In the first b’racha of the amidah, Avos, we say "גומל חסדים טובים"... which is normally translated something like- “who does good deeds...” but literally, “Gomel chasadim” by itself means “does good deeds”, so the word “tovim” is extra!
Does anyone have an idea/ sources what the extra word is there for?
Answer
Abudraham says (in the middle of the righthand column here) the phrase is not distinguishing bad chesed from good chesed, but more like neutral chesed (presumably the quid pro quo that) humans do for other humans, vs. divine chesed, which is goodness beyond that standard that God delivers.
גומל חסדים טובים - ע"ש "אֲשֶׁר גְּמָלָם כְּרַחֲמָיו וּכְרֹב חֲסָדָיו". טובים יותר מגמילות חסדי האדם, והוא ע"ש "טוֹב ה' לַכֹּל
bestows good deeds - as in "That He bestowed upon them According to His mercy and His great kindness". Better than human good deeds, which is as in "The LORD is good to all"
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