Dayenu
Encyclopedia
Dayenu is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover
. The word "Dayenu" means approximately, "it would have been enough for us", "it would have been sufficient", or "it would have sufficed" (day in Hebrew is "enough", and -enu the first person plural suffix, "to us"). This traditional up-beat 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. The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave 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 as a whole. 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
.
2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.
3) If He had executed justice upon their gods.
4) If He had slain their first born.
5) If He had given to us their health and wealth.
7) If He had led us through on dry land.
8) If He had drowned our oppressors.
9) If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years.
10) If He had fed us manna.
12) If He had led us to Mount Sinai.
13) If He had given us the Torah.
14) If He had brought us into the Land of Israel.
15) If He built the Temple for us.
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 Bondage.
On his website he writes: "Dienu is like an old folk word that's Hebrew and it means 'it would have been enough'... when something good happens to you and then another good thing happens to you. What you had in the first place would have been enough, if nothing else happens to you. It's all about counting your blessings and staying grounded."
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
. The word "Dayenu" means approximately, "it would have been enough for us", "it would have been sufficient", or "it would have sufficed" (day in Hebrew is "enough", and -enu the first person plural suffix, "to us"). This traditional up-beat 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. The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, 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 as a whole. 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
Maror
Maror also Marror, refers to the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder in keeping with the biblical commandment "with bitter herbs they shall eat it." .-Biblical source:...
.
The fifteen 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 of the stanzas is followed by the word "Dayenu" (it would have been enough) sung repeatedly. The 15 stanzas are as follows:Five Stanzas of Leaving Slavery
1) If He had brought us out of Egypt.2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.
3) If He had executed justice upon their gods.
4) If He had slain their first born.
5) If He had given to us their health and wealth.
Five Stanzas of Miracles
6) If He had split the sea for us.7) If He had led us through on dry land.
8) If He had drowned our oppressors.
9) If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years.
10) If He had fed us manna.
Five Stanzas of Being With God
11) If He had given us Shabbat.12) If He had led us to Mount Sinai.
13) If He had given us the Torah.
14) If He had brought us into the Land of Israel.
15) If He built the Temple for us.
Text
| English translation | Transliteration Romanization of Hebrew Hebrew uses the Hebrew alphabet with optional vowel points. The romanization of Hebrew is the use of the Latin alphabet to transliterate Hebrew words.... |
Hebrew | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verse 1: | |||
| If He God God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism.... had brought us out from Egypt Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh... , |
Ilu hotzianu mimitzrayim, | ||
| and had not carried out judgments against them | v'lo asah bahem sh'fatim, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 2: | |||
| If He had carried out judgments against them, | Ilu asah bahem sh'fatim | ||
| and not against their idols | v'lo asah be'eloheihem, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 3: | |||
| If He had destroyed their idols, | Ilu asah be'eloheihem, | ||
| and had not smitten their first-born | v'lo harag et b'choreihem, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 4: | |||
| If He had smitten their first-born, | Ilu harag et b'choreihem, | ||
| and had not given us their wealth | v'lo natan lanu et mamonam, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 5: | |||
| If He had given us their wealth, | Ilu natan lanu et mamonam, | ||
| and had not split the sea for us | v'lo kara lanu et hayam, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 6: | |||
| If He had split the sea for us, | Ilu kara lanu et hayam, | ||
| and had not taken us through it on dry land | v'lo he'eviranu v'tocho becharavah, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 7: | |||
| If He had taken us through the sea on dry land, | Ilu he'eviranu v'tocho becharavah, | ||
| and had not drowned our oppressors in it | v'lo shika tzareinu b'tocho, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 8: | |||
| If He had drowned our oppressors in it, | Ilu shika tzareinu b'tocho, | ||
| and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years | v'lo sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 9: | |||
| If He had supplied our needs in the desert for forty years, | Ilu sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana, | ||
| and had not fed us the manna | v'lo he'echilanu et haman, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 10: | |||
| If He had fed us the manna, | Ilu he'echilanu et haman, | ||
| and had not given us the Shabbat Shabbat Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from... |
v'lo natan lanu et hashabbat, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 11: | |||
If He had given us the Shabbat Shabbat Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from... , |
Ilu natan lanu et hashabbat, | ||
| and had not brought us before Mount Sinai Mount Sinai Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran... |
v'lo keirvanu lifnei har sinai, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 12: | |||
| If He had brought us before Mount Sinai Mount Sinai Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran... , |
Ilu keirvanu lifnei har sinai, | ||
| and had not given us the Torah Torah Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five... |
v'lo natan lanu et hatorah, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 13: | |||
| If He had given us the Torah Torah Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five... , |
Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, | ||
| and had not brought us into the land of Israel Land of Israel The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the... |
v'lo hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
| Verse 14: | |||
| If He had brought us into the land of Israel Land of Israel The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the... , |
Ilu hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, | ||
and not built for us the Holy Temple |
v'lo vanah lanu et beit hamikdash, | ||
| — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! | dayeinu! | ||
Customs associated with Dayenu
Jews in Afghanistan and IranPersian Jews
Persian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
hit each other over the head with green onions
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
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
Manna
Manna or Manna wa Salwa , sometimes or archaically spelled mana, is the name of an edible substance that God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert according to the Bible.It was said to be sweet to the taste, like honey....
). 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 Bondage.
Trivia
- Ben KwellerBen KwellerBen Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...
adopts the word "Dayenu" in the song Lizzy on his album Sha ShaSha ShaSha Sha is the debut album of Ben Kweller's solo career. The album was originally composed of outtakes from sessions for his former band Radish's unreleased album Discount Fireworks. It was self-released by Ben, via CD-R, in 2000...
.
On his website he writes: "Dienu is like an old folk word that's Hebrew and it means 'it would have been enough'... when something good happens to you and then another good thing happens to you. What you had in the first place would have been enough, if nothing else happens to you. It's all about counting your blessings and staying grounded."