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A maverick Jew living in the Wild West
Dayeinu? Lo, today it is not enough for us
![Green glazed earthenware Passover seder plate made by Jewish DPs in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp.
Engraved on the rim of the plate is a scene of slave laborers being forced to work by a master in the shadow of a pyramid and a group of buildings representing historic Jerusalem. The Hebrew text on one side of the decorative motif reads: "From Slavery to Freedom," and on the other: "This Year in Jerusalem". Inside another decorative motif are the Hebrew and English words "JOINT" and "Religious Office". Stamped on the back is the Hebrew term "Sheerit ha-Pletah" [Surviving Remnant] and the English, "Employment Board".
This seder plate was given to U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi Nathan Abramowitz by Jewish DPs at the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum](https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2024/04/DP-seder-plate.jpg "Green glazed earthenware Passover seder plate made by Jewish DPs in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp.
Engraved on the rim of the plate is a scene of slave laborers being forced to work by a master in the shadow of a pyramid and a group of buildings representing historic Jerusalem. The Hebrew text on one side of the decorative motif reads: \"From Slavery to Freedom,\" and on the other: \"This Year in Jerusalem\". Inside another decorative motif are the Hebrew and English words \"JOINT\" and \"Religious Office\". Stamped on the back is the Hebrew term \"Sheerit ha-Pletah\" [Surviving Remnant] and the English, \"Employment Board\".
This seder plate was given to U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi Nathan Abramowitz by Jewish DPs at the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum")
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC, courtesy of Nathan Abramowitz. Green glazed earthenware Passover seder plate made by Jewish DPs in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp. Engraved on the rim of the plate is a scene of slave laborers being forced to work by a master in the shadow of a pyramid and a group of buildings representing historic Jerusalem. The Hebrew text on one side of the decorative motif reads: "From Slavery to Freedom," and on the other: "This Year in Jerusalem". Inside another decorative motif are the Hebrew and English words "JOINT" and "Religious Office". Stamped on the back is the Hebrew term "Sheerit ha-Pletah" [Surviving Remnant] and the English, "Employment Board". This seder plate was given to U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi Nathan Abramowitz by Jewish DPs at the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp.
Are we really going into Passover on April 22 with hostages still held by Hamas?
How are we to bear through refrains of “let my people go” at Jewish tables around the world with over 130 hostages still in Gaza, or worse? How are we to flick wine at our sisters, debate the merits of gefilte fish, and remember the brazen, petty, suicidal stubbornness of our ancient enemies, when their modern counterparts scream for Jewish blood at our gates?
Four full cups of wine is not going to be enough.
So this year, as I sit through the night that is longer than all other nights, I will be challenging dayeinu (it would have been enough for us) as I reflect on the history of modern Israel. That which was enough for us then, is not enough for us now. If G-d had freed us from Egypt but not parted the Red Sea, dayeinu. If G-d had given us manna in the desert but not given us Shabbat, dayeinu. It would have been enough for us. It would have been enough.
The tale of modern Israel has not been enough for us, on the other hand.
Dayeinu? Lo. Nope, no way, not OK, not this year.
If all people are allowed cultural pride, but Jews are told only to be ashamed, that is not enough for us.
If modern Israel was reborn, but the designated Arab/Palestine partition was stolen and named Jordan, that is not enough for us.
If the original Arab/Palestine partition was stolen and named Jordan, but Palestinians blame Israel for not having a homeland, that is not enough for us.
If Israel can defend itself, but nobody condemns those who force it to, that is not enough for us.
If Israel is constantly attacked, but must defend itself perfectly, that is not enough for us.
If Israel is the only country on earth that will always readily accept Jews, but today many Jews don’t want to connect themselves to Israel because they have succumbed to antisemitism, that is not enough for us.
If Hamas still holds Israeli and international hostages, but Israel is forced to stop hunting terrorists in Gaza, that is not enough for us.
If Hamas murders Jews and Israelis from behind Palestinian civilians, but Israel is blamed for Palestinian civilian casualties, that is not enough for us.
If Israel is always dragged to international courts because they are a civilized country, but Hamas is never dragged to international courts because they are an unhinged terror cartel, that is not enough for us.
If Israelis are united in their cultural pride and priorities of safety and release of hostages, but are thwarted by ineffective leadership and political infighting, that is not enough for us.
If Palestinian boundaries somewhere are finalized, but Palestinian political, religious, and cultural leaders are allowed to continue preaching false history and Jew hatred, that is not enough for us.
If world leaders demand anything other than for Hamas to release the October 7 hostages, that is not enough for us.
I could go on.
This Passover I will say, it is not enough that Jews are made to feel this way. It is not enough that we twist into psychological pretzels to appease the world. This Passover I pray that more Jews find their voices, and find the places in their lives where they can say, out loud, “this is not enough for Jews, and this is not enough for me.”
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