"While most English Bibles use 'blessed,' a few modern translations have preferred 'happy': 'How happy are the poor of spirit…'
" ' "Happy" isn't good enough," Rabbi Steven Schwarzschild once told me. 'The biblical translator who uses such a word should change jobs, maybe write TV comedies with nice happy endings. The problem is that, if you decide you don't like "blessed," there isn't a single English word that can take its place. You might use a phrase like "on the right track" or "going in the right direction." Sin, by the way, means being off the track, missing the target. Being "blessed" means you aren't lost — you're on the path the Creator intends you to be on. But what you recognize as a blessing may look like an affliction to an outsider. Exchanging "blessed" for "happy" trivializes the biblical word. You might as well sum up the Bible with a slogan like, "Have a nice day." ' (From http://www.incommunion.org/articles/books/blessed). I thought this was a really good definition. Do you agree with it?" -- Fred Ichinose
The rabbi is right.
