Dayenu

Thy Juliet is alive,
For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead;
There art thou happy; Tybalt would kill thee,
But thou slew'st Tybalt; there are thou happy too;
The law that threaten'd death becomes thy friend
And turns it to exile; there art thou happy;
A pack of blessings lights up upon thy back;
Happiness courts thee in her best array;
But, like a misbehaved and sullen wench,
Thou pout'st upon thy fortune and thy love:
Take heed, take heed, for such die miserable.

The above admonishment is given by Friar Laurence to Leonardo DiCaprio Romeo in Shakespeare's most well-known tragedy. We really could have used the wise Friar when the Israelites were grumbling about melons and leeks: Thy Lord hast brought thee out of slavery; there art thou happy. Fortunately for us, when we revisit the story of the Exodus each year, we know we're in for a happier ending than Romeo and the object of his affections. And to be fair to our ancestors in the desert, it's always easier to be grateful in retrospect. Knowing everything that came after the journey out of Egypt, we have a perspective found in Dayenu: Each blessing, each miracle, would have been enough for us.

The truth is, we all have our melons and leeks: Things we are so preoccupied with that we lose sight of the bigger and more important blessings we already have. Jewish tradition tells us that G-d creates the world anew in every moment, meaning, every blessing a person has is not given just once; it is given again and again and again. What better time than the month of rebirth to take inventory of all we have received--as individuals and as a people--and see that it is enough.

Chag Kosher V'Sameach!

xo cbg