By Rabbi Michael Kramer
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When I was engaged to my wife, I attended a Passover Seder at her aunt’s house. Growing up in a rabbinical home, it was unusual, because I normally spent Passover at my parents’ residence. There were about two dozen or more relatives present. At the end of the seder, Barbara’s grandfather, Harry, got up on a chair and led us in Had Gadya. In his Yiddish accent, Harry sang the Aramaic verses faster and faster. A number of years went by and Harry was no longer with us, but the custom of singing it the way he performed it fell upon me. At every Pesach since then, I’ve followed in his tradition and sung the melody quicker and quicker!
Had Gadya may have been originally derived from a French or German folk or drinking song. It was probably composed in the Yiddish vernacular and then translated into the familiar Aramaic version. The Medieval Jews were not familiar with Aramaic. The Aramaic has some glitches that an Aramaic poet would have avoided. Modern haggadot have tried to change the grammar, but we are most familiar with the original version.
The song did not appear in the Prague Haggadah of 1526, but is found in the Prague Haggadah of 1590 with a German translation. There is no tie to the Torah where there is no reference to the Angel of Death or to cats, but it might be compared to the Midrashic story of Abraham and Nimrod. Abraham admonishes Nimrod who worships the fire, then the water, then the clouds, and then the wind before Nimrod becomes angry and throws Abraham into the fire.
The unusual characteristic of Had Gadya is that it is a cumulative song. It begins with a goat and subsequent verses add a cat, a dog, a stick, etc. There are
a few of this type of song or poem that are familiar to us like This is the House that Jack Built. Henry George, a 19th century social philosopher, published an article suggesting, “Our Nursery Rime ‘The House That Jack Built’ is an historical allegory . . . to which is appended a translation and interpretation of an Ancient Jewish hymn.” (Most likely Had Gadya) Who would have expected that?
Another cumulative rhyme that we know is “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” She swallows larger and larger objects until she meets her demise. (It ends “I know an old lady who swallowed a horse. She’s dead, of course.”)
The rabbis through the centuries had many different interpretations of Had Gadya. The most familiar view suggests that each verse represents a different nation (Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, etc.) who oppressed the people of Israel, and how they perished one by one, and how Israel still survived. The kid symbolizes the Hebrew nation who was ultimately redeemed by God.
The artistic renditions of Had Gadya are most stimulating. Eli Lissitzky (1890–1941) was born in Vitebsk, Russia. After studying with Mark Chagall, Lissitzky turned to Constructivism, which aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space. Lissitzky “viewed the song both as a message of Jewish liberation based on the Exodus story and as an allegorical expression of freedom for the Russian people.” His work can be found in book form.
A second artist to illustrate Had Gadya was Menachem Birnbaum (1893–1944). His work is graphic and dark, displaying mindless violence and death. Birnbaum’s paintings are pessimistic. In his work, God appears only as a flash of light. His illustrated book of Had Gadya was published in 1920.
There are many musical renditions of the Passover song. They are a joy to listen to. One of my favorites was performed by the actor Jack Black. Another version can be found by Chava Alberstein (1946–). She used her recording to protest Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians in the Intifada. She was roundly criticized, but stood by her objections.
The anticipation of celebrating the Seder is great at the beginning, I especially enjoy the songs at the end. We are familiar with many of them in both Hebrew and English like “Adir Hu” (God of Might), “Echad Mi Yodea” (Who Knows One?—also a cumulative song!), and “L’shanah HaBa’ah” (Next Year in Jerusalem). A cantor in a past synagogue introduced us to “Pesach in Paducah” to the tune of “Christmas in Killarney.” My family isn’t too crazy about it. But my favorite is Had Gadya, even though I feel under pressure to sing quickly, quickly, quickly. I hope that everyone will have a Zessen Pesach this year!
