BS"D
DAYENU DIRECTIVE: PESACH II
Shira Smiles shiur—2024/5784
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Towards the end of the Seder,
after recounting the entire exodus narrative, we come to the liturgical poem, Dayenu.
In fifteen distinct steps, we seem to be summing up the entire narrative and
continuing toward the purpose of our redemption, receiving the Torah, entering
the Land of Israel, and ultimately building the Beit Hamikdosh. The poem is
introduced with the thought, " How many מעלות טובות/favors למקום/has the
Omnipresent bestowed upon us," and separates each kindness from the next
with, "Dayenu/It would have been enough for us."
Rabbi Bernstein, in
Darkness to Destiny, raises some interesting questions about the language,
syntax, and therefore the true meaning of this song. A precise grammatical
translation of the introduction would read, "How many good levels/favors to
the Omnipresent are upon us," either as a question or as a wondrous
statement. Further, how could we truly believe that if Hashem had stopped at
any of these kindnesses without continuing, we would have felt it was
sufficient, never having reached the goal? Finally, is there any significance
in exactly fifteen stages of goodness here being recounted?
To answer these questions, we
will be discussing the three goals of the Seder night.
Our first goal as we sit at
the Seder is to make the exodus experience real so that we feel as if we
ourselves have been redeemed. As Rabbi Kluger points out in My Sole Desire,
the night of Pesach is constantly referred to as הלילה הזה/this night, not any night. The definite article, this,
always means something tangible, visible, perfectly understood, in contrast to
the indefinite article, a night. While night generally indicates
darkness, when visibility is obscured and God's presence is hidden, on this
night, God's presence was revealed so clearly that we recognized His presence
as if it were full daylight. That clarity is meant to be re-experienced each
Seder night. We use tangible symbols to help us capture the experience, such as
the matzah and the bitter herbs which must be present at our Seder table if we
are to observe the Seder properly.
Besides retelling the story of
our redemption, the Haggadah reinforces the transformation of night into day as
we continue with the text itself. We continue with the recitation of Hallel,
our prayer of gratitude and praise to Hashem which we recite on every Rosh
Chodesh and every major yom tov. But, except for the Seder night, Hallel
is recited only during the day, during the morning prayers. On this night,
however, night has been symbolically transformed into the brightest day, our
vision absolutely clear, as we witness God's presence in our history and in our
present lives.
But it is not enough for me
personally to walk away from the Seder table with that clarity of faith; it is
incumbent upon me that I instill that clarity and faith into my children as
well, for Hashem has commanded us והגדת לבנך/to tell your children in no uncertain terms, so they they too
will internalize it, that Hashem has done this for me. The faith and
loyalty that we have for Hashem must be instilled in our children. Our personal
stories then become part of the narrative as well.
The Sifsei Chaim now
brings us to the second goal of the Seder, the sense of overwhelming gratitude
to Hakodosh Boruch Hu for having redeemed us from the servitude of Egypt.
Hashem identifies Himself to Bnei Yisroel specifically with this kindness He
did for us and for us only: "I am Hashem your God Who has taken you out of
Egypt..." Why? So that we would have that sense of gratitude that goes
beyond logic so that we would observe His commandments even when we do not
understand them. Our mitzvah observance then goes beyond obligation and is
performed with gratitude and love. Our acceptance of the yoke of Heaven is
inextricably tied to our sense of gratitude. By recounting each detail of
Hashem's kindness, we increase our gratitude, our faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu,
and our commitment to His Torah and mitzvoth. [Lehavdil: Difference
between, "You saved my life, when I fell" and, "You ran into
oncoming traffic, you stopped the cars from running over me, you pulled me out
of harm's way, and then you even waited with me until help arrived."] As
we recount each step, our sense of gratitude grows. And, as Rabbi Bernstein
reminds us, don't wait until the end of the process to express gratitude. Give
thanks for each step.
In truth, notes Rabbi
Pruzansky in Night of Emunah, unless s favor is extraordinary, we take
most kindness for granted. Just as a child will seldom thank his parents for
all they do to provide for them, from providing a home, feeding them, helping
with homework and all the other mundane activities of parenthood, so do we take
for granted all the chesed that Hashem does for us on a daily basis. Each of
the steps in Dayenu is certainly worthy of expressing our gratitude to
Hashem, even without the next level of chesed. Hashem owes us nothing; we owe
Him everything. With Dayenu we begin to train ourselves to articulate
our gratitude, to say, "Thank you," to Hashem. Having completed the
story of the exodus, notes the Malbim zt”l, Dayenu gets us into the
mindset to recite Hallel, the praises of Hashem.
