One of the most popular Seder tunes, it describes some of the many favors that God bestowed upon the Israelites when He led them to freedom into the Land of Paradise from Egypt. This song has been taken from "Haggadah", the holy book of the Jews. The word "Dayenu" is loosely translated into, "it would have been enough for us", "it would have been sufficient", or "it would have sufficed." This song is over 1000 years old and is taken from the ninth-century Seder Rav Amram. The song praises the Lord for all the 15 gifts that He bestowed upon the Jewish people and each of the verse ends with the line that had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. The song appears in the "Haggadah" and is sung after the elders tell the story of the exodus and before the description about Passover. Dayenu has 15 stanzas. Here is the five stanza break up and also the full translation of the song.
Dayenu - The Song
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.
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.
Dayenu- It Would Have Been Enough For Us
If He had brought us out from Egypt,
And had not carried out judgments against them
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had carried out judgments against them,
And not against their idols
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had destroyed their idols,
And had not smitten their first-born
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had smitten their first-born,
And had not given us their wealth
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had given us their wealth,
And had not split the sea for us
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had split the sea for us,
And had not taken us through it on dry land
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had taken us through the sea on dry land,
And had not drowned our oppressors in it
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had drowned our oppressors in it,
And had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had supplied our needs in the desert for forty years,
And had not fed us the manna
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had fed us the manna,
And had not given us the Shabbat
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had given us the Shabbat,
And had not brought us before Mount Sinai
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had brought us before Mount Sinai,
And had not given us the
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had given us the Torah,
And had not brought us into the land of Israel
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
If He had brought us into the land of Israel,
And not built for us the Holy Temple
Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
Dayenu is a traditional Passover song that is sung to express gratitude to God. Read on to know more about this upbeat song.