If you’re Jewish and you know it, clap your hands
I was discussing my upcoming show with a friend recently, mentioning how I’m trying to keep my “success” threshold pretty low. Specifically, if the show goes off without too many disasters, has at least a few people come, and doesn’t massively suck, I’ll be happy.
She responded, “You’re such a Jew.”
I laughed, but said I didn’t quite get it.
She simply said, “Dayenu,” which made me understand the joke and laugh all the harder.
For the gentiles in the audience, I’ll explain. Dayenu is a song from Passover, which talks about all the things God did for the Israelites, and how any of them would have been enough:
1) If He had brought us out of Egypt.
2) If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians.
3) If He had executed justice upon their gods.
4) If He had slain their first born.
5) If He had given to us their health and wealth(And so on…)
My friend was joking about how I was setting my sights low, and trying to stay content with what little I (might) have, which – when I put it that way – does seem like a laughably Jewish trait.
Dayenu!
Themocracy