Dayenu – we say it at the end of the seder’s Magid section and it means, “It would have been enough.” But if you read the actual words of Dayenu, it is clear that it wouldn’t have been enough. In fact, Dayenu is kind of a ridiculous passage.

Some of its words are, ”If He had given us their wealth and had not split the sea for us, dayenu, it would have sufficed us!” No it wouldn’t have. Egypt would have caught up to us and we’d all be dead or still enslaved.

“If He had supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years and had not fed us the manna, still, dayenu, it would have sufficed us!” No, it would not have been enough, because we all would have died from hunger.

If what we’re saying isn’t true, why are we even saying it? It doesn’t make sense.

I personally believe that the reason we do this has to do with showing gratitude. Gratitude is so important in Judaism. We say thank you all the time. The only definite bracha commanded verbatim in the Torah is in Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals. Ve’achalta, v’savata, u’verachta et Hashem Elokecha al haaretz hatovah asher natan lach. “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God for the good land given to you.”

Why is saying thank you so important?

I was looking into it and then I realized that I didn’t need to look that far.

Gratitude has a personal element in my life. I was known as a super positive person among my friends from like late eighth grade onward. One time a friend texted me asking me for help with positivity and I had no idea what to do. In a moment of just thinking on my feet I said, “Tomorrow morning, text me five things you’re grateful for. They can be anything at all. Anything you can think of that you are grateful for.” So she texted and I responded.

And we did this every day and continue to do it to this day.

I started to realize that this was affecting my life in a great way. I realized that I was happier, healthier, more positive about myself and things going on in my life. People were asking me why I was like this, and I realized that it was because of gratitude.

Okay, so gratitude is great, who cares? Why are we still saying it every time in Dayenu even if it isn’t true?

It’s because of one of the most important factors in anything in our lives, which is building a habit or pattern. There are patterns every single day in our lives and we have tons of habits, both good and bad. Maimonides said that when it comes to charity, it is better to give one dollar every day for a year, as opposed to $365 once a year. The reason for that is so that we build a habit of giving charity.

So the reason we say thank you again and again in Dayenu is to build a habit of it. The reason my life was so impacted by gratitude was because I did it every day. The reason we say thank you again and again in Dayenu is to build a habit of it. The reason my life was so impacted by gratitude was because I did it every day.

That is why we say it would have been enough every single time. The haggadah is teaching us to be grateful for everything.

So when you go into Pesach this year, remind yourself of things to be grateful for. Trust me, it will only bring good things.