Chad Gadya or Had Gadya (Aramaic: חַד גַדְיָא chad gadya, "one little goat", or "one kid"; Hebrew: "גדי אחד gedi echad") is a playful cumulative song in Aramaic and Hebrew.[1] It is sung at the end of the Passover Seder, the Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The melody may have its roots in Medieval German folk music.[2] It first appeared in a Haggadah printed in Prague in 1590, which makes it the most recent inclusion in the traditional Passover seder liturgy.[3]
The song is popular with children and similar to other cumulative songs:[4] Echad Mi Yodea, ("Who Knows 'One'?") another cumulative song, is also in the Passover Haggadah.
English One Little Goat | Romanization of Aramaic Chad Gadya | Transliteration of Aramaic ħad gadyā | Aramaic חַד גַּדְיָא | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Verse 1: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abah bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 2: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The cat came, and ate the goat, | valign=top | ve-ata shunra ve-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | wəʔāṯā šūnrā wəʔāḵlā ləgaḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 3: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The dog came, and bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | ve-ata kalba ve-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | wəʔāṯā ḵalbā wənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgaḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 4: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The stick came, and beat the dog, | valign=top | ve-ata chutra, ve-hikkah le-khalba | valign=top | wəʔāṯā ħūṭrā, wəhikkā ləḵalbā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 5: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The fire came, and burned the stick, | valign=top | ve-ata nura, ve-saraf le-chutra | valign=top | wəʔāṯā nūrā, wəśārap̄ ləħūṭrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-hikkah le-khalba, de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dəhikkā ləḵalbā, dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 6: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The water came, and put out the fire, | valign=top | ve-ata maya, ve-khavah le-nura | valign=top | wəʔāṯā mayyā, wəḵāḇā lənūrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that burned the stick, that beat the dog, | valign=top | de-saraf le-chutra, de-hikkah le-khalba | valign=top | dəšārap̄ ləħūṭrā, dəħikkā ləḵalbā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 7: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The ox came, and drank the water, | valign=top | ve-ata tora, ve-shatah le-maya | valign=top | wəʔāṯā tōrā, wəšāṯā ləmayyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that put out the fire, that burned the stick, | valign=top | de-khavah le-nura, de-saraf le-chutra | valign=top | dəḵāḇā lənūrā, dəšārap̄ ləħūṭrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-hikkah le-khalba, de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dəhikkā ləḵalbā, dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 8: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The slaughterer (Shohet) came, and killed the ox, | valign=top | ve-ata ha-shochet, ve-shachat le-tora | valign=top | wəʔāṯā hašōħēṭ, wəšāħaṯ ləṯōrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that drank the water, that put out the fire, | valign=top | de-shatah le-maya, de-khavah le-nura | valign=top | dəšāṯā ləmayyā, dəḵāḇā lənūrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that burned the stick, that beat the dog, | valign=top | de-saraf le-chutra, de-hikkah le-khalba | valign=top | dəšārap̄ ləħūṭrā, dəhikkā ləḵalbā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 9: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | The angel of death came, and slew the slaughterer, | valign=top | ve-ata mal'akh ha-mavet, ve-shachat le-shochet | valign=top | wəʔāṯā malʔaḵ hammāweṯ, wəšāħaṭ ləšōħēṭ | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | who killed the ox, that drank the water, | valign=top | de-shachat le-tora, de-shatah le-maya | valign=top | dəšāħaṭ ləṯōrā, dəšāṯā ləmayyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that put out the fire, that burned the stick, | valign=top | de-khavah le-nura, de-saraf le-chutra | valign=top | dəḵāḇā lənūrā, dəšārap̄ ləħūṭrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de hikkah le-khalba, de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dəhikkā ləḵalbā, dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 10: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat: | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Then came The Holy One, Blessed be He, | valign=top | ve-ata ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu | valign=top | wəʔāṯā haqqadōš bārūḵ hū | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | and smote the angel of death, who slew the slaughterer, | valign=top | ve-shachat le-mal'akh ha-mavet, de-shachat le-shochet | valign=top | wəšāħaṭ ləmalʔaḵ hammāweṯ, dəšāħaṭ ləšōħēṭ | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | who killed the ox, that drank the water, | valign=top | de-shachat le-tora, de-shatah le-maya | valign=top | dəšāħaṭ ləṯōrā, dəšāṯā ləmayyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that put out the fire, that burned the stick, | valign=top | de-khavah le-nura, de-saraf le-chutra | valign=top | dəḵāḇā lənūrā, dəšārap̄ ləħūṭrā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, | valign=top | de-hikkah le-khalba, de-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya | valign=top | dəhikkā ləḵalbā, dənāšaḵ ləšūnrā, dəʔāḵlā ləgāḏyā | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
valign=top | Which my father bought for two zuzim. | valign=top | dizabin abba bitrei zuzei. | valign=top | dəzabbīn abbā biṯrē zūzē. | valign=top dir=rtl | |||
Verse 11: | |||||||||
valign=top | One little goat, one little goat. | valign=top | Chad gadya, chad gadya, | valign=top | ħaḏ gaḏyā, ħaḏ gaḏyā, | valign=top dir=rtl |
