Introduction: The Song of the Elders in the Future to Come
Chapter 25 in Yeshayahu is a direct continuation of the end of the previous chapter. There it stated, "And before His elders shall be glory" - the supreme glory will rest before the elders, before the righteous. Following this, the Malbim explains, the prophet opens here with the song that the elders will recite in the future to come, a song of thanksgiving for the wonders of the Redemption. The entire chapter proceeds to describe the future Redemption: the downfall of the cities of the nations, the feast that Hashem will prepare for all peoples, the removal of the veil and covering from upon the nations, the eradication of tears and disgrace, and finally the judgment of Moav and Edom.
Verse 1: Two Aspects in Recognizing the Creator
יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי אַתָּה אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אוֹדֶה שִׁמְךָ כִּי עָשִׂיתָ פֶּלֶא עֵצוֹת מֵרָחֹק אֱמוּנָה אֹמֶן׃ - Hashem, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will praise Your Name, for You have done wonders, counsels planned from long ago, with steadfast faithfulness.
The Malbim explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, is recognized through two dimensions. The first is from the perspective of His Essence: the Name Havayah, blessed be He, Who was, is, and will be, through Whom everything in existence exists, constantly bringing all things into being and renewing them at every moment. The second is from the perspective of His deeds and actions: when the Holy One, blessed be He, overturns the laws of nature, splits the sea and sets the waters like a wall, His sovereignty in the world is made manifest. Yet, any comprehension of His Essence is completely invisible and unattainable to us, exalted above all thought and concept, and therefore we say, "No thought can grasp You at all." It is impossible to comprehend or describe His Essence. What can be done? We can describe His deeds and actions.
Corresponding to this: the Name Havayah hints at the ungraspable Being, whereas the aspect of "the God of Israel" is the dimension in which the Holy One, blessed be He, performs wonders for His children - He split the sea, split the Jordan, commanded "Sun, stand still at Giv'on," and brought hailstones raining down from heaven. In this, His sovereignty is tangibly seen.
Both of these concepts are hinted at in the verse: "Hashem - I will exalt You." From the aspect of Your being Havayah, beyond grasp, exalted above our understanding, above all thought and concept, above all blessing and praise - I have no recourse but to exalt You. "My God - I will praise Your Name." The dimension in which the Holy One, blessed be He, connects to nature and performs miracles beyond nature is an accessible dimension, and for that I can give thanks. After the splitting of the Red Sea, the Jewish people sang, because when a person witnesses the hand of Hashem in the natural world, it is something perceived by the senses. Therefore: "I will praise Your Name, for You have done wonders." Notice as well: the Name Havayah has no grammatical inflections and cannot be modified with possessive suffixes, whereas the Name Elokim has inflections - my God, our God, their God - because in it there is connection and relationship.
"Counsels planned from long ago" - You performed these wonders for the sake of the counsels You decreed from afar. Master of the Universe, You designated future events through the prophets: You made known that there would be a redemption, that there would be the war of Gog and Magog, and that ultimately Hashem will reign over the entire earth. All of these future wonders You already announced long ago through Your prophets. And why do You bring them about? "With steadfast faithfulness" - to strengthen faith. The Malbim explains that the word omen denotes strengthening, as in "a peg in a firm (ne'eman) place" - where ne'eman means strong and secure. Through the fulfillment of these designated promises and the realization of the prophecies, faith is strengthened in the heart, and all will know that He is the Ruler and there is none beside Him.
Concealed in His Essence and Revealed through His Deeds
"Blessed are You, Hashem... by Whose word all things exist"
This idea is expressed beautifully in the phrasing of the blessings, as noted by the Rashba (and as discussed regarding Nefesh HaChaim). We open with "Blessed are You, Hashem" - in the second person, direct address, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, were right here before us. Immediately afterward, we shift and say, "our God, King of the universe, by Whose word all things exist" - in the third person, speaking of Him as concealed, rather than the phrasing that would seemingly be expected: "by Your word."
The Rashba explains that we seek to express both concepts together. On the one hand, a person must believe and feel that the Holy One, blessed be He, is with him at every moment. Therefore, we say "Blessed are You" in the second person, addressing Him directly, so that one does not think like the philosophers who claim that the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned His world to the agents of nature and does not supervise it. Rather, when you stand and pray, you are standing before the King. On the other hand, if you remain only with this feeling, you might err and imagine Him to be like one of us, on your own level or only slightly above it. Therefore, immediately afterward, we say "by Whose word all things exist", shifting to the third person: incomprehensible, exalted above all.
