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Dayenu - Jacquie, Lilly, Emily
Contributed by JTL

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

The catchiest song sung at the Passover seder has to be Diyanu. The repetitive verses where we have the chance to say, “enough” gives people the energy to complete the rest of the seder. The song’s fifteen identical verses makes praising God more enjoyable for all, even those who can’t speak Hebrew. At the end of every verse we do not say, “enough,” instead we say diyanu to mean “it is sufficient for us.” The song begins with “If He had brought us out from Egypt, and had not carried out judgments against them,— Dayenu, it would have been enough!” The verse is saying that if Hashem had just brought us out of Egypt, out of our suffering, that would have been enough to satisfy the Jewish people . But He did more than that, he carried out judgements on to the Egyptians. We agree that Hashem went above and beyond in saving the Jewish people. The songs alludes to the idea of the temple being built, and the Jews reciting Psalms in praise.

            Dayenu appears before Hallel in the seder on passover. Many believe it was placed there as a prep for the event of Hallel. People continue the phrase, “Dayenu- it would have been enough,” with, “to praise Hashem.” We sing Hallel, the psalms used for praise, to thank G-d for the blessing of no longer being slaves in Egypt. The new phrase fits right into the song of Dayenu, because now that we have recognized God’s helping hand, we need also to thank and praise him for everything thing he did for us while we were leaving Egypt.

            Each verse of the song speaks of a new miracle performed for the Jewish people, and between each and every verse is “Dayenu.” Not only does this break by saying dayenu give us a chance to catch our breath after belting the words of the song, but it also gives us a mental break to quickly reflect on the miracle we just sang about, because each miracle that God performed, after liberating us from Egypt, was not a necessity, but just another kind act of G-d towards the Jewish people, and it is vital we recognize that. . We have the chance to say “it is enough,” and how often do we get the chance to stop, look around and say that? A fellow haggadot.com user expands on this idea and explains that, “Dayenu 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 whole point of life. Instead, we can actively seek a new reason to be grateful, a reason to say “Dayenu.”’  This reflection is done surrounded by a table full of family and friends, all thinking of things they are grateful for. Dayenu offers the perfect opportunity to be thankful, and to recognize what one has in life, because in today’s society we often are moving too fast to see the everyday miracles that happen; it acts as a reminder, a reminder that Hashem helped us in Egypt, when we were treated as nothing- less than human- and that he is still watching over us today, even when we don’t necessarily recognize, because Dayenu offers a chance of reflection.  If you wanted to make singing Dayenu even more fun, add some scallions into the mix, whacking the guest of your seder on the head with scallions is surprisingly fun. The Sephardi and Mizrahi custom has now made its way to seders of every minchag.

tanach.org

chabad.org

myjewishlearning.com

haggadot.com

Jewishpress.com

aish.com

Zac Epstein- for sharing about the scallions. 
haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu

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