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An Insight into the Meaning of Dayenu


Professor David Mitchell of SMU asked:

In the Pesach song "Dayenu" we say that if God had brought us to Mount Sinai but had not given us the Torah it would have been enough. How can that be?



AskTheRabbi.org answered:

Certainly we don't mean that we could envision life without the Torah, or without any of the fifteen physical and spiritual elevations mentioned in that song . What we mean is that we have reason to be thankful for His bringing us to Mount Sinai because just being at Sinai bestowed upon us great benefit. The incredible unity that we experienced and the closeness to God that we achieved at Mount Sinai were so precious that they deserve thanksgiving and praise in their own right.


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