[Par-reg] For Yom Atrzmaut

Wed Apr 25 13:39:06 EDT 2012

This week's TSC shiurim are dedicated by my
student Jonathan Nathan and his wife Heidi

in honor of the birth of their daughter,
Chana Moriah Esther, 

born in Yerushalayim on the 24th of Nisan

*********************************************
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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag

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                 "DA'YENU"  - for Yom Atzmaut

     How could an observant Jew say, let
alone sing, that -'it

would have been enough'- even had God not
given us the Torah?

    And how could a Zionist say, let alone
sing, that -'it would

have been enough'- even if God had not given
us the Land of

Israel?

    Nevertheless, every year at the Seder, we
all sing the

popular song of "dayenu", which seems to
convey precisely that

message!

    In the following shiur, we attempt to
answer this question.

INTRODUCTION

     "Dayenu" is a very simple, yet beautiful
poem -

containing fifteen stanzas describing acts of
God's kindness -

each stanza stating that it would have been
'enough' had God

only helped us in one way.

     For example, we begin by saying it would
have been enough

had He only taken us out of Egypt, and not
punished the

Egyptians.  The poem continues stage by stage
through the

process of redemption from Egypt (until we
arrive in the Land

of Israel and build the Temple), saying how
each stage would

have been 'enough', even had God not helped
us with the next

stage.

     However, some of those statements appear
very strange,

for they include that it 'would have been
enough had we not

received the Torah', which simply doesn't
make sense!

     To understand what we are 'really
saying' in "dayneu", we

must consider its context, as well as it
content.

A PREP FOR HALLEL

     In the Haggadah, "dayenu" does not
'stand alone'.

Rather, we recite (or sing) "dayenu" towards
the conclusion of

Maggid; after we tell the story of the
Exodus, but before we

sing the Hallel.

     Following the guidelines of the Mishna
(in the tenth

chapter of Mesechet Pesachim), in Maggid - we
tell the story

of the Exodus by quoting (and then
elaborating upon) the

psukim of "arami oved avi" (see Devarim
26:5-8).  But that

very same Mishna also instructs us to begin
the story with a

derogatory comment, and conclude it with
praise ["matchilin

b'gnut - u'msaaymim v'shevach"/ see Pesachim
10:4).

     Taking this Mishna into consideration,
we find that

"dayenu" is recited in Maggid - precisely
when we finish

telling the story of the Exodus (with the
discussion of the

Plagues) - and right at the spot where we are
supposed to

begin our "shevach" [praise].

   Therefore, "dayenu" should be understood
as a poem that was

written as a form of praise, to conform with
the guidelines

set by the Mishna.  This consideration will
allow us to

explain its full meaning - in a very simple
manner:

   Within this context, the refrain of
"dayenu" has an implicit

suffix.  In other words, - "dayenu" should
not be translated

simply as 'it would have been enough';
rather, "dayenu" means

'it would have been enough - to PRAISE God,
i.e. to say Hallel

- even if God had only taken us out of Egypt,
or only if He

had split the Sea, etc.

    In this manner, the poem poetically
summarizes each

significant stage of redemption, from the
time of the Exodus

until Am Yisrael's conquest of the Land -
stating that each

single act of God's kindness in that process
obligates us to

praise Him: e.g.

   - Had He only taken us out of Egypt and
not punished the

  Egyptians, it would have been reason enough
to say Hallel

  -  Had He split the sea,but not given us
the 'manna', that

  alone would have been reason enough to say
Hallel...

    ...  And so on.

     With this background, the next paragraph
of that poem

makes perfect sense:

  "`al achat kama vekhama," - How much more
so is it proper to

  thank God for performing ALL these acts of
kindness, as He

  took us out of Egypt, and punished them,
and split the sea,

  and gave us the manna etc.

  "Dayenu" relates a total of fifteen acts of
divine kindness,

each act alone worthy of praise - even more
so we must praise

God, for He had performed all of them!

  From this perspective, "dayenu" serves a
double purpose.

First and foremost, it concludes the story
with "shevach"

[praise]. and qualifies the Hallel that we
are about to sing.

However, it could also be understood as a
continuation of the

story of the Exodus.  Let's explain why and
how:

SIPPUR & SHEVACH

  Recall that the last "drasha" [elaboration]
on the psukim of

"arami oved avi" led into a lengthy
discussion of the Ten

Plagues.  To fulfill our obligation at the
Seder' to tell the

story', we could (and do) finish right here.
But the poem of

"dayenu" actually continues that story,
picking up from the

Ten Plagues ["asa bahem shfatim" refers to
the Plagues], and

continuing through all the significant events
in the desert

until our arrival in the Land of Israel.
This is also

congruent with the last pasuk of "arami oved
avi", that

includes arriving in Israel (see Devarim
26:9! - "va'yvi'einu

el ha'Makom ha'zeh, va'yiten lanu et ha'aretz
ha'zot"), which

we don't elaborate upon in our version of
Maggid, even though

according to the Mishna it appears that we
really should!

     In this manner, "dayneu" is both
"shevach" [praise] and

"sippur" [story] - at the same time!

The 'HASHKAFA' of DAYENU

     According to our explanation thus far,
"dayenu" sets the

stage for Hallel, as we will now praise God
[by singing

Hallel] not only in gratitude for taking us
out of Egypt, but

also in appreciation for each significant
stage of the

redemptive process.  We thank God not only
for the Exodus, but

also for the 'manna', for shabbat, for coming
close to Har

Sinai, for the Torah, for the Land of
Israel..., and finally

for the building of the Bet HaMikdash.

      From a certain perspective, this poem
may allude to a

very profound 'hashkafa' [outlook on life],
and a message that

is very applicable to our own generation.

    Today, there are those who focus at the
Seder only on the

first stanza of "dayenu," viewing 'freedom
from slavery' as

the final goal, and hence the ultimate goal
of redemption.

For them, this first stanza of "dayenu" is
'enough' - and to

them, that is the entire meaning of Passover
- a holiday of

Freedom.

    Others focus only upon the last stanza,
that without the

entire land of Israel in our possession, and
without the re-

building of the bet-ha'Mikdash, the entire
redemptive process

is meaningless.  In their eyes, Hallel should
only be sung

when the entire redemption process is
complete, and Am Yisrael

reaches its final goal.

    The beautiful poem of "dayenu" seems to
disagree with both

approaches.  Instead, each significant stage
in the process of

redemption deserves our recognition and for
requires that we

praise God for it, even though it is 'not
enough'!

     It is this hashkafic message, i.e., the
understanding and

appreciation of each step of the redemptive
process, which

"dayenu" can teach us.  "Ge'ulat Yisra'el" -
the redemption of

Israel - even in our time, is a process which
is comprised of

many stages.  Every significant step in this
process, be it

simply sovereignty, or partial borders, or
victory in battle;

or freedom to study Torah, even without
complete redemption,

requires our gratitude and praise to Hashem.

    For each stage in that process, it is
incumbent upon Am

Yisrael to recognize that stage and thank
Hashem accordingly,

while at the same time recognizing that many
more stages

remain yet unfulfilled - and reminding
ourselves of how we

need act -to be deserving of that next stage.

     "Dayenu" challenges us to find the
proper balance.

                              chag samayach,

                              menachem

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