Cantor's Corner

Thoughts on “Had Gadya”

Even though the Passover Seder is a few weeks ahead of us, I want to jump to the very end of the Seder to the song “Chad Gadya.” Taken literally, “Chad Gadya” is a lighthearted song and an entertaining ending to the Seder.

Most scholars agree that “Chad Gadya” was borrowed from a late medieval German folk song (“Der Herr der schickt den Jokel aus”) which, in turn, is based on an old French nursery song. Translated into the various vernaculars used by Jews and set to local tunes, the song makes its first appearance as a Passover song in a haggadah printed in Prague in 1590. It was never part of the Sephardi (Spanish) and the Yemenite rituals.

Despite its likely origin, Jewish commentators have imbued the song with weighty allegorical meaning. According to one popular interpretation championed by Rabbi Elijah of Vilna (also known as the Gaon of Vilna), the kid symbolizes the oppressed Jewish people, which was bought by the father (God) for two coins (Moses and Aaron). The subsequent players in the ballad represent the nations who persecuted the Jewish people over the centuries: the devouring cat represents Assyria, the dog, Babylon, the stick represents Persia, the fire Macedonia, the water is Rome, the ox, the Saracens, the shohet (ritual slaughterer), the Crusaders, and the Angel of Death, the Turks, who subsequently ruled Palestine. The end of the song expresses the hope for messianic redemption: God destroys the foreign rulers of the Holy Land and vindicates Israel as “the only kid.”

Almost all the commentators I have read reason that “Chad Gadya’s” playful story masks a more serious message. With slight variations on a theme, the commentaries see the message of “Chad Gadya” as “God ultimately prevails.” After all, it is God who overcomes the angel of death at the end of the song. One wonders why this deep message is written in metaphor. It may be to teach that so much in Jewish history cannot be understood as it occurs; it can only be deciphered in hindsight.

I think we have overanalyzed this song. “Chad Gadya” is written playfully and humorously and it can be interpreted in a lighthearted way. To me, the song teaches us that to survive against the odds requires the ability to laugh. Our very existence is difficult to believe, and in some strange sense, that’s almost funny.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and kosher Passover. See you in shul.

Cantor Noam Ohring