“Ḥad Gadya,” by an unknown author, first appeared in the Prague Haggadah (1526), accompanied by a translation in German. The transcription below follows the text of the original poet as found in the 1590 Prague Haggadah. See below for page images.
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חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
One little goat, one little goat.
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דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
One little goat, one little goat that my father bought for two zuzim.
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וְאָתָא שֻׁנְרָא וְאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
A cat came and ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא כַּלְבָּא וְנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
A dog came and bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא חֻטְרָא וְהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
A stick came and hit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא נוּרָא וְשָׁרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
A fire came and burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא מַיָּא וְכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
Water came and put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא תּוֹרָא וְשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
An ox came and drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא הַשּׁוֹחֵט וְשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
A butcher came and slaughtered the ox that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא מַלְאַךְ־הַמָּ֫וֶת וְשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
The angel of death came and slaughtered the butcher who slaughtered the ox that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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וְאָתָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וְשָׁחַט לְמַלְאַךְ־הַמָּ֫וֶת וְשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָא לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחֻטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשֻׁנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּן אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. |
Then Hakadosh Barukh Hu came and slaughtered the angel of death who slaughtered the butcher who slaughtered the ox that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
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Ḥad Gadya here is sung by Moishe Oysher with the Abraham Nadel Chorus (circa 1955?), in Aramaic and Hebrew. This stop-motion animation was created by Nina Paley (animator, director) with the help of Theodore Gray (stitchcoder, embroiderer) and Nick Mann (lights, camera). This short film is part of a larger project, Seder Masochism, Nina’s animated retelling of the story of the exodus. Over on vimeo, Nina Paley writes:
Our most ridiculously labor-intensive animation ever! The traditional Passover folk song rendered in embroidermation by Nina Paley and Theodore Gray.
These very same embroidered matzoh covers are available for purchase here: palegraylabs.com/chad-gadya/
Making sense of Ḥad Gadya beyond its explicit meaning has long inspired commentary. For me, Ḥad Gadya expresses in its own terrifying and macabre way a particularly important idea in Judaism that has become obscure if not esoteric. While an animal’s life may today be purchased, ultimately, the forces of exploitation, predation, and destruction that dominate our world will be overturned and a new age will dawn. Singing Ḥad Gadya is thus particularly apropos for the night of Passover since, in the Jewish calendar, this one night, different from all other nights, is considered the most dangerous night of the year — it is the time in which the forces of darkness in the world are strongest. Why? It is on this night that the divine aspect of mashḥit, the executioner, is explicitly invoked, as explained in the midrash for Exodus 12:12 read in the maggid section of the Haggadah for Passover:
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“I will pass through the land of Egypt:” — I, and not an angel.
“and I will smite every firstborn:” — I, and not a fiery angel. “And I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt:” — I, and not the messenger. “I am YHVH” — I am He, and no other. |
In Jewish belief, there is one and only one divine concept that is responsible for light and dark, suffering and joy. The invocation of the most dangerous and harmful aspect is limited to the one day dedicated to telling of the birth of the people and in which the divine acts as midwife and guardian/protector of her people. This aspect, however, is destructive, and so is related to predation, the yetzer hara as described in Yoma 69b, a crucial mechanism by which the nature of our world, Olam Hazeh, is sustained. The significance of our founding as a people, however, is to study the Torah so as to circumscribe our predatory inclination with kindness and consideration, ethics and laws, so as to realize what Isaiah articulated in his vision — “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the YHVH as the waters cover the sea.” Our world may be a bloody nightmare sustained through violent predation, but we hope for a new age in which the divinity suffusing all of creation is apparent to all and that even nature itself may be sustained in peace, kindness, and consideration.
The post פסח | Ḥad Gadya (ca. 1526 CE) appeared first on the Open Siddur Project.
וְעָבַרְתִּ֣י בְאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם֮ — אֲנִי וְלֹא מַלְאָךְ.
וְהִכֵּיתִ֤י כָׇל־בְּכוֹר֙ — אֲנִי וְלֹא שָׂרָף.
וּבְכׇל־אֱלֹהֵ֥י מִצְרַ֛יִם אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה שְׁפָטִ֖ים — אֲנִי וְלֹא הַשָּׁלִיחַ.
אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה — אֲנִי הוּא וְלֹא אַחֵר׃