From this, the Malbim explains that thanksgiving always pertains to what I have experienced, to the bounty I have felt: "Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good", "This time I will thank Hashem", "I will thank You forever, because You have done it." But exaltation is precisely for what I cannot grasp, for His very essence being lofty and exalted above all. Therefore we say, "exalted above all blessing and praise": in terms of His essence, praises are not even applicable to Him, for praise applies to someone about whom one can say that he overcame an obstacle and is worthy of commendation, whereas the Holy One, blessed be He, is exalted above all praises.
And so it is in Shirat HaYam: "This is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him." "This is my God" refers to the kindnesses that He bestows upon me and that I tangibly experience; therefore, "and I will glorify Him (ve'anvehu)" - I will build Him a dwelling place (naveh) and a sanctuary, and offer sacrifices to Him. But "my father's God" refers to His essence, which I cannot grasp at all; I only know of Him through the tradition received from my ancestors. Therefore, I can only say "and I will exalt Him." It is impossible to give thanks for what I do not perceive; but for what I have perceived, I will indeed give thanks and build Him a sanctuary.
Verse 2: The Downfall of the Nations' Cities and Foreign Palaces
כִּי שַׂמְתָּ מֵעִיר לַגָּל קִרְיָה בְצוּרָה לְמַפֵּלָה אַרְמוֹן זָרִים מֵעִיר לְעוֹלָם לֹא יִבָּנֶה׃ - For You have turned a city into a heap, a fortified town into a ruin; a palace of strangers is no longer a city, it shall never be rebuilt.
And what are the wonders that Hashem has performed? "You have turned a city into a heap" - a place that was once an inhabited city has been turned into a heap, a pile of stones. Furthermore: "A fortified town into a ruin." The difference between an ir (city) and a kiryah (town) is that a city is generally not surrounded by a wall, whereas a kiryah is walled - kiryah being related to covering, ceilings, and walls. Yet this fortified town, despite its strong wall, You turned in a single moment into a ruin, causing it to collapse completely.
Furthermore: "A palace of strangers is no longer a city, it shall never be rebuilt." The palaces that foreigners established on the mountains of Israel, You have also brought down into ruin - for the word "ruin" (le-mappelah) applies both to what precedes it and to what follows it. If we translate this into contemporary terms: the Al-Aqsa Mosque and all those structures built by foreigners in the Holy City and on the Temple Mount, along with all the churches and foreign shrines established in the Holy Land - all are destined for ruin, never to be rebuilt. These are the wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs in a single moment, and concerning them it is said: "Hashem, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will praise Your Name."
Verse 3: Honor from Israel and Fear from the Nations
עַל־כֵּן יְכַבְּדוּךָ עַם־עָז קִרְיַת גּוֹיִם עָרִיצִים יִירָאוּךָ׃ - Therefore a strong people shall honor You; a city of ruthless nations shall fear You.
Corresponding to the two actions performed by the Holy One, blessed be He, two distinct responses emerge. For removing the foreign palaces from the mountains of Israel in order to deliver His people: "Therefore a strong people shall honor You." Israel will then be a strong nation, for at that time their might will be evident throughout the world and the Holy One, blessed be He, will avenge their cause; thus they will honor Hashem for the kindness He bestowed upon them. And for destroying the cities of idolaters: "A city of ruthless nations shall fear You" - those tyrants will tremble, fear, and witness the might of Hashem.
The logic is simple, explains the Malbim: when someone does us a favor, we honor him. When someone threatens us, we fear him, but we do not necessarily honor him; we might even despise him, yet we dread his power. Therefore, when Hashem delivers us, we will honor Him; and when He crushes the cities of the nations, they will fear Him, because they will feel the weight of His arm. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, will receive both honor and fear: honor from the people of Israel and fear from the nations.
This is what we say: "For kingship belongs to Hashem, and He rules over the nations." The Vilna Gaon asked: What is the difference between kingship (meluchah) and rule (memshalah)? Kingship is willing - a king reigns with the consent of the people. Rule is through sheer force and a strong hand. "Kingship belongs to Hashem" applies to His people Israel, who accept His sovereignty willingly; "and He rules over the nations" means that the nations will only submit to His sovereignty through a strong hand.
