Essential Questions:
- How does it feel to express gratitude?
- Why is it important to be grateful?
Learning Outcomes:
- Learners will be able to sing the song of Dayenu.
- Learners will share something in their own lives they are grateful for.
- Learners will reflect on the power of expressing gratitude.
Part 1: The Song of Dayenu
- Ask the students for their favorite Passover songs.
- Show them the Maccabeats video of Dayenu
- After watching the video ask the students to pick a style that they want to sing in and then assign them a verse in the song.
- Round Robin style call on each student to sing their verse in their tune. The whole class sings the chorus together.
Part 2: The power of gratitude
- Ask the students: What does the word Dayenu mean?
- Ask the students: Would it truly "would have been enough" if we didn't make it to Israel or receive the Torah?
- Ask the students: What do you think the deeper meaning of "would have been enough" means?
- Ask the students to count all the verses of Dayenu (15). Why do you think there are so many? What happens when we keep expressing more and more gratitude?
Part 3: Attitude of Gratitude Activity
- Ask the students to reflect on something in their lives or someone in their family they are grateful for and to write it down.
- Ask the students to read out loud what they are grateful and keep going until everyone has shared.
- Ask the students: How did it feel to express gratitude? How did it feel to hear someone else express gratitude? How did the energy of our class shift as people kept sharing what they were grateful for? How would our lives change if we took a moment every day to say something we were thankful for?
- As the teacher you can individually, or as a group, share what you are grateful for about the students in your class. Afterwards you can ask them how they felt to be thanked.
- Request that the students save what they wrote down to share with their family during Dayenu at the seder.
Part 4: Fun Wrap-up
- Sing the song again as a class with energy!
כַּמָה מַעֲלוֹת טוֹבוֹת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ!
How many degrees of good did the Place [of all bestow] upon us!
אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַיִם וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgements on them; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had made [them] on their gods and had not killed their firstborn; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had killed their firstborn and had not given us their money; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם וְלֹא הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had taken us through it on dry land and had not pushed down our enemies in [the Sea]; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had pushed down our enemies in [the Sea] and had not supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בְּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years and had not fed us the manna; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had fed us the manna and had not given us the Shabbat; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, וְלֹא קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had given us the Shabbat and had not brought us close to Mount Sinai; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְלא נַתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה. דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had brought us close to Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ נַתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה וְלֹא הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel; [it would have been] enough for us.
אִלּוּ הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא בָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
If He had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the 'Chosen House' [the Temple; it would have been] enough for us.
עַל אַחַת, כַּמָה וְכַּמָה, טוֹבָה כְפוּלָה וּמְכֻפֶּלֶת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ: שֶׁהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְעָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְעָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְהָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, וְקָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, וְהֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, וְשִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְסִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, וְהֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת, וְקֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְנַתָן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה, וְהִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה לְכַפֵּר עַל־כָּל־עֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ.
How much more so is the good that is doubled and quadrupled that the Place [of all bestowed] upon us [enough for us]; since he took us out of Egypt, and made judgments with them, and made [them] with their gods, and killed their firstborn, and gave us their money, and split the Sea for us, and brought us through it on dry land, and pushed down our enemies in [the Sea], and supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years, and fed us the manna, and gave us the Shabbat, and brought us close to Mount Sinai, and gave us the Torah, and brought us into the land of Israel and built us the 'Chosen House' [the Temple] to atone upon all of our sins.