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Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi B"H D'var Torah on Bo
Dayyenu? How could it have been enough?
In this week's Torah portion, Bo, we learn about the ten plagues God brought upon Egypt
for not freeing the Israelites from slavery, and we are commanded to remember all the events
of the Exodus at the Passover seder: Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread...
And you shall tell your son on that day: 'This is done because of what the Lord did for me
when I came forth out of Egypt.' [Ex. 13:6,8]
Indeed, at the seder table we recall everything God has done for us during the Exodus. Fifteen
miracles are recalled one by one in the "Dayyenu" poem, when we say that even if God had done
less for us, "it would have been enough" -- "Dayyenu". Let us recall that song, which is more than
a thousand years old, then ask the question: Would it really have been enough?
The first five lines are about leaving slavery. We say:
Had He brought us out of Egypt, and not executed judgments against the Egyptians -- Dayyenu
Had He executed judgments against the Egyptians, and not their gods -- Dayyenu
Had He executed judgments against their gods and not put to death their firstborn -- Dayyenu
Had He put to death their firstborn, and not given us their riches -- Dayyenu
Had He given us their riches, and not split the Sea for us -- Dayyenu
The next five lines are about the miracles. We say:
Had He split the Sea for us, and not led us through it on dry land -- Dayyenu
Had He led us through it on dry land, and not sunk our enemies in it -- Dayyenu
Had He sunk our enemies in it, and not satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years -- Dayyenu
Had He satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years, and not fed us the manna -- Dayyenu
Had He fed us the manna, and not given us Shabbat -- Dayyenu
Finally, the last four lines are about spiritual matters. We say:
Had He given us Shabbat, and not brought us to Mount Sinai -- Dayyenu
Had He brought us to Mount Sinai, and not given us the Torah -- Dayyenu
Had He given us the Torah, and not brought us into Israel -- Dayyenu
Had He brought us into Israel, and not built the Temple for us -- Dayyenu
The plain message here is obviously that we must count our blessings. We must be grateful
for what we have, even if it's not everything we want. Yet, the phrasing is somewhat puzzling.
For example:
-If God had taken us out of Egypt and not split the Sea for us, how could it possibly
have been enough? We would have been killed or reenslaved by the Egyptians. It would then
have been better to remain as slaves in Egypt in the first place.
-If God had taken us out of Egypt and not fed us manna in the wilderness for forty years,
how could it possibly have been enough? We would have died. In this case also it would
then have been better to remain as slaves in Egypt.
-If God had brought us to Mount Sinai, and not given us the Torah, how could it possibly
have been enough? What would then have been the point of bringing us to the mountain,
and why should we be thankful for it?
These are good questions, and our commentators provide answers. On the first question, "If
God had taken us out of Egypt and not split the Sea for us, how could it possibly have
been enough?", Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, the 16th-century Egyptian sage, puts the emphasis
on splitting the sea, not on saving us. He points out that God could have arranged for
a natural way for us to cross the sea, by boat for example, and that would certainly
have been enough. But the splitting of the sea, an unnatural phenomenon, proved to us
that God was directly with us, and we needed that reassurance.
The second question is answered in a similar manner: "If God had taken us out of Egypt
and not fed us manna in the wilderness for forty years, how could it possibly have been
enough?". God could have fed us by putting natural oases along the way. Yet He fed us
with manna coming down from heaven to prove to us that He was directly with us.
Now the third question, "If God had brought us to Mount Sinai, and not given us the Torah,
how could it possibly have been enough? What would then have been the point of bringing
us there?" It would be like saying, "If he had brought us to the theater but not shown
us the movie, it would have been enough." Would it really? Commentators point out that
what we are thankful for here is that God turned us into a unified nation by bringing
us all together in the same place for the first time. That alone is a reason to be thankful,
even if God did not give us the Torah there. The Malbim, 19th-century Russian sage, points
out that even if God had only performed this one act, it would have been enough to require
us to say Hallel, the traditional psalms of praise. Indeed, he points out, Jewish law
says that you must recite the birkat hamazon, the Grace after Meals, even if you are still
a little hungry after the meal.
In conclusion, let us quote Ben Zoma, the Talmudic sage, who said:
Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot. [Pirkei Avot 4:1]
Let us learn to say "Dayyenu" -- "It would have been enough."
Shabbat shalom.