הֶֽ֭הָרִים תִּרְקְד֣וּ כְאֵילִ֑ים גְּ֝בָע֗וֹת כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן׃
Kayong mga bundok, bakit kayo lumulukso na parang mga lalaking tupa? Kayong mga burol, na parang mga batang tupa?
Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition)
And since the great Hallel, [which is the more important] is recited, why must we [on happy occasions] recite also the [ordinary] Hallel? Because it contains the following five things: The exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Torah to Israel, the resurrection of the dead, and the sufferings of the Messianic period. It contains the exodus from Egypt, as it is written (Ps. 114, 1) When Israel went forth out of Egypt; the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is written (Ib. ib., 3) The sea beheld it, and fled; the giving of the Torah, as it is written (Ib. ib., 6) Ye mountains, that ye skip like wethers. Ye hills like lambs; the resurrection of the dead, as it is written (Ib. 116, 9) I will walk before the Lord in the land of life; and the suffering during the Messianic period, as it is written (Ib. 115, 1) Not for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, etc. Upon which R. Jochanan said: "This refers to the subjugation in exile," and, according to others, R. Jochanan said that this refers to the time of the war of Gog and Magog. R. Nachman b. Isaac said: "Because it contains the saving of the righteous souls from Gehenna [it is recited on a holiday], as it is said (Ib. 116, 4) I beseech thee, O Lord, release my soul [from Gehenna]." Hezekiah said: "Because in it is mentioned that the righteous (Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah) were thrown into the fiery furnace and came out alive." Not for our sake, Lord, was said by Chananiah; But unto Thy name give glory, was said by Mishael; iud For the sake of Thy kindness, for the sake of Thy truth, was said by Azariah; but they all said the next passage, Wherefore should the nations say, where now is their God. And when they came out from the furnace, Chananiah said (Ib. 117) Praise God, all ye nations; Mishael said, Praise Him, all ye peoples; and Azariah said, For His mercy is great towards us. And the truth of the Lord endureth forever, was said by all three. And according to some, 'Gabriel said the passage. And the truth of the Lord, etc.; for at the time when Nimrod, the wicked, had cast Abraham, our patriarch, into the fiery furnace, Gabriel said unto the Holy One, praised be He! "Sovereign of the Universe, let me, I pray thee, go down, and cool the furnace, and deliver that righteous one from that fiery furnace." Then the Holy One, praised be He! said unto him: "I am One in my world, and he is one in his. It behooves that He who is one should deliver him who is one." But as the Holy One, praised be He! doth not deprive any creature of reward, He said to Gabriel: "For this, thy good intention, thou wilt be privileged to rescue three of his grand-children"; as R. Simon, of Shiloh, expounded: "At the time when Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked, cast Chenaniah, Mishael and Azariah into the fiery furnace Yurkami, the chief of the hail, said unto the Holy One, praised be He! "Sovereign of the Universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool off the fiery furnace, and rescue these righteous men.' Whereupon Gabriel interposed and said: 'The greatness of the Holy One, praised be He! will not be demonstrated in such a way, for thou art the chief of hail, and everybody knows that water quencheth fire; but I, the chief of fire, will go down and cool the flames within (Ib. b) and intensify it without [so as to consume the executioners], and thus will I perform a miracle within a miracle.' Then the Holy One, praised be He! said to him: 'Go down.' Upon which Gabriel said, 'Verily, the truth of the Lord endureth forever.'" R. Nathan said: The verse, Verily the truth of the Lord endureth forever, was said by the fish in the sea, as R. Huna said: "The Israelites of that generation [that went out of Egypt] were wanting in faith [of God] and as Raba, the son of Mari, expounded: "What is the meaning of the passage (Ps. 106, 7) But they rebelled at the sea, even at the Red Sea; nevertheless he helped them for His name's sake. It is intended to teach us that [at the time when God divided the Red Sea and Israel passed through and the Egyptians were drowned] the Israelites rebelled and said: 'Just as we ascend from this side so do the Egyptians ascend from another side.' Whereupon the Holy One, praised be He! said to the angel of the sea: 'Spit them out upon the dry land.' 'Sovereign of the Universe,' the angel of the sea pleaded before Him, 'can there be found a servant to whom his master gave a present and who should later take it back from him?' 'Instead of this I shall give you one and a half,' the Lord said to him. The angel of the sea continued: 'Sovereign of the Universe! is it possible for a servant to summon his master before a court of justice?' 'The river Kishon shall guarantee for it,' was the Lord's reply. Immediately all of them were spit out and thrown upon the dry land. When Israel came to the place they saw them all dead and thus the passage becomes clear (Ex. 14, 30) And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the shore of the sea. And how was it that the sea got one and a half in return? In connection with the incident of Pharaoh it is written (Gen. 14, 6) Six hundred chosen chariots, with that of Sissera, it is written (Jud. 40) Nine hundred iron chariots. And when Sissera came upon the Israelites with iron chariots, the Holy One, praised be He! sent forth upon them the stars in their paths, as it is written (Ib. 5) From heaven have fought the stars in their paths, etc. As soon as the stars descended upon them, the iron chariots became hot and they went to the river Kishon to cool themselves [where they were consequently drowned]. Then said the Holy One, praised be He! to the river Kishon, 'Go and pay off thy guarantee which thou hast secured to the sea.' Instantly they were swept out by the river Kishon and thrown into the sea, as it is said (Jud. 5, 21) The stream of Kishon swept them away, that ancient stream. What is meant by That ancient stream? The stream that became a surety from olden times. In that moment the fish broke forth and said 'Verily the truth of the Lord endureth forever.' "
Midrash Tehillim
"Lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him,' lest my foes rejoice because I have stumbled." The Lord said to David, "In what moment are you saying these things?" David replied, "I trust in Your mercy, as it is written in Psalm 13:6, 'But I trust in Your kindness; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.' The same kindness that is spoken of in Psalm 33:5, 'The Lord's kindness fills the earth,' and in Psalm 119:116, 'Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; do not disappoint me in my hope.' Another matter, I trust in Your mercy through the Torah, as it says in Proverbs 31:26, 'She opens her mouth with wisdom, and a lesson of kindness is on her tongue.' Let my heart rejoice in Your salvation." Rabbi Abbahu said, "This is one of the difficult verses, as the salvation of the Lord is the salvation of Israel. 'Let my heart rejoice in Your salvation' is written, not 'in our salvation.' David said, 'Your salvation is our salvation.'" Another matter, I trust in Your mercy even in Babylon. Let my heart rejoice in Your salvation in Media. "I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me," as He has dealt graciously with me in Edom. Another matter, He said to Israel, "Pay me back for what I have done for you in this world, and I will repay you in the world to come. I told you to pour water before Me during the holiday, and I have preceded you, as it is written in Numbers 21:17, 'Then Israel sang this song: 'Spring up, O well! Sing to it!' And I will repay you, as it is written in Joel 4:18, 'And in that day the mountains shall drip with sweet wine.' I told you to take a palm branch and praise Me, and I have preceded you, as it is written in Psalm 114:6, 'The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like sheep.' And I will repay you in the future, as it is written in Isaiah 55:12, 'For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills shall burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.' I told you to make a sukkah for Me, and I have preceded you, as it is written in Leviticus 23:43, 'So that your generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.' And I will repay you in the future, as it is written in Isaiah 4:6, 'And there shall be a pavilion for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge and shelter from storm and rain.' 'Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him back?' I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me."