Furthermore, one should note the distinction between am (a people) and goy (a nation), which the Malbim reiterates several times and which was already explained in the first chapter of the book. Goy denotes the mere physical grouping of a nation, without any inherent unifying factor; only the geographical territory binds them together, and even a collection of disparate nations can be called a goy. Am denotes an inner bond: connected to one another, under one government and rule, like one person with one heart. Therefore, am typically refers to Israel, whereas "a city of nations" (kiryat goyim) refers to idolaters, who have nothing essential uniting them. Israel is united by Judaism itself, by our Torah and faith, and therefore a Jew here and a Jew at the other end of the world are the exact same am. But what unites a goy? The territory in which he lives. An Englishman who moves to America may be called English for twenty or thirty years, but then he becomes an American. Israel, by contrast, is an am, whose uniqueness stems from within themselves, and wherever they may be, they retain the status of an am - and the status of an am is always higher than that of a goy.
Pasuk 4: A Stronghold to the Poor and the Destitute
כִּי־הָיִיתָ מָעוֹז לַדָּל מָעוֹז לָאֶבְיוֹן בַּצַּר־לוֹ מַחְסֶה מִזֶּרֶם צֵל מֵחֹרֶב כִּי רוּחַ עָרִיצִים כְּזֶרֶם קִיר׃ - For You have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the ruthless is like a rainstorm against a wall.
Here the prophet describes how the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought salvation for Israel by bringing down the cities of the idolaters. "A stronghold to the poor (dal)" - a dal is someone who once had wealth and became impoverished (niddaldel); it does not necessarily mean he has nothing to eat, but that in comparison to his former standing, he has fallen. Not only that, but "a stronghold to the needy (evyon)" - the evyon is in a worse state than the ani (poor man) and the dal, for evyon is related to craving (evyonah), one who craves everything, and whatever you give him, he will take. And not only that, but "in his distress" (batzar lo) - for the kindness shown to a person in his hour of distress is far greater than kindness shown when he is not in anguish.
This is the very description of Israel's condition: initially they were in the state of a dal, having held a lofty status and then fallen; afterwards they reached the state of an evyon, "Slaves ruled over us, there is none to deliver us from their hand"; and not only that, but "in his distress," for all the nations around persecute us and seek our harm.
And to that dal and evyon, You were "a shelter from the rainstorm" - zerem means torrential rain and downpour from which one must take shelter; "a shade from the heat" - scorching heat that requires a place of shade. These are two opposite extremes, teaching that the Holy One, blessed be He, protected and saved them in all situations. The prophet then explains why he said "a shelter from the rainstorm": "when the blast of the ruthless is like a rainstorm" - those harsh rulers are like a stormy wind and a torrent that destroys and consumes everything, and You were like a "wall" protecting and shielding them against both of these elements, the downpour and the heat. In other words, You saved Israel from the direst possible circumstances.
Pasuk 5: The Nature of Holiness to Subdue Wickedness
כְּחֹרֶב בְּצָיוֹן שְׁאוֹן זָרִים תַּכְנִיעַ חֹרֶב בְּצֵל עָב זְמִיר עָרִיצִים יַעֲנֶה׃ - As heat in a parched land, You subdue the roar of strangers; as heat is subdued by the shade of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is humbled.
The parable: Just as heat in an arid land - tzayon coming from the root of dryness and drought - so "You subdue the roar of strangers." Even if there were a roaring tumult of mighty waters, the dry heat comes, dries it up, and subdues it. And on the other hand, "heat is subdued by the shade of a cloud" - when the cloud arrives, the heat and dryness are subdued by it, for rain conquers dryness. These are two opposite forces, each subduing the other.
And the meaning: "the song of the ruthless is humbled" - in this way the Holy One, blessed be He, will subdue the song (zemir) of the wicked tyrants, who rejoiced over the downfall of Israel and over their victories against us. The Malbim explains that this means: it is the nature of holiness to subdue wickedness, just as it is the nature of moisture to moisten what is dry and the nature of heat to dry out what is wet.
