National Poetry Month: Dayenu
Apr. 20th, 2011 09:44 amMy favorite piece of Passover liturgy comes from near the end of the main service part of the service, shortly before the meal. It comes after the story of the Jews' Exodus from Egypt, and it's a song about being thankful for what Adonai has given us. Much of it is a very literal retelling of the story of the Exodus, but the way it's framed means a lot to me.
It seems almost like a call for complacency, to accept what one has and not push for more, and yet it isn't--it's an appreciation of every stage of the path from slavery to freedom, a statement that it means something even without the spiritual gift. And at the same time, the way it links together every two steps makes the eventual resolution seem inevitable as a natural process from the first line. I love its stepwise gratitude, the idea that if Adonai had stopped helping the Israelites at any stage in the process, it still would have been an amazing gift. And it would have been sufficient. It makes the full gift all the more meaningful.
I've found "Dayenu" a particularly helpful frame through which to view the US's path towards LGBT civil rights over the last few years. Because while we aren't there yet, every step forward is a huge thing. We will get there (see, for instance, today's FiveThirtyEight post on support for equal marriage rights). We are not there yet, and it's necessary to keep pushing, but every stage is enough to be worthy of celebration and gratitude.
( Dayenu )
(Buahahahaha all the non-Jews who read this are probably like "oh, that is so nice and thoughtful." And all the Jews are sitting there thinking "CURSES MOLLY WHY HAVE YOU EARWORMED ME?")
It seems almost like a call for complacency, to accept what one has and not push for more, and yet it isn't--it's an appreciation of every stage of the path from slavery to freedom, a statement that it means something even without the spiritual gift. And at the same time, the way it links together every two steps makes the eventual resolution seem inevitable as a natural process from the first line. I love its stepwise gratitude, the idea that if Adonai had stopped helping the Israelites at any stage in the process, it still would have been an amazing gift. And it would have been sufficient. It makes the full gift all the more meaningful.
I've found "Dayenu" a particularly helpful frame through which to view the US's path towards LGBT civil rights over the last few years. Because while we aren't there yet, every step forward is a huge thing. We will get there (see, for instance, today's FiveThirtyEight post on support for equal marriage rights). We are not there yet, and it's necessary to keep pushing, but every stage is enough to be worthy of celebration and gratitude.
( Dayenu )
(Buahahahaha all the non-Jews who read this are probably like "oh, that is so nice and thoughtful." And all the Jews are sitting there thinking "CURSES MOLLY WHY HAVE YOU EARWORMED ME?")