Dayenu

Dayenu (Hebrew:) is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word "Dayenu" means approximately, "it would have been enough for us" or "it would have sufficed" (day in Hebrew is "enough", and -enu the first person plural suffix, "to us"). This traditional up-beat Passover song is over one thousand years old. The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show much greater appreciation for all of them as a whole. The song appears in the haggadah after the telling of the story of the exodus and just before the explanation of Passover, matzah and the maror.
==The fifteen stanzas==
Dayenu has 15 stanzas representing the 15 gifts God bestowed. The first five involve freeing the Jews from slavery, the next describe the miracles he did for them, and the last five for the closeness to God he gave them. After each of the stanza, it is followed by singing the word "Dayenu" (it would have been enough) repeatedly in between stanzas. The 15 stanzas are as follows:
===Five Stanzas of Leaving Slavery===
1) If He had brought us out of Egypt.
2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.
3) If He had executed justice upon their gods.
4) If He had slain their first born.
5) If He had given to us their health and wealth
===Five Stanzas of Miracles===
6) If He had split the sea for us.
7) If He had led us through on dry land.
8) If He had drowned our oppressors.
9) If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years.
10) If He had fed us manna.
thumb|right|350px|Dayenu, with transliterated lyrics and melody
===Five Stanzas of Being With God===
11) If He had given us Shabbat.
12) If He had led us to Mount Sinai.
13) If He had given us the Torah.
14) If He had brought us into the Land of Israel.
15) If He built the Temple for us.
==Text==
 	English translation 	Transliteration 	Hebrew
Verse 1: 	Verse 1: 	Verse 1: 	Verse 1:
 	If He had brought us out from Egypt, 	Ilu hotzianu mimitzrayim, 	
 	and had not carried out judgments against them 	v'lo asah vahem sh'fatim, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 2: 	Verse 2: 	Verse 2: 	Verse 2:
 	If He had carried out judgments against them, 	Ilu asah vahem sh'fatim 	
 	and not against their idols 	v'lo asah be'eloheihem, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 3: 	Verse 3: 	Verse 3: 	Verse 3:
 	If He had destroyed their idols, 	Ilu asah be'eloheihem, 	
 	and had not smitten their first-born 	v'lo harag et b'choreihem, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 4: 	Verse 4: 	Verse 4: 	Verse 4:
 	If He had smitten their first-born, 	Ilu harag et b'choreihem, 	
 	and had not given us their wealth 	v'lo natan lanu et mamonam, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 5: 	Verse 5: 	Verse 5: 	Verse 5:
 	If He had given us their wealth, 	Ilu natan lanu et mamonam, 	
 	and had not split the sea for us 	v'lo kara lanu et hayam, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 6: 	Verse 6: 	Verse 6: 	Verse 6:
 	If He had split the sea for us, 	Ilu kara lanu et hayam, 	
 	and had not taken us through it on dry land 	v'lo he'eviranu v'tocho becharavah, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 7: 	Verse 7: 	Verse 7: 	Verse 7:
 	If He had taken us through the sea on dry land, 	Ilu he'eviranu v'tocho becharavah, 	
 	and had not drowned our oppressors in it 	v'lo shika tzareinu b'tocho, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 8: 	Verse 8: 	Verse 8: 	Verse 8:
 	If He had drowned our oppressors in it, 	Ilu shika tzareinu b'tocho, 	
 	and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years	v'lo sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana,	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 9: 	Verse 9: 	Verse 9: 	Verse 9:
 	If He had supplied our needs in the desert for forty years, 	Ilu sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana, 	
 	and had not fed us the manna 	v'lo he'echilanu et haman, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 10:	Verse 10: 	Verse 10: 	Verse 10:
 	If He had fed us the manna, 	Ilu he'echilanu et haman, 	
 	and had not given us the Shabbat 	v'lo natan lanu et hashabbat, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 11:	Verse 11: 	Verse 11: 	Verse 11:
 	
If He had given us the Shabbat, 	Ilu natan lanu et hashabbat, 	
 	and had not brought us before Mount Sinai 	v'lo keirvanu lifnei har sinai, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 12:	Verse 12: 	Verse 12: 	Verse 12:
 	If He had brought us before Mount Sinai, 	Ilu keirvanu lifnei har sinai, 	
 	and had not given us the Torah 	v'lo natan lanu et hatorah, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 13:	Verse 13: 	Verse 13: 	Verse 13:
 	If He had given us the Torah, 	Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, 	
 	and had not brought us into the land of Israel 	v'lo hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
Verse 14:	Verse 14: 	Verse 14: 	Verse 14:
 	If He had brought us into the land of Israel, 	Ilu hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, 	
 	
and not built for us the Holy Temple 	v'lo vanah lanu et beit hamikdash, 	
 	— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! 	dayeinu! 	
==Customs Associated with Dayenu==
Jews in Afghanistan and Iran hit each other over the head with green onions during the refrain beginning with the ninth stanza (Even if you had supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years but not provided us with manna). This may be due to a passage in Numbers 11:5-6, where the Israelites see manna and recall Egypt. "We remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all. Nothing but this manna to look at" It is thought that by beating each other with the onions they taught themselves not to yearn for Egypt or to forget Egyptian Bondage. Another theory is that it was to scold themselves for yearning for Egypt and complaining.
==Trivia==
* Ben Kweller adopts the word "Dayenu" in the song Lizzy on his album Sha Sha.
On his website he describes it as "Dienu is like an old folk word that's Hebrew and it means 'it would have been enough'... when something good happens to you and then another good thing happens to you. What you had in the first place would have been enough, if nothing else happens to you. It's all about counting your blessings and staying grounded."
== References ==
* 
==External links==
* Listen to Dayenu online
Category:Hebrew songs
Category:Hebrew words and phrases
Category:Passover songs