And ya'aneh means He will subdue, related to affliction (innui) and humility (anavah). The Malbim precisely differentiates between submission (hakhna'ah) and affliction (innui): submission does not require that the one who submits is inherently weakened, but rather that he has been delivered into the hands of another - the poor man submits to the wealthy, the weak is subjugated under the hand of the strong; it is always a relative relationship of one to another. Affliction (innui) is not necessarily relative to another, but in it, it is clear that the afflicted person is intrinsically weakened: "I was afflicted (na'aneiti) exceedingly," and regarding Shimshon, "and they began to afflict him (le'anoto)." Therefore, the prophet states that it is not enough for the tyrants merely to submit before Hashem - for submitting before the majesty of His glory is simple - but rather "the song of the ruthless is humbled (ya'aneh)," meaning they will be humbled intrinsically, brought to a state of complete degradation until they are crushed and downtrodden.
Pasuk 6: A Feast of Rich Foods, a Feast of Aged Wine
וְעָשָׂה יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת לְכׇל־הָעַמִּים בָּהָר הַזֶּה מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָנִים מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָרִים שְׁמָנִים מְמֻחָיִם שְׁמָרִים מְזֻקָּקִים׃ - And the Lord of Hosts will make for all the peoples on this mountain a feast of fat foods, a feast of dregs, of fat foods full of marrow, of dregs thoroughly strained.
Up to this point, explains the Malbim, the prophet described the song that the elders are destined to sing: "Hashem, You are my God, I will exalt You," "For You made of a city a heap," "For You have been a stronghold to the poor," "As heat in a dry place, You subdue the noise of strangers." From here onward, the prophet describes the consequences - what will happen when the nations gather in Jerusalem in the Messianic era, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, enters into judgment with them.
Hashem will prepare a feast for all the nations on this mountain, like guests who are invited and come to a banquet. Yet it will not be a joyous feast for everyone. For those who acknowledge the true faith and return to the God of Israel - "a feast of fat foods," a feast of rich, choice, and delectable foods. But for those who remain stiff-necked, refuse to walk in the light of Hashem, and resist His kingdom - "a feast of dregs."
The rich foods ("shemanim") and the dregs ("shemarim") stand in stark contrast to one another. Wine, after it is pressed and left to settle, produces dregs - the murky, thick, and coarse part, the residue of the wine that sinks to the bottom. In contrast, the oil and fat is the part that floats to the top, light and choice. The prophet describes both extremes: "rich foods full of marrow" (shemanim memuchayim) - rich and nourishing, evoking bone marrow, which was considered the finest delicacy. "Thoroughly strained dregs" (shemarim mezukkakim) - usually dregs contain a bit of wine mixed in, but here they are drained until not a single drop of wine remains, pure refuse. This is like the verse, "And these to eternal life, and those to shame and everlasting contempt" - there is no middle ground: either the very finest, or pure, refined misery.
Rashi explains these two extremes differently: this does not refer to two categories of nations, but rather to an illusion that will mislead them. They will see that there is a feast and flock to it in droves, believing it to be a feast of delicacies, when in reality it will be a feast of bitter dregs. This is precisely what will occur during the War of Gog and Magog.
Verse 7: The Shroud and the Veil
וּבִלַּע בָּהָר הַזֶּה פְּנֵי־הַלּוֹט הַלּוֹט עַל־כׇּל־הָעַמִּים וְהַמַּסֵּכָה הַנְּסוּכָה עַל־כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם׃ - And He will destroy on this mountain the face of the shroud that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
Before the coming of the Messiah, the Malbim explains, the nations will be divided into two camps. There will be monotheistic nations that are not idolaters - they believe in one God, but they have not recognized the true faith. A Muslim believes in Allah, his teaching, and his prophet, and he possesses a belief in one God. Likewise, though with a greater defect, the Christians also believe in one God, yet they possess the impure Trinity, which is a flaw in their belief; nevertheless, their virtue is that they believe in one God. The Rambam already wrote that these religions are a stepping stone toward the coming of the Messiah: had the Messiah needed to start from scratch, to take an Indian bowing to a cow, or one bowing to Buddha, wood, and stone, and turn him into a believer in one God - the path would have been far too long. But since the Muslim and Christian worlds already believe in one God, possessing only an addition of vanity, their faith is already closer.
Regarding these, it is said: "And He will destroy on this mountain the face of the shroud that covers all peoples." Notice the repetition: the first is a noun - lot means a covering or shroud - and the second is an adjective or participle - halot, which covers. That is, the shroud that covers all peoples. Their vain beliefs are like a shroud covering their faces, preventing them from seeing the true faith clearly. The Holy One, blessed be He, will remove this veil from upon them, and they will then perceive the light of Hashem with clarity and recognize the true faith on their own.
