IS IT EVER ENOUGH?

“Had G-d but split the sea, and not brought us through it on dry land – it would have been enough.” How could it have been enough? Had Jews not escaped through the Red Sea, they would have been pounced on by the Egyptians! What does this mean?

The answer emerges by way of another question. What is the single greatest obstacle to happiness?

Human nature. Human nature is insatiable. We are never completely satisfied with ourselves, our partner, our income, our homes, our children, our jobs, our pleasure. Something in us always longs for more. Consider the order of a child’s first words. Their first word is, often, “Mama,” the second “Dada,” and the third word is, “more”. These words perfectly express our deepest urges, first for love and security and then for more — of everything.

This does not mean that we cannot be happy. However, it does not serve us well to think the outside world is always to blame for our dissatisfaction, when truly, even if we had everything imaginable, the world couldn’t really satisfy us if it tried. Therefore, working on our inner thoughts is part of our journey to become happier. We must be able, in effect, to convey to our nature that although we hear that it wants more, our mind, not our nature, will determine whether we are satisfied.

This is poignantly expressed in the Garden of Eden story. Adam and Eve had access to the entire garden and all of its trees and plants, with the exception of one tree. When the serpent came to deceive Eve, his approach was really brilliant. He didn't ask, “Did G-d really say you could eat fruit from any of these trees except that one?” That would have focused Eve’s attention on G-d’s generosity in providing so much. Instead, he focused on the negative: “Did G-d really say you couldn't eat of any of these trees?

The serpent knew that to get Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, he first needed to reduce her contentment. He focused her thinking on the single tree G-d had forbidden, rather than the whole garden He had provided.

For Eve, as for us, Paradise is lost when we stop focusing on the blessings that surround us and perpetually crave something more.

The Dayeinu reminds us how to live happily. It teaches us to be grateful for every facet of G-d’s miraculous deliverance. Had You only done this and no more, it would have been enough for me to celebrate. The principle of “dayeinu,” of giving thanks even for the partial and incomplete, is crucial for living a happy life with a nature that can never be totally satisfied.

A happy and kosher Passover,

Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky