chesed & חסד !

The word 'Chesed' is a Hebrew word that is pronounced like you are clearing your throat...'CH-EH-S-EH-D' instead of the 'ch" sound.

... why is this word significant?

"Perhaps the most significant change between the word chesed and grace lies in that grace does not appear in a vacuum; grace gives from an abundance- of a justified receipt, but chesed gives from an endless opportunity of need."

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"(חֶסֶד cheçed, kheh'-sed)... kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:—favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing" Strong's Concordance

"the attribute of grace, benevolence, or compassion, especially (in Kabbalism) as one of the sephiroth" from Google dictionary

(find a full listing of every reference to chesed in the Bible here: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=h2617

chesed

The Bible uses the word 'chesed' many times to express fervor, and favor. It brings emotion into the scene, changing the dynamic of each word. For example, in this case, Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness (chesed) have I drawn thee..."

christian grace & jewish chesed

grace

If it's one thing I know, Christians love the word 'grace'. We talk about it, sing about it, believe it, and move it in. It is central to our lives; central to our theology. Without the unwarranted- unmerited- unearned- undeserved, care that we receive from God, there would be no other foundation to rest our teaching upon.

chesed

Scholars see very little difference in meaning from the words 'grace' to chesed'. Both of these words mean to bestow kindness, to demonstrate sensitivity, and to give favor for no reason. Inherently we know that real love is the act of continual giving, without the expectation of reciprocity. This meaning, in fact, ties the definition of grace and chesed.

summary

As we read the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible), and the New Testament, we see the meaning of chesed not always expressly stated, but rather implied as well. By translating from the Hebrew, scholars find this word almost 300 times. It would appear that it changes over time, but the meaning only intensifies over time. For example, the New Testament exemplifies the definition of grace, but yet it does not explicitly mention the word alone more than the Hebrew Bible mentions chesed.

Perhaps the most significant change between the word chesed and grace lies in that grace does not appear in a vacuum; grace gives from an abundance- of a justified receipt, but chesed gives from an endless opportunity of need.

Whatever the context may be, we know that chesed evokes passion- an active, overflowing passion that benefits someone else. "While purity of motive is virtuous with regard to every mitzvah, it is intrinsic to chesed. As soon as there is a motivation 'for something' - be it honor or a future payoff - it has ceased being absolute chesed. It is just another action in the long series of links in the cause and effect chain." by Rabbi Shimon Leiberman

http://www.aish.com/authors/105128609.html

Love,

Hannah