On the other hand, there are nations that are as far from this as east is from west - and indeed, many of them are in the Far East - nations that have no monotheistic faith at all, idolaters like the ancient pagans, such as the peoples of China, Japan, and the like. Notice the distinction in phrasing: regarding the monotheists it says, "the shroud that covers all peoples (amim)," while regarding the idolaters it says, "the veil that is spread over all nations (goyim)" - for goyim is always a lower level than amim, reflecting their lowly state of worshipping nothing but idols. Massekhah also connotes idol worship, as in "you shall not make for yourself a molten image (pesel umassekhah)." The Holy One, blessed be He, will remove the veil that prevents them from seeing the true faith.
The Malbim analyzes the precise difference between lot (a shroud) and massekhah (a veil or mask), both of which are coverings. A lot is something one uses to cover one's face though it is not made specifically for that purpose - such as someone covering his face with a garment or scarf because of a sudden need, though the item is not intended solely as a covering. A massekhah, by contrast, is an object whose sole purpose is to cover. Consequently, an improvised covering does not block the view completely, whereas a dedicated mask creates a total barrier. Through this distinction, the verse becomes wonderfully clear: the nations who believe in Hashem have a lot that impairs their sight, but it does not blind them completely, for they still glimpse Hashem. But the idolatrous nations have an actual massekhah, a mask that totally blinds their spiritual vision, so that they perceive no concept of the One God whatsoever. And that, too, the Holy One, blessed be He, will remove.
The Malbim adds further that massekhah also derives from the root of royalty and dominion, as in "Yet I have installed (nasakhti) My king" - an entity that rules over someone. The idol is cast over the nations and rules over them: one who believes in Buddha is ruled and dominated by that image. The Holy One, blessed be He, will strip away the mask and uncover the shroud from upon all peoples, and through this, all will come to acknowledge His blessed Divinity.
Radak adds another fascinating point on this verse: "lot" (veil) hints at the nation that covers their faces - the Ishmaelites; "And He will destroy on this mountain the face of the veil," meaning He will wear them down and remove the veil from over their faces, speedily in our days, Amen.
Verse 8: "He has swallowed up death forever"
בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח וּמָחָה אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה דִּמְעָה מֵעַל כׇּל־פָּנִים וְחֶרְפַּת עַמּוֹ יָסִיר מֵעַל כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי יְהֹוָה דִּבֵּר׃ - He has swallowed up death forever, and the Lord Hashem will wipe away tears from all faces; and the reproach of His people He will remove from off all the earth, for Hashem has spoken.
Here the Malbim offers an original interpretation, quite different from what one usually hears at eulogies. Who will swallow up the false beliefs? Death. When Gog and Magog arrive here with all their false beliefs, the forces of Gog and Magog will die on Mount Zion - as it is written that for long months they will be burying the dead of Gog and Magog - and this death is what will swallow up their false belief. Until now there was a veil covering all the nations and a web woven over them, but who will swallow it up? "Death swallowed." Death will cause those beliefs to be swallowed up forever, so that false belief will perish for all time, when they see that there is a supreme Ruler and sole Sovereign, that the Holy One, blessed be He, reigns in Zion - and then they will recognize the true faith.
"And the Lord Hashem will wipe away tears from all faces" - when Israel returns to being under His dominion. Until now we wept over our troubles, the exile, and the blows struck by the nations. But when His kingship is revealed, it will become clear that everything Hashem did was for the good, and in place of tears, laughter and joy will fill our mouths, for we will recognize that everything came from Him, blessed be He.
The Malbim adds: "From all faces" includes the nations as well. For the people of Gog will perish, and nations will remain among them who will weep for their fallen comrades and over the defeat on the battlefield. Hashem will wipe away their tears too, once they understand that these tears were for the good - so that the nations would come to know faith in Hashem and accept belief in the one God. For "death swallowed" - death is what swallowed up the corrupted beliefs. It turns out that this death was good, and great benefit came from it.
"And the reproach of His people He will remove from off all the earth" - until now, the nations taunt and demean us: "Why do you anticipate salvation? For what hope? 'There is no salvation for him in God, Selah.' What vanity do you believe in? What are you waiting for?" But when Hashem, blessed be He, reveals Himself, He will remove the reproach of His people, and everyone will see what we were waiting for and why we hoped.
