It Would Have Been Enough…
Today marks the last day of Passover (for the Jews in the diaspora, it was yesterday for Jews in Israel), celebrating God’s miraculous liberation of the Jewish people from bondage and slavery in Egypt.
Again this year, I was honored to be included in my neighbor’s Passover seder, huddled together around folding tables and sitting in folding chairs with 30 other adults and children to remember (or learn, for some) the stories and traditions.
We ate good food, sang fun songs (some of us in Hebrew, some of us in English), the children searched high and low for the afikoman, and we indulged in the requisite four glasses of wine. My children may or may not have since then remarked, “Passover is our favorite - the adults get drunk!”
The revelry is remarkable, but the jewel of Passover that stays buried in my heart year-round is the traditional Dayenu prayer (also sung as a song).
Dayenu translates, “it would have been enough…” and there is a long listing of all of the things that God did - over and above what was required - to love and save God’s people. Between each stanza, everyone says, “…It would have been enough for us.” The participants are reminded of the abundant grace that has been—and is—available to us always.
A modern rendition might go something like this:
How thankful we must be to God, the All Present, for all the good He did for us.
Had He woken us up this morning, and not given us the strength to get out of bed, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us the strength to get out of bed, and not given us enough food to eat, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us enough food to eat, and not ensured that it was enjoyable, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He ensured that our food was enjoyable, and not given us meaningful work do to, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us meaningful work to do, and not given us technology with which to do it, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us technology with which to do our work, and no one else to interact with, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us other people to interact with, and not given us physical rest from our labors, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
Had He given us physical rest from our labors, and not given us peace that something bigger holds it all together, Dayenu, it would have been enough for us!
…and what stanza(s) would you add? Leave a thought or two in the comments so we can all become more aware of the fullness of life that surrounds us.
In the mean time, and always, Shalom my friends.