Torah Thoughts Passover 5778
I would like to begin with an apology. Over the last few weeks, I, and others in the Jewish community, have been misrepresenting the Hebrew word Dayenu. Taken from the title of the song made popular at our Passover Seders, Dayenu has come to be translated as “Enough!,” as in “Enough, already!” At recent rallies, such as one on gun control, Dayenu has become a rallying cry for change.
And, that is certainly one way the word can be translated. But, it is most certainly not the way it is used in the Passover Seder. There it refers to the many blessings we received from God during our Exodus from Egypt, as in “it would have been enough if we only… were saved from Pharaoh… were fed and nurtured in our time in the wilderness… received the Torah at Sinai.” The song is meant as a joyous conclusion to the storytelling section of the Seder where we celebrate all that God did for us and prepare to eat our meals.
With that in mind, I would like to list a few Dayenu moments of my own:
- Dayenu –It would have been enough if we only lived in a country where religious freedom was built into the Constitution and protected by law.
- Dayenu – It would have been enough if we only lived in a country where we can truly love our neighbors, that being neighbors of all religious persuasions and ethnicities, as ourselves and where they can love us as well.
- Dayenu – It would have been enough if we only lived in a country where despite the occasional bouts of anti-Semitism we know the police and government are there to protect us.
- Dayenu – It would have been enough if we only lived in a country where my children can attend public school and feel fully comfortable and accepted by their peers.
- Dayenu – It would have been enough if we only lived in a country where Congregation Shir Shalom could proudly display the words “Happy Passover” on our electronic sign and not feel the least bit threatened by the outside world.
For all these moments and more, Dayenu!
From all of us here at Shir Shalom and the Buffalo Jewish community, Happy Passover,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 03/30/2018 by wpadm