וְהַלְוִיִּ֗ם יֵשׁ֧וּעַ בִּנּ֛וּי קַדְמִיאֵ֥ל שֵׁרֵבְיָ֖ה יְהוּדָ֣ה מַתַּנְיָ֑ה עַֽל־הֻיְּד֖וֹת ה֥וּא וְאֶחָֽיו׃
Y los Levitas: Jesuá, Binnui, Cadmiel, Serebías, Judá, y Mathanías, que con sus hermanos oficiaba en los himnos.
Kos Eliyahu
We shall then give thanks to You (with) a new song: Elsewhere in scripture when we speak of a ‘new song’ we preface it with “sing” (shiru) a new song to the Lord. Why do we preface this expression here with the expression “a new song” with the word nodeh, we will give thanks? While there are places in scripture that we do find a connection between the word nodeh in connection with prayer , it would have been more appropriate to use the word shiru here. One possible answer is that the Maggid used two expressions of praise here to express the two different types of redemption mentioned in the next passage: “Our redemption and the liberation of our souls.” Regarding “Our redemption,” we “Give thanks,” since it is a reference to the past redemption from Egypt. When we speak of the “Liberation of our souls,” we are speaking of the future redemption of Israel. This is a reference to the exile of the Jewish people which is really an exile of the soul since we are unable to perform many of the commandments during this time of exile and some Jews have been forced to abandon their faith. We express our hope in the end of this exile with the words that we look forward to singing “a new song.” The word shir, song, is masculine; sometimes we find the word shirah, the feminine form of the word for song. Whenever scripture uses the masculine form of the word it is generally speaking about future redemptions.
Rabbi David Abudraham challenges this interpretation. If this is the meaning of the two expressions, then why does the passage end by returning to the Exodus from Egypt: “Praised are you, Adonai who redeemed Israel?” The closing passage should reflect the expression closest to it, so it should have spoken about the future redemption. Therefore, he suggests that we interpret the two expressions, “Our redemption” and “the liberation of our souls” the other way around! “Our redemption” should refer to future redemption and “liberation of our souls” should refer to the Exodus from Egypt. It seems to me, however, since both expressions deal with redemption, the concluding blessing is appropriate whichever way you choose to interpret the previous expressions. We see this in other cases, such as the wedding blessings and the blessings for Havdalah: the final blessing is a general summary of the previous statements. For instance in the special Havdalah that we recite between the Sabbath and festivals, we say, “Who separated and sanctified Your people Israel with your holiness.” This refers to the separation of Israel from the other nations. And yet we conclude, “Praised are You Adonai who separates holiness from holiness: rather than referring to the previous expression, it is a more general statement of Havdalah. Therefore I would return to the original interpretation; that, “The liberation of our souls” is a reference to future redemption.
Rabbi David Abudraham challenges this interpretation. If this is the meaning of the two expressions, then why does the passage end by returning to the Exodus from Egypt: “Praised are you, Adonai who redeemed Israel?” The closing passage should reflect the expression closest to it, so it should have spoken about the future redemption. Therefore, he suggests that we interpret the two expressions, “Our redemption” and “the liberation of our souls” the other way around! “Our redemption” should refer to future redemption and “liberation of our souls” should refer to the Exodus from Egypt. It seems to me, however, since both expressions deal with redemption, the concluding blessing is appropriate whichever way you choose to interpret the previous expressions. We see this in other cases, such as the wedding blessings and the blessings for Havdalah: the final blessing is a general summary of the previous statements. For instance in the special Havdalah that we recite between the Sabbath and festivals, we say, “Who separated and sanctified Your people Israel with your holiness.” This refers to the separation of Israel from the other nations. And yet we conclude, “Praised are You Adonai who separates holiness from holiness: rather than referring to the previous expression, it is a more general statement of Havdalah. Therefore I would return to the original interpretation; that, “The liberation of our souls” is a reference to future redemption.
Rashi
to give thanks to the Lord by the hand of Asaph and his brethren Asaph would commence, “Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name,” and afterwards all his brethren would respond after him. A similar instance is found in Ezra (Neh. 11:17): “And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph the chief to begin the thanksgiving in prayer,” on the instrument of the huyedoth, as it is written in Ezra (ibid. 12:8): “And the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah over the huyedoth.”