One of the most popular parts of the Passover seder is Dayenu. Jews love it and sing it over and over. For many children, it is their earliest memory of the seder.

There is a problem, however. The words of Dayenu seem to make no sense. [...]

If [God] had brought us near Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, it would have been sufficient. If [God] had given us the Torah and not led us into the land of Israel, it would have been sufficient.

Really? [...]

Without the Torah, no Jew would exist today.

No one would be celebrating Passover and singing Dayenu!

How, then, would it have been "sufficient" for God to give us some of [these] gifts, but not the others? Didn't we really need them all? Could the Jews really have survived without the Torah, or without Shabbos?

What does Dayenu mean? [...]

When a baby is born, the question of how he will perform at his Bar Mitzvah does not enter the parents’ consciousness. The moment, the miracle of birth, is utterly full.

When a young couple is married, the question of how [they] will manage retirement does not enter [anyone's] consciousness. The moment, the gift of marriage, is utterly full.

It is self-sufficient.

Each major moment in the liberation from Egypt was utterly full. No future moment entered the freed slaves' consciousness.

They approached the Reed Sea. There was no hope. The Egyptians were thundering in back of them.

Suddenly, the sea opens up!

The greatest, most awesome, most unexpected, most amazing event unfolded before their eyes.

They were dumbstruck, overwhelmed, relieved.

The moment was utterly full.

God's presence and salvation were overwhelming.

The present moment filled them completely.

No future moment could impinge on their consciousness.

The splitting of the sea indeed was sufficient! Dayenu.

So it was with each miracle, with each Divine gift, at each step of the way out of Egypt and into the land of Israel.


haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu
Source: Rabbi Hillel Goldberg