DAYENU -- ENOUGH

Dayeinu. Enough. For me, the concept of “enoughness” is, at its core, about restoring balance. When I think about the essence of the Exodus story—the journey from a narrow place of constriction to an expansive place of liberation—I’m reminded that this journey manifests in our consumption habits. Some of us are enslaved by scarcity: a lack of clean drinking water or a lack of healthy food. Others are enslaved by excess: too many super-sized sodas and too many hours on the Internet. I am reminded, quite regularly, of the sobering fact that the richest 85 people in the world share a combined wealth that is equal to that of the poorest 3.5 billion people on the planet. The Ramban teaches us that it is easy to be fooled into thinking that if we are consuming what is permissible, the quantity of our consumption does not matter. But according to Ramban, one who abuses the resources of the world by rationalizing that these resources are not explicitly forbidden is deemed “naval bereshut haTorah” — a “vile person within the delineations of the Torah.” To prevent such overconsumption, Ramban notes that the Torah adds the general commandment of kedusha, “That we should be separated from excess…” For people like me who live with relative material, social, and emotional comfort, restoring balance—arriving at “enoughness”—is an ongoing responsibility. —Ruth Messinger, President of American Jewish World Service