When we wish goodness on ourselves and others, it is rarely with limitations. We want an abundance of the good stuff; health, wealth and happiness. Pesach reminds us that even some small part of the happiness we hoped for is worthy of our gratitude.
Whether we sing every stanza loud and proud or mumble through them, the chorus of “Da, Dayeinu” is unapologetically clear in its gratitude for every tiny bit of good that came to us and by singing this song we define each act that we believe we should be grateful for. This is no generic Thank You note. Dayeinu is an interconnected list of all the good stuff, punctuated by reminders of how we would have been grateful if the list had ended there, or there, or there. And perhaps we could be more grateful in our everyday lives if we sang our blessings out loud, one by one.
This month, I asked community members to write a piece on what Dayeinu; a template for gratitude meant to them.
I like to keep these themes quite broad, as getting people to write content is, at the best of times, a lot like herding cats. But they have all sent in something personal and interesting to read and in the spirit of everything I have said above, I thank each of you who made this possible.
Thank you Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, for making me laugh with the crazy anecdote. Thank you Jamie Kawalsky, for the trip down memory lane. Thank you Adam Zartz, for your heimish reflection. Thank you Simon Apfel, for the one-line bio I had to read four times. Thank you Elan Lohman, for telling us about your journey. Thank you Rabbi Emma Gottlieb, for being a trailblazer. Thank you Joel Merris, for your important reminder. Thank you Adam Selikowitz, for the beautiful reflection. How lucky I am that I get to curate these precious pieces of writing.
Click here to read Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft’s Pesach article
Click here to read Adam Zartz’s Pesach article
Click here to read Rabbi Emma Gottlieb’s Pesach article
Click here to read Jamie Kawalsky’s Pesach article
Click here to read Joel Merris’ Pesach article
Click here to read Adam Selikowitz’s Pesach article
Click here to read Simon Apfel’s Pesach article
Click here to read Elan Lohmann’s Pesach article
Click here to download a PDF of the April edition of the Chronicle
