Dayenu

Haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH

One of most beloved songs in the Passover Seder is "Dayeinu". Dayeinu commemorates a long list of miraculous things God did, any one of which would have been pretty amazing just by itself. For example, “Had God only taken us out of Egypt but not punished the Egyptians – it would have been enough.” Dayeinu, translated liberally, means, “Thank you, God, for overdoing it.”

Dayeinu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our lives. When we stand and wait impatiently for the next one to appear, we are missing the point of life. Instead, we can actively seek a new reason to be grateful, a reason to say “Dayeinu.”

Fun fact: Persian and Afghani Jews hit each other over the heads and shoulders with scallions every time they say Dayenu! They especially use the scallions in the ninth stanza which mentions the manna that the Israelites ate everyday in the desert, because Torah tells us that the Israelites began to complain about the manna and longed for the onions, leeks and garlic. Feel free to be Persian/Afghani for the evening if you’d like.

If He had brought us out from Egypt,

Ilu hotzianu mimitzrayim א

and had not carried out judgments against them

v'lo asah bahem sh'fatim,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had carried out judgments against them,

Ilu asah bahem sh'fatim

and not against their idols

v'lo asah beloheihem,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had destroyed their idols,

Ilu asah beloheihem,

and had not smitten their first-born

v'lo harag et b'choreihem,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had smitten their first-born,

Ilu harag et b'choreihem,

and had not given us their wealth

v'lo natan lanu et mamonam,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had given us their wealth,

Ilu natan lanu et mamonam,

and had not split the sea for us

v'lo kara lanu et hayam,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had split the sea for us,

Ilu kara lanu et hayam,

and had not taken us through it on dry land

v'lo he'eviranu b'tocho becharavah,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had taken us through the sea on dry land,

Ilu he'eviranu b'tocho becharavah,

and had not drowned our oppressors in it

v'lo shika tzareinu b'tocho,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

If He had drowned our oppressors in it,

Ilu shika tzareinu b'tocho, ֹ

and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years

v'lo sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana,

— Dayenu, it would have been enough!

dayeinu!

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