פירוש על דברים 28:49

כאשר ידאה הנשר [THE LORD WILL BRING A NATION AGAINST YOU FROM AFAR], AS THE EAGLE SWOOPS DOWN — i.e. suddenly, and by a successful march, and its horses will be swift.

כאשר ידאה הנשר, “as the eagle will swoop.” This is a reference to the Roman Emperor Vespasianus and his general (and son) Titus (before the latter became Emperor). He had thought that it would take him 10 days to reach Jerusalem whereas he found that he reached the city after only five days of travel. He had overheard a young child quote our verse in which G’d describes a nation being carried against the Jewish people from the end of the earth much like an eagle which swoops down out of the sky. He applied this verse to himself when he experienced such an extraordinarily fast journey in his campaign against Jerusalem. Just as this particular verse applies to the destruction of the second Temple, so the entire chapter speaks of events happening at the end of the period of the second Temple.

Suddenly, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Is the eagle unable to come from nearby?! Therefore he explains, “suddenly, etc.” I.e., “as the eagle soars” is a separate phrase and does not refer to the adjacent “nation from afar, etc.” Rather, it refers to the beginning of the verse, “Adonoy will raise upon you a nation” suddenly “as the eagle soars, etc.”