We’re
getting ready for Pesach. Today is the
last Shabbat prior to Pesach and personally, my mind is focusing on the
learning I’ve been attempting to accomplish related to the seder. So I’ve decided to talk about what is often
seen as merely a light-hearted rendition of a child’s song, Chad Gadya. So many people think of it as merely an
Aramaic version of “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” In reality, it is much deeper than that. Let me explain some various interpretations
of the song and then you can choose the one that meets with your own
sensitivities.
First, there
is the midrashic approach of the song:
It points to a midrash that speaks about “the Aramean King Nimrod who challenges our monotheistic
ancestor Abraham to a theological dialogue. Nimrod suggests that
Abraham should worship fire. But Abraham argues that water quenches fire,
clouds bring water, wind blows away clouds, and humans can control wind through
breath – so if you worship forces of nature, you might as well worship
yourself. Nimrod, angry, sentences Abraham to death by fire – but God saves
Abraham’s life. Hence, Chad Gadya explains, the Holy One of Blessing can slay
the Angel of Death.”
Second, there is the
historical approach which was written by “The Vilna Gaon (1720-1997) who said that Chad Gadya was an
allegory of Jewish history, showing the recurring relevance of the Exodus.
Israel is the kid, and everyone else wants to destroy us. But in the end, God
saves us.” According to this view, we
were subjected to persecution by those cats from Assyria, dogged by Babylonia,
beaten by Persia, burnt by the Macedonians led by Alexander, affected by the
floodwaters of Rome, gored by the ox-like Saracens, and faced in our own homeland
with the devastation brought by the slaughtering Crusaders. Ultimately each of these entities was
overcome by the Holy One. “This interpretation is, however, a bit loose, as cat
eats the kid in the first verse.”
Third, there is “the Ethical approach. Rav Nasan Adler (1741-1800) taught that Chad Gadya was really a
warning against lashon hara(gossip). Once, this controversial rabbi
overheard a group of strangers gossiping about him. He walked over and said,
“How about that Chad Gadya! The cat that ate the kid did a terrible thing, so
the dog was right to bite it, and the staff was wrong to beat the dog. If you
follow the logical steps of the song, it seems like God was wrong to punish the
angel of death. The song cannot really be criticizing God, so how do you solve
the problem?” “You have thought about this a lot, so perhaps you have an idea,”
said the strangers. “Indeed I do!” said the Rav. “Actually, the dog was wrong.
It was up to the father who owned the kid to punish the cat. The dog should
never have gotten involved in someone else’s business!”
Fourth, there is the
approach of Elie Wiesel who sees the song as symbolizing the destiny of the
Jewish people. Wiesel asks who symbolizes the Jewish people. “The goat? Sure not for he disappears. Rather the Jewish people is symbolized by the
child who receives the goat. The child,
though saddened by the goat’s disappearance, remains till the end. But when is that? The end is when death is defeated. The end is the death of death. The real meaning of the song may be that in
Jewish history, all creatures, all beings, all events are connected. The goat and the cat, the fire and the water,
the slaughterer and the redeemer are all part of the story. Sometimes stories are sad. Still it is important to tell them and retell
them.”
Fifth, there is the
spiritual approach of “Rabbi
Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724-1806) who saw in
Chad Gadya an allegory about the inner journey towards spiritual refinement.
One who sings Chad Gadya declares: I am the beginning seeker, bought for a
blessing, whose creativity is threatened by too much rationality, which is in
turn threatened by desire, which is then transformed into passion for the holy,
which passion is defeated by the body, causing me to judge others harshly,
which I can temper with love, which is sometimes defeated by my shadow side,” until
God helps me perfect my innate instinctive impulses. This approach sees Chad Gadya as a promise of
victory over our inner enemies that eat away at our souls.
Sixth, there is the
political interpretation of the song fostered by “Lawrence Hoffman. His view
sees Chad Gadya as warning us against taking revenge because the cycle, once
started, may never end.” It is the cycle
where the pursuer becomes the pursued and the striker becomes the stricken. For many it is the cycle of what we see
happening in world society’s today.
And finally there is the
messianic approach whose message is discussed by “contemporary philosopher Rabbi Neil
Gillman. Gillman says that Chad Gadya celebrates Elijah’s visit to every seder, where he announces the
End of Days, the coming of mashiach. At that time, God will triumph over
everything, even death. All who once lived will come alive again.” It will be a
time when there will be a change for the better. Although bitterness has been a part of our
history, bitterness is not to be seen as an end. There is a time which will take place when
injustice and strife will cease. As
Maimonides wrote about that idea of a future redemption, “In that era, there
will be neither famine nor war, neither jealousy nor strife.”
So as you can see, even
though your seder will appear to end simplistically next Friday night with a
song that appears to entertain, it is in reality ending with a song that
attempts to provide us with an optimistic note after an evening of speaking
about slavery and the suffering of our people. No matter how you interpret the
meaning of the song, I believe it suggests the lot of the Jews and the lot of
all human kind will eventually change for the better. May that indeed be our
reality in the days and years to come. Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya!
(
quoted sections from: https://sophiastreet.com/parsha/holidays/chad-gadya-deep-meanings/)
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