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  • Writer's pictureLeann Shamash

A Collection of Miracles: Dayeinu (It Would Have Been Enough For Us)

Updated: Apr 6, 2020


At this season we think of miracles.

The Hagaddah lists many

We can't say "Ilu Hotzee'anu" (If He had taken us out of Egypt) because we are largely confined to the indoors, but there are reasons to celebrate.


Maybe they are not miracles, but what qualifies as a miracle anyway?

Something that we don't see nearly enough?

Something that makes us smile, inside and out?

Something that brings us closer to the ideals we hold?

Something that lifts us up as it lifts others or maybe it is the opposite; something that lifts others up and lifts us up as an extra benefit?


There will not be a Dayeinu for this period of time until the plague

passes from among us.

There will not be a Dayeinu until there is a vaccine

There will not be a Dayeinu until there is a cure but we can bless this:



Miracles that People Make-An Inspiration


We are grateful that our loved ones are healthy and safe

For people helping each other as they can

Sewing machines whirring to make masks

For phone calls to check in on the elderly


We are grateful


That we have more time outdoors

That our families have more time together

Time we had little of before

Or time we chose to spend elsewhere

Realizing we miss each other when we are not together


We are thankful


To have technology that enables us to communicate

To see our grandchildren from afar

For the ability to experiment

What can we do with this time to make it better, richer?

For the gift of human ingenuity


We applaud you


For walks in the woods and long overdue chats with neighbors

For food, for home and health, for family and friends

For siblings playing together....peacefully

For time with our life partners

For friends who help us share our worries


We inhale and exhale, long and deep


For sunny days

For our pets who get us out, who make us laugh

For singers who share their voices

One or ten or twenty or one hundred voices

Each on a screen in their own tiny square


We take a deep breath and sing along


For people greeting each other on the streets

Socially distant but sending their warm heartbeats from afar

For phone calls to our elders

For anything that makes us laugh, giggle, guffaw and chortle

For books and for films and for one thousand television series


We watch and listen and laugh and escape


For our adult children who make us so proud

For our brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and uncles and aunts

For our grandmothers and grandfathers, for the babies being born and those

carrying the next generation now

For our friends far and near

For those who care for us and for those whom we care for

You are our miracles, you are whom we live for


We breathe and whisper amen

















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