus opinions differ: was Chavakuk from the time of Yehoram son of Achav, or from the time of Menasheh, some two hundred years later? Incidentally, one should not confuse Chavakuk with Yonah ben Amitai. Yonah ben Amitai was the son of the Tzorfit woman who hosted Eliyahu and was revived by Eliyahu, whereas Chavakuk was the son of the Shunamite woman who hosted Elisha. Someone once mistakenly conflated the two and claimed this contradicted the Midrash, but that is simply incorrect.
The masa before us is a prophecy. At first, Chavakuk laments the success of Babylon; Heaven then answers him regarding the rise and prosperity not only of Babylon, but of the wicked in general; and finally, he is informed of Babylon's destruction and its downfall through Belshazzar.
הַמַּשָּׂא אֲשֶׁר חָזָה חֲבַקּוּק הַנָּבִיא׃ - The burden which Chavakuk the prophet envisioned.
עַד־אָנָה יְהֹוָה שִׁוַּעְתִּי וְלֹא תִשְׁמָע אֶזְעַק אֵלֶיךָ חָמָס וְלֹא תוֹשִׁיעַ׃ - How long, Hashem, have I cried out and You do not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" and You do not save.
Rashi explains that Chavakuk foresaw through Ruach HaKodesh that Nevuchadnezzar was destined to rule the world and oppress Israel, as it is written: "For behold, I raise up the Chaldeans." In response to this, he prays: How long, Hashem? I mention before You the violence done to Israel, yet You do not save.
The Malbim explains the repetition in the verse. "I cried out, and You do not hear" - I cry for salvation and You do not answer. And if You were to say that we are unworthy of salvation, at the very least "I cry out to You of violence" - I demand justice against the violence of the Babylonian empire. I am not asking for a supernatural, miraculous salvation; rather, by right of justice and fairness, it is proper to protect us. As we will see further on: "Why do You remain silent when a wicked person swallows up one more righteous than he?" - You see how the wicked swallows up the righteous and You do not save him, and it is over this violence, perpetrated unjustly, that I cry out.
לָמָּה תַרְאֵנִי אָוֶן וְעָמָל תַּבִּיט וְשֹׁד וְחָמָס לְנֶגְדִּי וַיְהִי רִיב וּמָדוֹן יִשָּׂא׃ - "Why do You show me iniquity and look upon grievance? For plundering and violence are before me; strife exists, and contention arises."
The second claim, as explained by the Malbim, concerns the very prophetic vision itself. When Hashem shows the prophet Babylon's success, he says: Why do You show me iniquity? The very fact that You show this to me teaches that it comes through Your providence. It turns out that the grievance and wickedness inflicted upon us are brought to fruition through You. Furthermore, "plundering and violence are before me" - in the prophecy, I do not see the end, the salvation, before my eyes; rather, constantly before me are only the plundering, violence, and blows that Babylon will strike against us.
Hence, "strife exists, and contention arises": a dispute arises against Hashem's ways, and people harbor contention and complaints against Heaven. When something appears unjust, people lodge complaints against the Holy One, blessed be He: Why does the Almighty do this, and why does He not judge righteously?
The Malbim notes precise distinctions in the wording. "Aven" (iniquity) describes evil in actual deed, outwardly; "amal" (grievance) describes the soul's inner share, the negative impression inside the heart. Likewise, there is a difference between "seeing" (re'iyah) and "gazing" (habitah): habitah always implies careful attention, and can also denote intellectual contemplation, whereas re'iyah denotes sensory vision. Therefore, Scripture attributes habitah to amal - "and look upon grievance" - because amal is evil within the heart, which can only be perceived through internal, spiritual contemplation; whereas regarding aven, which is outward wickedness, it says "You show me" (tar'eni), for it can be seen even with the physical senses.
The Malbim further distinguishes between "riv" (strife) and "madon" (contention): riv encompasses all arguments and verbal disputes between people, while madon refers to legal claims and judicial litigation. First the strife develops, followed by the contention - the legal proceeding that is meant to decide it.
עַל־כֵּן תָּפוּג תּוֹרָה וְלֹא־יֵצֵא לָנֶצַח מִשְׁפָּט כִּי רָשָׁע מַכְתִּיר אֶת־הַצַּדִּיק עַל־כֵּן יֵצֵא מִשְׁפָּט מְעֻקָּל׃ - "Therefore the Torah is numbed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surrounds the righteous, therefore perverted justice emerges."
Here the prophet details the claims raised in that contention, what the people of the world argue against the Holy One, blessed be He. First, "therefore the Torah is numbed": the Torah teaches the fundamental principles of faith, that Hashem exercises providence and judges righteously. But when people see the wicked prospering while the righteous perish, questions arise concerning Hashem's governance, and the Torah grows numb - it is no longer regarded as something vital and true, leading people to deny it altogether and declare that there is no Torah and no divine providence.
The Malbim explains that "Torah" here refers to outlooks, beliefs, and teachings concerning matters between man and God, whereas "justice" characterizes interpersonal matters between man and his fellow, just as civil law is referred to as "mishpat" today.
