Vanguard

–

Van·guard 

/ˈvanˌɡärd/

Vanguard is a late Middle English word meaning the frontmost section of an army, nowadays it’s used as a term for the forefront of just about anything. It’s a shortened version of the Anglo-French word avantgarde which is composed of the words avant, meaning “before”, and garde, meaning “guardian”.

Example: Jim is at the vanguard of his local antidisestablishmentarianism movement. 

חֶסֶד / Chesed

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Che·sed

/ḥeˌsed/

Chesed is often translated into English as “kindness,” but this is a faulty definition as it doesn’t accurately represent the truly deep meaning of the word. Chesed is almost always used biblically in the context of compassion where there is some sort of covenant involved. A more accurate definition of the word chesed would be “an act of kindness that comes out of the kindness of one’s heart but goes both ways,” which is really something that the world could learn a little more about. This is why the creation of the world is described as an act of chesed from G-d since it is our responsibility to reciprocate His kindness and bring light to the world.

Example: I do some chesed for you, you do some chesed for me, capiche?