As with any work of verse, Chad Gadya is open to interpretation. According to some modern Jewish commentators, what appears to be a light-hearted song may be symbolic. One interpretation is that Chad Gadya is about the different nations that have conquered the Land of Israel: The kid symbolizes the Jewish people; the cat, Assyria; the dog, Babylon; the stick, Persia; the fire, Macedonia; the water, Roman Empire; the ox, the Saracens; the slaughterer, the Crusaders; the angel of death, the Ottomans. At the end, God returns to send the Jews back to Israel. The recurring refrain of 'two zuzim' is a reference to the two stone tablets given to Moses on Mount Sinai (or refer to Moses and Aaron). Apparently this interpretation was first widely published in pamphlet published in 1731 in Leipzig by Philip Nicodemus Lebrecht.[5] This interpretation has become quite popular, with many variations of which oppressor is represented by which character in the song.[6]
Though commonly interpreted as an historical allegory of the Jewish people, the song may also represent the journey to self-development. The price of two zuzim, mentioned in every stanza, is (according to the Targum Jonathan to First Samuel 9:8) equal to the half-shekel tax upon every adult Israelite male (in Exodus 30:13); making the price of two zuzim the price of a Jewish soul. In an article first published in the Journal of Jewish Music & Liturgy in 1994, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, the co-author of The Yeshiva University Haggadah, summarized the interpretations of three rabbis: (1) Rabbi Jacob Emden in 1795, as a list of the pitfalls and perils facing the soul during one's life. (2) Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschuetz (1690–1764) as a very abbreviated history of Israel from the Covenant of the Two Pieces recorded in Genesis 15 (the two zuzim), to slavery in Egypt (the cat), the staff of Moses (the stick) and ending with the Roman conqueror Titus (the Angel of Death). And (3) from Rabbi Moses Sofer, the Hatim Sofer (1762–1839), in which the song described the Passover ritual in the Temple of Jerusalem – the goat purchased for the Paschal sacrifice, according to the Talmud dreaming of a cat is a premonition of singing such as occurs in the seder, the Talmud also relates that dogs bark after midnight which is the time limit for the seder, the priest who led the cleaning of the altar on Passover morning would use water to wash his hands, many people at the Temple that day would bring oxen as sacrifices, the Angel of Death is the Roman Empire that destroyed the Second Temple, etc.[7] The Vilna Gaon interpreted that the kid is the Birthright that passed from Abraham to Isaac; the father is Jacob; the two zumin is the meal Jacob paid Esau for his birthright; the cat is the envy of Jacob sons toward Joseph; the dog is Egypt where Joseph and his clan were enslaved; the stick is the staff of Moses; the fire the thirst for idolatry; the water the sages who eradicated idolatry; the ox is Rome; the shochet is the Messiah; the Angel of Death represents the death of the Messiah]; the Holy One is the L-d who arrives with the Messiah.[8]
Descriptions of Chad Gadya being "entirely in Aramaic" are in error; the song is mix of Aramaic and Hebrew and indicates that the composer's grasp of Aramaic was limited. For example, the song begins with ḥad gadya, which is Aramaic, instead of the Hebrew form gədi ʾeḥad, and for the cat the Aramaic shunra instead of the Hebrew ḥatul and for the dog the Aramaic kalba instead of the Hebrew kelev, etc., but, towards the end of the song, we find the slaughterer is the Hebrew ha-shoḥet instead of the Aramaic nakhosa and the Angel of Death is the Hebrew malʾakh ha-mavet instead of the Aramaic malʾach mota and, finally, "the Holy One, blessed be He" is the Hebrew ha-qadosh barukh hu whereas the Aramaic would be qudsha bərikh hu.[9] Moreover, the Aramaic grammar is sloppy, for example. "then came the [''masculine'' form] cat and [''feminine'' form] ate".[10] The suggestion that the song was couched in Aramaic to conceal its meaning from non-Jews[11] is also in error, since its first publication included a full German translation.
Versions of the song exist in Yiddish, Ladino (Un cavritico), Judaeo-Italian and Judaeo-Arabic.
The words "dizabin abah" (דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא) in the second line of the song literally mean "which father sold", rather than "which father bought". The Aramaic for "which father bought" is "dizvan abah" (דִּזְבַן אַבָּא), and some Haggadot have that as the text.[12]
In 1917 and 1919 Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitzky created two variants of the book Had Gadya.[13] Lissitzky's used Yiddish for the book verses, but introduced each verse in a traditional Aramaic, written in Hebrew alphabet.[14] These two versions differs in style: art historians Dukhan and Perloff called the 1917 version "an expressionist decorativism of color and narrative"[15] and "a set of brightly colored, folklike watercolors",[14] respectively, and 1919 "marked by a stylistic shift ... the treatment of forms becomes essentially more structural and every list reflects a topological invariant of the whole series in Of Two Squares".[15]
Two versions also differ in narrative: "if in the variant of 1917 the Angel of Death is depicted as cast down but still alive, that of 1919 shows him as definitely dead, and his victims (an old man and a kid) as resurrected." Dukhan treats these differences as Lissitzky's sympathies towards the October Revolution, after which Jews of the Russian Empire were liberated from discrimination.[15] Perloff also thinks that 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." She also noted that "the hand of God is strikingly similar to an image of a hand that appeared on one of the first series of stamps printed after the revolution of 1917. On the stamp, the hand is clearly a symbol of the Soviet people. And the angel of death, who is depicted as dying in the set of illustrations from 1917, is now dead—clearly, in light of the symbolic link to the czar, killed by the force of the revolution."[14]
The cover of 1919 edition was designed in abstract suprematist forms.[15]