Regarding justice, the Malbim explains a profound idea: interpersonal norms, the moral duties dictated by human intellect - such as not murdering, not stealing, and the like - cannot simply vanish from the heart, for the foundations of morality are implanted within every human being. Proof of this is that no society or nation in the world bases its laws on the antithesis of fundamental morality. There is no country where the law dictates, "Murder," and no country where the law dictates, "Steal." There are places where theft is more prevalent and places where it is less so, but turning it into a law and an accepted norm - no such thing exists.
People illustrate this with a parable: a man walked into a clock shop and saw that every clock was spinning at a different speed. He asked, "What is the meaning of this?" They told him, "Each clock represents a different country, serving as an index of corruption - the more corruption there is, the faster it spins." He asked, "And where is the clock for Iran?" They answered, "It is up on the ceiling; we use it as a ceiling fan." People also joke about Tzidkiyahu wandering from country to country with a lantern searching for justice, and when he reached Romania, he started searching for the lantern! A contractor once related that a laborer working for him remarked: "If I leave the construction site, see a drill, and do not take it, I leave feeling like I forgot something." There are places where people steal more and places where they steal less, but an actual law dictating that one must steal - that does not exist.
And nevertheless, the prophet says, "Justice never goes forth" - that which is ingrained in the heart is not translated from potential into actuality. And why? "For the wicked surrounds [or crowns] the righteous." Who placed a crown upon the righteous? The wicked. The judge is appointed by the wicked king; the king is the one who placed the crown of judicial authority on his head, and consequently the judge is subservient to him, doing whatever the masters above desire. Even a righteous man who wishes to render true judgment cannot do so, for the wicked has crowned him.
This brings to mind a story about the Rabbi of Kiryat Ata, presumably Rabbi Jakobovits, whom government representatives approached with an offer to register and receive a salary as an official rabbi from the Religious Council. He told them, "I am not interested; I prefer to remain independent." They said to him, "You have nothing to worry about; we will not dictate to you or outline your path. You may do whatever you deem proper according to Halachah." He replied, "Do you think that when you pay me a salary I will wait for your instructions and come ask what you want me to do? A person who receives a salary knows which side his bread is buttered on; he understands exactly what is expected of him, and ultimately falls in line."
Rashi and the Radak explain machteer not in the sense of crowning with a crown, but in the sense of surrounding, as in "the mighty bulls of Bashan have surrounded me (kitruni)" - the wicked encircle and surround the righteous.
"Therefore justice goes forth perverted [me'ukal]." The Malbim distinguishes between me'ukash (crooked) and me'ukal (winding/twisted): me'ukash is genuinely corrupt, as in "whose paths are crooked"; whereas me'ukal is merely superficial - internally the matter is straight, appearing crooked only from the outside, as in "who turn aside to their crooked paths," where the road appears winding externally, but one who observes closely understands that it is the direct way. This is precisely the predicament of the righteous person who takes orders from the wicked: inwardly he aims for integrity, yet outwardly he presents the judgment in a way that will please his master, the one who crowned him. Thus, the verdict emerges outwardly distorted. All of this constitutes the grievance and contention people harbor against Hashem's providence: if there is neither justice nor righteousness, the Torah grows numb; why then, Hashem, do You witness this and not execute justice, failing to exact retribution from the wicked who act this way?
רְאוּ בַגּוֹיִם וְהַבִּיטוּ וְהִתַּמְּהוּ תְּמָהוּ כִּי־פֹעַל פֹּעֵל בִּימֵיכֶם לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ כִּי יְסֻפָּר׃ - Look among the nations and behold, and be utterly astonished; for a work is being wrought in your days which you would not believe if it were told to you.
Following this introduction, the prophet begins to describe the crux of the matter regarding which he cries out against injustice: that the Holy One, Blessed is He, is raising up the Chaldeans to shake the earth, tremble kingdoms, and alter reality. "Look among the nations and behold" - pay attention to this development; "and be utterly astonished" - stand back and marvel at it. Do not say that it cannot be seen because it has not yet come to fruition, for "a work is being wrought in your days" - literally in your lifetime, before your very eyes, and it can readily be observed and beheld.
And corresponding to "and be utterly astonished," he says: "Which you would not believe if it were told to you." Sometimes a person is told something and responds, "It is unbelievable; I cannot believe it." Indeed, had you merely been told about it, you would not have believed it; but when you witness it with your own eyes, you are struck with wonder and astonishment - and no one can deny what is tangible. It is an existing reality, and perforce you must acknowledge that it is real.
And what is that reality? The Chaldeans. Rashi cites here the words of Chazal on the verse in Yeshayahu, "Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, this people was not" - the Chaldeans were a nation that was not worthy of being created. This is one of three things regarding which the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it were, regrets having created. Of course, one cannot speak of literal regret, since regret applies only to someone who lacked foreknowledge, and with the Holy One, Blessed is He, lack of foreknowledge is inconceivable; rather, we speak in this manner anthropomorphically, as it were. And this nation, as the next verse states, will be "bitter and impetuous," advancing swiftly to conquer lands, and many will suffer at its hands.