Verse 9: "This is He for Whom we have hoped"
וְאָמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ זֶה קִוִּינוּ לוֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ זֶה יְהֹוָה קִוִּינוּ לוֹ נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתוֹ׃ - And he will say on that day: "Behold, this is our God, for Whom we have hoped, and He will save us; this is Hashem, for Whom we have hoped; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
To what can this be compared? To a person stuck deep in the mud, who says, "So-and-so promised he would come help me." Everyone laughs at him: "Two hours have passed and he still hasn't arrived, and you still believe him?" But he replies, "He told me he would come, and he promised me." Everyone mocks and scoffs: "Sure, sure, he's still coming, he's surely on his way." Then suddenly the man arrives, saves him, lends him a hand, and even gives him money - and then everyone is forced to shut their mouths and look for a way to take back their words.
This is what the verse means: You who taunted us from the beginning, saying, "Where is Hashem your God? Well, when is He coming to help you?" - now His people will say: "Behold, this is our God, for Whom we have hoped" - this is the One we waited for and told you all along that we were anticipating; see that our hope was not in vain.
And what do the words "this is Hashem, for Whom we have hoped" add? For a song it is indeed beautiful and poetic, but what is the meaning of the repetition? The Malbim explains: At first it is said with the name Elokim, and afterward with the four-letter Name of Hashem. "Our God" (Elokeinu) points to the connection He has with us - the God of Israel, the bond between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His people; this is salvation from the standpoint that we are children to Hashem our God. But when coming to describe the magnitude of the salvation, the verse says, "this is Hashem, for Whom we have hoped" - the Essential Name, the One Who was, is, and will be, Who created all reality and brings everything into existence at every single moment, transcendent above all of nature. That is, this is not merely a natural salvation stemming from His connection with us, but a supernatural salvation worthy of His boundless power, a wondrous and exalted salvation that endures forever - for the Name of Hashem denotes past, present, and future, and such a salvation is eternal.
And in such salvation it is truly fitting to rejoice: "Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation." What is the difference between gilah (gladness) and simchah (joy)? Gil refers to fresh tidings, to something that happens suddenly - like one who finds a lost object, who experiences gilah (and this is not from the root of revelation, but from the root of rejoicing). Simchah, on the other hand, is enduring joy. First, "let us be glad" (nagilah), the initial burst of joy over the revelation of Hashem: "This is Hashem; we looked for Him"; and afterward, "and rejoice (venismechah) in His salvation" - for this is not a fleeting, one-time joy, but a continuous joy that will accompany us throughout the era of salvation, an everlasting salvation.
Verse 10: The Threshing of Moav
כִּי־תָנוּחַ יַד־יְהֹוָה בָּהָר הַזֶּה וְנָדוֹשׁ מוֹאָב תַּחְתָּיו כְּהִדּוּשׁ מַתְבֵּן בְּמוֹ מַדְמֵנָה׃ - For the hand of Hashem will rest on this mountain, and Moav shall be threshed under Him, as straw is trodden down in the manure pile.
Edom and Moav are destined to fall under Israel's dominion at the End of Days, as it is written: "They shall stretch forth their hand upon Edom and Moav." The Malbim cites the tradition of Chazal that regarding these two kingdoms, Edom and Moav - whose borders Israel bypassed when they came up from Egypt, as the Holy One, blessed be He, warned them not to wage war against them - they are destined to be delivered into Israel's hands in the future to come. Hashem said to them: Right now they are not delivered into your hands, but in the future they will be delivered.
This is what is being addressed here: Moav will come to Mount Zion to wage war against Israel, and then "the hand of Hashem will rest on this mountain" - Hashem will place His hand upon them - "and Moav shall be threshed under Him (tachtav)." What is the meaning of tachtav ("under him" or "under it")? The Malbim explains that it means one of two things: either under the mountain, or under Hashem, may He be blessed. It cannot be explained as "under the hand," because yad (hand) is grammatically feminine, and the verse would have had to say tachteha.
"As straw is trodden down in the manure pile" - matben refers to a place of straw used to make manure (domen) for fertilizing fields. People used to take out the straw into the public domain so that passersby would trample it, making it suitable to fertilize the fields. In this same way, Moav will be trampled and threshed in the refuse until it becomes like actual refuse.
Radak's Question: Where Are These Nations Today?
