If He had brought us out from Egypt, and had not carried out judgments against them--Dayenu!
If He had carried out judgments against them, and not against their idols--Dayenu!
If He had destroyed their idols, and had not smitten their firstborn--Dayenu!
If He had smitten their firstborn, and had not given us their wealth--Dayenu!
If He had given us their wealth, and had not split the sea for us--Dayenu!
If He had split the sea for us, and had not taken us through it on dry land--Dayenu!
If He had taken us through the sea on dry land, and had not drowned our oppressors in it--Dayenu!
If He had drowned our oppressors in it, and had not supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years--Dayenu!
If He had supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years, and had not fed us the manna--Dayenu!
If He had fed us the manna, and had not given us the Shabbat--Dayenu!
If He had given us the Shabbat, and had not brought us before Mount Sinai--Dayenu!
If He had brought us before Mount Sinai, and had not given us the Torah--Dayenu!
If He had given us the Torah, and had not brought us into the land of Israel--Dayenu!
If He had brought us into the land of Israel, and had not built for us the Holy Temple--Dayenu!
Probably one of the most popular songs at Pesach tables all over the world, but a strange one. When you think about it (and many people have), what would have been the point of any of these gifts without the ones that followed it? What was the mindset of the people who wrote these words? Gratitude and humility, no doubt. But to me it misses the point. Without all of the steps, right up to the last one, any one of these gifts would have been futile. There would be no Jews commemorating this holiday today. We would have died out long ago, disappeared from the face of the earth. No one would remember us, and there would be no Christianity, no Islam. The elements of "Dayenu" are a seamless whole. They are, together, in their entirety, what made us who we are.
Chag Pesach sameach!
