Among the many names we have for the holiday of Pesach— Chag Ha’Aviv (celebration of spring), Chag haMatzot (celebration of new grain), Chag haPesach (celebration of new lambs)—Passover is also known as Chag ha’Emunah (the celebration of Faith). After all, what quality inspired the Israelites as they let go of the known slavery to head into unknown freedom? What spirit infuses the liberation work that we dedicate our lives to? What is our source of hope in dark times? Hope grows in the fertile soil of Emunah/faith in our capacity to change ourselves and to change our world. Whether faith comes from within or from outside of us, our holiday gathering reminds us that liberation from oppression requires continued faith, which leads to perseverance, which leads to transformation, which leads to justice. When we sit down to tell this ancient story, the message of the Haggadah is very contemporary: If it could happen for the Israelites under slavery for 400 years to a cruel Pharaoh, it can happen for us today.

This year, for a second year, we miss sharing the bitter herbs and the sweet charoset together. We miss connecting to friends and to strangers. It takes faith to enter into the seder this year, as different as it will be from what we are used to and what we desire. It takes faith to discover the sweetness and joy that perhaps have gone unnoticed.

And it takes faith to practice gratitude, to rise above the losses and to feel grateful for whatever we have. One of everyone’s favorite songs from the seder is Dayenu. Dayenu is a Hebrew word meaning “that would have been sufficient.”

In a year where so many have lost jobs, where so many many lives have been lost, where we have adjusted to lock downs, shut-downs, shut-ins, and burnout, in a year of recognition of a growing inequality in this country, what could we possibly say has been sufficient?

I urge you to answer that question for yourself. Fashion your Dayenu own list of the gifts of this past year and bring it to your seder. Invite others, whether in your space or on your screen, to share theirs as well.

The poem below, by Rabbi Tamara Cohen, may give you inspiration.

Wishing you a Zissen Pesach (Yiddish: A sweet Passover)

Rabbi Barbara

Dayeinu

From singing Dayeinu we learn to celebrate each landmark on our people's journey. Yet we must never confuse these way stations with the redemptive destination. Because there is still so much to do in our work of repairing the world.

If we speak truthfully about the pain, joys, and contradictions in our lives,

If we listen to others with sensitivity and compassion, If we challenge the absence of women in traditional texts, chronicles of Jewish history, and in the leadership of our institutions, dayeinu,

If we continue to organize, march, and vote to affirm our values,

If we fight economic injustice, sexism, racism, and homophobia,

If we volunteer our time and money, dayeinu,

If we break the silence about violence against women and children in the Jewish community and everywhere,

If we teach our students and children to pursue justice with all their strength,

If we care for the earth and its future as responsibly as we care for those we love,

If we create art, music, dance, and literature, dayeinu,

If we realize our power to effect change,

If we bring holiness into our lives, homes, and communities,

If we honor our visions more than our fears, dayeinu v'lo dayeinu, It will and it will not be enough.

from The Journey Continues: The Ma'ayan Haggadah (2000)