Radak asks: The nations were already scrambled and mixed together by Sennacherib, and we no longer know who is Amon and who is Moav; about whom, then, is the prophet speaking? This is a general question regarding all the prophecies that refer to nations we no longer recognize - how can we know these prophecies will be fulfilled if we do not even know who that nation is?
Radak answers with two possibilities. First: although the nation as a whole is no longer identifiable, specific families within it are indeed known. For example, we cannot determine that all of Germany is Amalek, but it is clear to us that Amalek is concentrated there, and we have proofs, verses, and Gemaras supporting this. One cannot state that every individual German is an Amalekite, since Sennacherib came and mixed up the nations, yet the root of Amalek is situated there. So too with the other nations - their root is in a known location. The second possibility: when the prophets speak of these nations, they refer to their geographical lands. When Moav is mentioned, it means the area of Jordan, as the modern country of Jordan occupies the territory of original Moav; and when Amon is mentioned, it refers to the land of Amon. That is to say, the prophecy refers to the peoples who inhabit those specific lands.
Verse 11: Like a Swimmer in Water
וּפֵרַשׂ יָדָיו בְּקִרְבּוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר יְפָרֵשׂ הַשֹּׂחֶה לִשְׁחוֹת וְהִשְׁפִּיל גַּאֲוָתוֹ עִם אׇרְבּוֹת יָדָיו׃ - And he will spread out his hands in its midst, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, and He will bring down his pride together with the snares of his hands.
Earlier it stated, "the hand of Hashem will rest on this mountain" - the mere placing of the Holy One, blessed be He's hand is enough for Moav to be threshed immediately. And here the verse adds: the Holy One, blessed be He, will spread His hands this way and that, like a swimmer who spreads his arms as he glides across the water. The lesson of this metaphor: lest one think that bringing Moav low will be difficult, as it were, for Him, may He be blessed; rather, it will be done with absolute ease, like a swimmer gliding effortlessly through the water.
"Together with the ploys of his hands" - the Malbim explains that this is related to ma'arav, an ambush. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will, as it were, lay an ambush for them with His hands; an ambush being a cunning stratagem a person devises to overcome his adversary. And through this, "He will bring down his pride."
Pasuk 12: The Humiliation of Edom's Fortress
וּמִבְצַר מִשְׂגַּב חוֹמֹתֶיךָ הֵשַׁח הִשְׁפִּיל הִגִּיעַ לָאָרֶץ עַד־עָפָר׃ - And the high fortress of your walls He brings down, humbles, and lays low to the ground, even to the dust.
Here the prophet returns to Edom: You, Edom, who possessed a fortified city - which also refers to Botzrah, as it is said, "Who is this that comes from Edom, in dyed garments from Botzrah?" - do not pride yourself in the high fortress of your walls, and do not say, "I have an impregnable refuge and massive walls behind which to hide." "He brings down" (heishach) is an expression of humbling; Hashem brought low that very fortress until it reached the ground, down to the dust, so that they will resemble the dust of the earth and it will not be discernible at all that a wall, a tower, or a barrier was ever there. May Hashem do so speedily in our days, Amen.
In Summary:
Chapter 25 opens with the song of the elders in the Messianic era: "Hashem, You are my God" - I will exalt You by virtue of Your unknowable Essence, and I will praise Your Name on account of the wonders You perform which we perceive, wonders planned from afar through the words of the prophets to cultivate and strengthen faith. Afterwards, the prophet describes the downfall of the cities of the nations and the palaces of strangers, and the two outcomes: honor from the people of Israel and fear from the nations; as well as Hashem's kindness toward the poor and needy in his distress, serving as a refuge from the rainstorm and shade from the heat, and the innate power of holiness to subjugate wickedness. Next follows the feast that Hashem will prepare for all the nations - rich delicacies alongside refined dregs, with no middle ground; the removal of the covering from over the monotheistic nations and the veil from over the idolatrous nations; "He will swallow up death" - meaning that the death of the forces of Gog and Magog will swallow up false beliefs forever, and then tears will be wiped from every face and the disgrace of His people removed. At that time they will proclaim, "Behold, this is our God, we hoped for Him" - an eternal salvation befitting His great Name, over which we will exult initially and rejoice forever. Finally, the downfall of Moav and Edom: trampled like straw in a dung heap, and their high fortified walls brought low to the ground, down to the dust. May Hashem do so speedily in our days, Amen.