Hineni and Dayenu: Why Showing Up to Declare “Here I am” is Important Enough
The Collective Power of Each Individual Step.
The other day, I had a solid reminder that small groups and singular people can and do make a big impact. A friend’s post was one more reminder of why I put so much stock into Collective Action, and doing the work together.
How do you know if someone is “Doing the work?” You can’t always tell. It shows up in small ways: in how they share space, write emails, give feedback, and in their own creative content. It shows in there asks and offers, their calls to action, and in the things they take time to share.
In hebrew there’s a saying, “Hineni” — said in response to a prompt, a question, it means“Here I am.” Over the years, I have interrogated what it means to me to “show up.” How do I show up and for what purpose?
Days after I wrote a version of this on LinkedIn, I remembered Hineni is our Synagogues theme for the year. Why? Because now, in this moment, it’s an imperative. We have ALL have to show up.
Hineni also translates as “I am alert.” — similar to “Pronto” in Italian, which means “ready,” (and how many Italians answer the phone).
This election, this decade, this earth is too important to become complacent or…
