97 Enough with Dayenu
Chananya Weissman
May 12, 2021

If Hashem helped us survive thousands of years of persecution in bitter exile, but did not grant us periods of respite, it would not be enough.

If Hashem granted us periods of respite from persecution, but did not grant us prosperity, it would not be enough.

If Hashem granted us prosperity in exile, but did not allow Torah to thrive, it would not be enough.

If Hashem gave us material and spiritual prosperity in exile, but did not bring us home, it would not be enough.

If Hashem brought us home, but did not return to us every square inch of the Land, it would not be enough.

If Hashem returned the entire Land, but did not give us a government that runs according to Torah law, it would not be enough.

Alas, we have settled. We have settled for a comfortable life in exile, and forgotten that the best possible life in exile is a bitter punishment.

We have settled for living in Israel, and become satisfied with a facsimile of what a Jewish state is supposed to be.

We have become complacent with our four cubits of materialism and spirituality, and stopped pushing for the next rung on the ladder.

We should be very grateful for what we have, but it is not nearly enough! We should yearn for it all, as much as our enemies yearn to stop us.

Because we have once again become complacent, Hashem is once again shaking us up and showing us that what we have can never be enough.

We need the exile to be emptied out and populate every inch of our land, governed only by true Jewish leaders who espouse and follow Torah law, with an army that is entirely Jewish and run according to Torah law, with a Beis Hamikdash, with daily sacrifices, without foreign interference on any level. Nothing less is satisfactory.

Enough with dayenu. We must want it all.