#Psalmtweet #Psalter 149:1

 

Remember that new song?

הַ֥לְלוּ־יָ֨הּ ׀ שִׁ֣ירוּ לַֽ֭יהוָה שִׁ֣יר חָדָ֑שׁ תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ בִּקְהַ֥ל חֲסִידִֽים		1 ♪f Hallelu Yah. Sing to Yahweh a new song. His praise in the congregation of the-many who are under mercy.
a hllu-ih wiru lihvh wir kdw thilto bqhl ksidim	10 9	hll\v ih wir\v l/ihvh wir kdw t/hl\tv b/qhl ksid\im

the-many who are under mercy - ksidim - or more commonly in non-reversible transcriptions, Hasidim. But this is not the movement that originated in the 18th century CE and that has retrenched in reaction to modernity. Is it mystical? The word is from ksd kindness, KJV loving-kindness (a verbal overreach). I have used kindness and mercy as my glosses leading me to long-winded phrases at times. Is it as Elie Wiesel says, "difficult to be a mystic these days"? Yet in a later chapter he writes that "Hasidism teaches how to build on ruins".

This root ksd is used of Ruth and her character - she is kind in all her actions. She is also determined and strong. These are aspects of ksd (חסד). The purpose of the Psalms is to create such persons in community of reliable character and witness. Just look at how often (click the link to my concordance above) it and its related word ksh (refuge) are used in the Psalter.