Dayenu

By Esther

An episode of The Chosen introduced me to a beautiful Jewish tradition: the Dayenu…

The Dayenu is a traditional song recited in Jewish culture during their annual Passover celebration. The song recounts the story of Exodus and expresses gratitude for God’s extensive grace and generosity in the way He led the Israelites out of Egypt, into the promised land. The word “Dayenu” translates best to “it would have been sufficient” or “it would have been enough”. The Dayenu goes like this…

If He had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgements on them; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had made [them] on their gods and had not killed their firstborn; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had killed their firstborn and had not given us their money; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had taken us through it on dry land and had not pushed down our enemies in [the Sea]; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had pushed down our enemies in [the Sea] and had not supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years and had not fed us the manna; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had fed us the manna and had not given us the Shabbat; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had given us the Shabbat and had not brought us close to Mount Sinai; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had brought us close to Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel; [it would have been] enough for us.

If He had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the ‘Chosen House’ [the Temple; it would have been] enough for us.

Passover is named after God “passing over” the Israelite homes during the final plague in Egypt, when He killed the firstborn. This beautiful song thanks God for all that He did for them, even before protecting them from the final plague. The third stanza states that, hypothetically, if He had punished the Egyptian gods and had not killed their firstborn, it would have been enough. Without the final plague, the Israelites would not have their annual Passover holiday as we know it, yet everything God had done for them prior to that would have been enough—enough for them to say thank you. Each act of protection, justice, and favor was more than enough reason for their gratitude.

Listening to the Dayenu, I was convicted about how easy it is to feel entitled to (as opposed to grateful for) God’s grace and intervention in our lives. When He does not intervene the way we pray and hope He will, it can be easy to question His goodness. Could that be because we have no tradition or practice of thanking Him for what He has done, understanding that He need not do anything more to deserve our gratitude? He has done more than enough and He is good. Anything more is grace and mercy; gifts given, not rights we’re entitled to or acts required to prove His goodness.

I was inspired to have my own version of the Dayenu: a testimony of God’s grace in my life—a reminder that He didn’t need to do any of it. I think having an explicit tradition of my own will help me remember that, if He had only ever provided the blood of Jesus, and nothing else, it would have been enough.

Work Cited

My Jewish Learning. (2025, April 4). Dayenu: It would have been enough.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/dayenu-it-would-have-been-enough/