Dayenu (Hebrew: דַּיֵּנוּ, Dayyēnū) is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word "dayenu" means approximately "it would have been enough," "it would have been sufficient," or "it would have sufficed" (day- in Hebrew is "enough," and -ēnu the first person plural suffix, "to us"). This traditional upbeat Passover song is over one thousand years old.
The earliest full text of the song occurs in the first medieval haggadah, which is part of the ninth-century Seder Rav Amram.[1] The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts given to the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show much greater appreciation for all of them. The song appears in the Haggadah after the telling of the story of the exodus and just before the explanation of Passover, matzah, and the maror.
Stanzas
Dayenu has 15 stanzas representing the 15 gifts God bestowed. The first five involve freeing the Jews from slavery, the next describe the miracles He did for them, and the last five for the closeness to God He gave them. Each stanza is followed by dayenu "it would have been enough", sung repeatedly. The 15 stanzas are as follows:
Jews in Afghanistan and Iran hit each other over the head with green onions during the refrain beginning with the ninth stanza (Even if you had supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years but not provided us with manna). This may be due to a passage in Numbers 11:5–6, where the Israelites see manna and recall Egypt. "We remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all. Nothing but this manna to look at." It is thought that by beating each other with the onions they taught themselves not to yearn for Egypt or to forget Egyptian slavery.[2]
In popular culture
Independent Israeli guitarist and singer Udi Davidi recorded a modern rendition of "Dayenu" on his 2006 album entitled "Back To You" (חוזר אליך).[3]
In Israeli screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, after the line "if only we hadn't made this journey... if only the car hadn't broken down... oh, if only we were amongst friends... Or sane persons," the audience sings the chorus of "Dayenu".[citation needed]
In the episode "Free to Be You and Me" of Supernatural, Dean tells the angel Castiel "Dayenu" as if the situation they are in is destined to be.[5]
Near the beginning of the 2013 videogame BioShock Infinite, a preacher recites a spoken sermon in a form identical to the song ("If he had done this, but not this, it would have been enough"), but in praise of the game's major antagonist rather than of God.[6]
Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar. Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and, among most customs, eight days in the Jewish diaspora. Where seven days of Passover are observed, a seder is held on the first night; where eight days are observed, seders are often held on the first two nights, the 15th and 16th of Nisan. The Seder is a ritual involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, taken from the Book of Exodus in the Torah. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" At the seder, Jews read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient Tannaitic work. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, Talmudic commentaries, and Passover songs.
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The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each Jew to tell their children the story from the Book of Exodus about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
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The Passover Seder plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder. It is used to show all the symbolic foods that are used for the Passover Seder.
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Passover songs are songs from the seder, the festive meal associated with the Jewish festival of Passover.
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Ma Nishtana It is a section at the beginning of the Passover Haggadah known as TheFour Kushiyot, The Four Questions or "Why is this night different from all other nights?", traditionally asked via song by the youngest capable child attending Passover Seder.
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In Judaism, when the Eve of Passover falls on Shabbat, special laws regarding the preparation for Passover are observed.
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The White House Passover Seder was an annual private dinner held at the White House on the Jewish holiday of Passover during the presidency of Barack Obama. Obama initiated it in 2009 for his family, staff members, friends, and their families. The gathering recited the Passover Haggadah, discussed the themes of the Passover Seder and their relation to current events, and partook of a holiday-themed meal. Obama hosted and attended the Seder each year from 2009 to 2016. It was the first Passover Seder to be conducted by a sitting U.S. president in the White House.
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References
↑ Ben-Amos, Dan; Noy, Dov, eds. (2006). Folktales of the Jews: Tales from Eastern Europe. Vol.II. Jewish Publication Society of America. p.383. ISBN9780827608306.
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