תהלים, פרק כ״ט, פסוק ח׳

God's powerful voice echoes across desolate spaces, causing nature to react with deep shock. The primary approach among commentators is that this trembling expresses profound anxiety and terror [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This reaction is frequently compared to the intense pain and contractions of a woman in childbirth [רש"י, מלבי"ם]. In this imagery, the earth is pushed to the breaking point of labor, as if preparing to expel fire and sulfur from within [מלבי"ם].

There are different perspectives on exactly what experiences this intense trembling. One approach suggests that God's voice shakes the inhabitants of the desert and the wild animals that roam there, illustrating His complete control over the dangers of the wasteland [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, אלשיך]. Another view understands the trembling metaphorically, proposing that the silent, inanimate desert itself suffers this pain and shock [רד"ק, אבן עזרא, מאירי]. The wilderness is specifically mentioned because its wide, empty landscape, free of human settlement and buildings, allows the full scale of the shockwave to be seen clearly across its vast length and width [רד"ק].

The focus then shifts to a specific location known as Kadesh. According to one tradition, this refers to the Sinai desert. It earned the name Kadesh because the Israelites were sanctified there. In this context, the trembling hints at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the great terror that accompanied that event [רש"י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Conversely, other commentators explain that Kadesh is simply the name of a particularly vast and terrifying desert [רד"ק, מצודת דוד, מאירי]. Following this thought, the shaking of such a massive wasteland serves as a powerful symbol. It shows that God's power will eventually shake the lands of the nations, leaving them no place of refuge, not even in the most remote and isolated deserts [רד"ק, מאירי].