To Bring New Meaning to Easter, Consider Learning This Hebrew Word
Virginia Allen /
The beauty of Easter is captured in part in the Hebrew “Dayenu,” meaning “It would have been enough.”
On Sunday evening, I sat around a long, rectangular table with about 20 other Christians. We spanned more than 50 years in age from the youngest to the oldest, but we were all gathered to celebrate a Seder meal together.
The Seder feast usually takes place on the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover (April 5 this year), but because no one in our group is Jewish, we chose to celebrate on the first night of Passion Week, also known as Holy Week.
For Christians, celebrating the Jewish Seder is a time to remember God’s faithfulness to the people of Israel and his kindness toward all who love him, whether Jew or Gentile.
Various prayers and Jewish history are read aloud during the Seder, including the story of how God brought the Jews out of Egypt and delivered them from slavery. But the story is not just told as a set of facts; it is an active call to recognize the ways God has exceeded our expectations and blessed his people.
After each line in the story of the Jews’ deliverance from Egypt, the people present respond, “Dayenu,” which translates as “It would’ve been enough.”
If God would’ve taken us out of Egypt and not executed judgment upon them, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve executed judgment upon them and not upon their idols, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve judged their idols, and not killed their firstborn, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve killed their firstborn, and not given us their wealth, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve given us their wealth, and not split the sea for us, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve split the sea for us, and not let us through it on dry land, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve let us through it on dry land, and not drowned our enemies in it, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
If He would’ve drowned our enemies in it, and not provided for our needs in the desert for 40 years, it would’ve been enough for us—Dayenu.
Though neither I nor anyone else at the table Sunday evening experienced physical enslavement and miraculous deliverance at God’s hand, we have all experience “Dayenu” moments; that is, the times when God exceeded our expectations and showed us undeserved kindness.
One by one, we went around the table and shared our “Dayenu” from the past year. Tears swelled as a friend recounted God’s kindness to not only lead him to a new job he loves, but to also introduce him to his wife-to-be in his workplace. A father shared his thankfulness to not only still be alive, but to have been miraculously cured of cancer. A young woman shared Christ’s faithfulness to open job doors for her that she never could have opened on her own. And a mother shared the relief—and then the joy—at finding a wonderful homeschool group for her sons that has also provided her with a new loving community.
We are not only called, but commanded, by God to remember.
“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,” Isaiah 46:9 reads. And what a gift it is to remember what God has done for us.
This Easter, may we follow the example of our Jewish brothers and sisters and recall for a few moments what God has done, and then say “Dayenu” as we again remember how God is always working in our lives and blessing us in ways we do not deserve.
On today’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we discuss the beauty of Easter and the traditions that make the holiday so special.
Also on today’s show, we discuss why some GOP lawmakers are trying to block funding for a law that has been used to target pro-life Americans. Plus, the attorney general of Florida is suing the radical pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge. We break down the lawsuit. In addition, on today’s show, major tech leaders, among them Elon Musk, have asked companies developing AI technology to push the pause button and consider the consequences of artificial intelligence. And as always, we’ll be crowning our “Problematic Woman of the Week.”
Listen to the podcast below:
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