02/10/2026
A Dayenu for This Week’s Miracle
We have just witnessed something extraordinary. An attempted hijacking of a plane carrying mostly Israelis was miraculously thwarted.
It is one of those moments that should make us pause and recognise the enormity of the tragedy that could have happened, and the incredible string of events that saved it from happening.
Had the attack been successful, we would have been plunged into yet another moment of national mourning. The fact that it was so spectacularly averted calls for a national outpouring of gratitude. The pain and suffering that did not eventuate should be inverted into an enormous celebration of life and victory.
The details of the story will come out. The hijacker's plan and who was behind him may be revealed. The political repercussions will unfold in time. But right now, we need to give thanks. This is the kind of salvation that demands a spiritual response.
Such an event deserves a Dayenu of its own. Like the Dayenu we recite at the Seder, thanking G-d for each stage of the Exodus, we can say our own today:
If the plane remained intact after a 16,000 ft plunge in 35 seconds, Dayenu.
If not a single passenger was seriously injured in the violent descent, Dayenu.
If Smit Machchhar, the badly wounded captain, was able to raise the alarm, Dayenu.
If he managed to unlock the cockpit door before passing out, Dayenu.
If passengers and crew could reach the cockpit and overpower the attacker, Dayenu.
If Yaniv Hayoun knew how to pull the aircraft out of its dive from watching an aeronautical documentary, Dayenu.
If the aircraft survived the recovery and remained controllable, Dayenu.
If qualified Flydubai pilots happened to be travelling as passengers, Dayenu.
If Dr S***a Musayev, a dentist, stopped the captain’s bleeding, Dayenu.
If the aircraft reached a safe airport and landed successfully despite a damaged rudder, Dayenu.
If more than 170 people, including 27 children, walked away alive and almost uninjured from all this, Dayenu.
But G-d gave us not one of these miracles, but miracle upon miracle.
How much more must we thank Him.
This happened in the midst of the happiest days of the Jewish year. This weekend we enter a full 48-hour celebration of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Let’s dance and sing Hallel, songs of praise, with added joy and a new layer of relevance.
On October 7, 2023, our world went into a terrifying plunge. This week, quite literally, a plane plunged towards disaster and was somehow pulled back up.
We will never forget those we lost. For their sake, we must not be blind to our victories.
Our people have had many times to cry. Let’s recognise when it is time to dance.
May the miracles continue.
Good Shabbos and Good Yomtov,
Rabbi Moss