In this vein, the Malbim zt”l
continues in the text of the Haggadah, "Therefore it is our duty... לעלה
ולקלס/to extol [raise up] and
acclaim He Who performed all these miracles...," and give thanks for each
good He has done for us individually, not just collectively. Make the gratitude
personal, for those who approach life with a sense of entitlement rather than a
sense of gratitude will never feel joy, they will never have enough.
Recognize your blessings, even
when they seem insignificant. Rabbi Kestenbaum relates the story of Rabbi
Akiva. After his wife had married him against her father's wishes and had been
disowned, they was so poor that they slept only on some straw in a shed. When a
poor man knocked on their door asking for some straw for his wife who had just
given birth, Rabbi Akiva was thankful that, while others had nothing, he at
least had straw.
Similarly, Rabbi Pruzansky
relates the story of the Rabbi who meticulously prepared the special matzos for
the Seder, from the time of planting until they were baked and secured on a
high shelf. When his grandchildren came over, they played a little too wildly,
as healthy children are wont to do. The package of matzah fell and shattered,
making them unfit for the Seder rituals. Instead of railing at the children for
his loss, he was grateful for the blessing of healthy children and
grandchildren.
On Pesach the attitude of
Pharaoh should stand in sharp contrast to the attitude of Bnei Yisroel. Pharaoh
was ungrateful, conveniently forgetting all the blessings that Yosef had
brought to Mitzrayim. We need to emphasize our hakorat hatov, grateful
acknowledgment of all the good Hashem has bestowed upon us. writes Rabbi Spero.
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein
provides a different perspective on our discussion. He rightly says that any
one of these things would have been enough for us to believe in Hashem. Yet
Hashem kept sending us further proof, every step of the way, to strengthen our
faith. We did not have to go through an intellectual process to arrive at the
knowledge that Hashem exists, is the Creator and Sustainer of the world, as our
forefather Avraham did. He made it easy for us to have faith in Him, providing
us with layer upon layer of miracles as we were formed and grew as a nation.
For example, it was not just plagues that Hashem rained down on Egypt, but שפטים/justice, measure for measure. Each of the levels in Dayenu reveals
a different aspect of God and gives us yet another way to elevate ourselves and
connect with Him.
All our rituals and practices
of the Seder confirm our identity and reflect our history, writes Rabbi Pincus
zt”l. The three matzos represent our three Patriarchs, and the four cups of
wine represent our Matriarchs. The wine is customarily red and drunk throughout
the night to imbue the entire Seder with the passion and faith that should
permeate our lives.
If I do not leave the Seder
feeling elevated, I have not fully immersed myself in the Seder experience. We
need to go higher and higher, לעלות, not simply
go around by rote, in circles.
We now get to our final
question, why fifteen? The Shvilei Pinchas begins with the simple yet
profound observation that fifteen is the numerical value of the two lettered
Name of Hashem, the ten of the י
and the five of the of the ה. But the Beit Hamikdosh itself, the dwelling place of God's
presence with which we end the Dayenu, had fifteen steps separating the
men's and women's sections. During the festive ceremony of Simchat Beit
Hashorvah, the Leviim would stand on these steps. At each step, they would sing
one of the fifteen Shir Hamaalot, Song of Ascents that King David
composed specifically to help us rise in spirituality. It is this two lettered
Name of Hashem with which Hashem created the world, as the Prophet Yeshayah
says (26:4), "For in י and ה is the strength of the worlds." [This also explains why this is the
Name Hashem uses in His constant battle with Amalek, for Amalek undermines the
existence of the world. CKS]
Our goal on the Seder night is
to use the fifteen steps of the Seder ritual to be worthy of Nirtzah and
of rebuilding the Beit Hamikdosh.
This work takes place in the
Jewish home, in connecting the women with the men in sanctity, for it was in
the merit of righteous women that Bnei Yisroel were redeemed from Egypt. When
the איש and אשה, the man
and the woman include Hashem, the י
and the ה
in the home they build together, they will draw God's
presence into that home, for Hashem wants to rest among us more than in it,
more than in the Temple.
Hashem further attests to the
purity and sanctity of Bnei Yisroel when He adds His name to the names of each
of the tribes as the census is taken in Parshat Pinchas, the heh at the
beginning and yud at the end of each family's name, HaReuveni, for
example. As they maintained their sanctity in Egypt, so we maintain the
sanctity of our Jewish homes today. We begin our Seder with the fifteen simanim,
symbolic names for the steps of the Seder, we go through each step with
gratitude, becoming ever more cognizant of the beneficence of Hakodosh Boruch
Hu, and conclude with the hope of rebuilding the Beit Hamikdosh.
Chag Sameach.