Monday morning dawned with a dusting of snow. I feel fairly certain that after a winter with record snowfall, we all felt like saying "Dayyenu".  Enough already.

Somewhere the crocuses are pushing up, the daffodils are waiting to grow and, yes, eventually spring will arrive. Passover, the holiday of spring, of hope, and promise, and new beginnings, is right around the corner.

On Friday night, on Shabbat, we will sit down to our seder meals and the very first thing we will say is: "Let all who are hungry, come and eat."

Does everyone in our community have enough?

For those living at the lowest end of the income spectrum, not enough is a daily reality.

Those of us who are fortunate to have enough need to extend ourselves to those who are hungry, to those who are lonely, to those who are in pain.  We may not have these strangers at our tables, but we can make a contribution by clicking here and donate to the Jewish Family Service for food, emergency needs and housing assistance.

It may not be enough but people will be grateful.

Dayyenu: Are we  doing enough?

The Ukraine is in turmoil. The Jewish Agency's center for internally displaced people in Dnepropetrovsk are asking for $60,000 immediately. The JDC has requested 2.32 million dollars for urgent humanitarian needs. These are truly life-saving funds during a crisis where thousands of lives have been upended by ongoing violence, a serious energy crisis and skyrocketing costs.

While we are able to celebrate our own freedom at our seder tables, the Jews in the Ukraine need our assistance.  More than 6,500 Jews are waiting for their opportunity to make aliya.  If you are able to donate,  please click here and help us raise these precious dollars.

Dayyenu: Would it really be enough?

We all join in enthusiastically with the singing of Dayyenu, one of the most beloved songs of the Passover seder. We follow the 15 stanzas from the Israelite's exodus from slavery, to the crossing of the Red Sea, to Sinai, where we received the Torah, and on to the Promised Land.

"If He had fed us manna and not give us the Shabbat...If He had brought us to Sinai and not given us the Torah, If He had give us the Torah, and not brought us into the Promised Land".  Would it really have been enough?

Dayyenu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our own lives and to express gratitude for the blessings we have.

Together we can assist those who need our help - locally,  around the world and in Israel.  That is what the Federation stands for: the principle of areyvut - our global responsibility to help our fellow Jews and nurture a strong Jewish future.

If we can do this, it will truly be enough.  Dayyenu.

We are so very grateful to you for helping us to help others. Click here to make a gift.  

As we celebrate Passover and its cherished values of freedom and covenant, liberation and obligation, independence and interdependence, we cannot thank you enough for all you do!

Wishing you and yours a sweet Pesach,

 

Sydney A. Perry                        Stephanie Wain, M.D.