HAPPY — the very first word of the Psalter (Psalm 1:1) and one of its favorites. It is a plural-of-intensity exclamation over a PERSON: 'oh, the happinesses of the one who…!' — a felicitation, a congratulation on a life rightly aimed, not a wish or a prayer. ⚠ It is distinct from barukh ('blessed'), which runs the other direction, UP to God in blessing; ashrei is always spoken ABOUT a human being. The Septuagint renders it makarios — the exact word that opens the Beatitudes, 'Happy are the poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3) — so the Psalter and the Sermon on the Mount begin on the same note. → first discussed at Psalms 1:1