Comentario sobre Salmos 68:17

Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains All this refers back to “The Lord will give out a word.” He says further to them, “Why do you lurk (תרצדון), you lofty mountains?” Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains, to destroy the mountain that God desired for His dwelling, to cause His Shechinah to rest upon it? That is the Temple Mount. Even He will dwell there forever. Its sanctity is a perpetual sanctity. After it was chosen for His dwelling, the Shechinah did not rest elsewhere. I saw in the works of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan that רצד is “ambush” in Arabic. But Menachem (p. 166) explained תרצדוּן like תרקדוּן, you prance. That expression, too, fits the context.

Why do you lurk (tratzdun) – There are those who explain tratzdun as dance, meaning why do you praise yourselves? You are considered nothing compared the mountain which God desired for His dwelling, which is the mountain of the House. Rabbenu Hai explained tratzdun as a language of consideration and expectation, comparing it to the Arabic in this case. The meaning then would be – why are you interested in and in expectation of honor? Honor is due only to the mountain which God desired for His dwelling. This is the mountain of the House where the Holy Temple is located, the cause of the glory of Jerusalem because there the glory is seen continually, as well as His aid and compassion. Behold, over all of the land of Israel the hand of the enemy rules, and of Jerusalem it says “…neither shall he shoot there an arrow, nor shall he advance upon it with a shield, nor shall he pile up a siege mound against it,” (Isaiah 37:33) and it says “And I will protect this city to save it…” (Isaiah 37:35) And the verse continues ‘Even the Lord will dwell there forever’ because on mount Sinai He did not dwell forever: