Chad Gadya

By Rabbi Joshua Flug

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I. Introduction-This shiur outline will explore the history and meaning of Chad Gadya. We
will begin with an introduction to end of the haggadah and then discuss Chad Gadya
specifically. Because of the length of some of the commentaries on Chad Gadya, they
won't be included in the source sheet. Some will be summarized and some will be linked
to. Additionally, you may find the following useful:
a. Article in Yeshurun about Chad Gadya's origins and reasons.
b. Two academic articles in Machanayim Vol. 55.
c. Blog post from "On the Main Line" detailing history of Chad Gadya.
d. Article in Pesach-To-Go 5766 by R. Kenneth Brander with a summary of a number of
approaches to Chad Gadya.
II. What are the origins of the piyyutim at the end of the Haggadah?
a. What are the possible reasons to have piyyutim at the end of the Haggadah?
i. An extension of Hallel
1. The Talmud Yerushalmi quotes one opinion that ‫אין מפטירין אחר הפסח‬
‫ אפיקומן‬refers to a prohibition against ‫ זמר‬after the seder. {}
a. R. David Frankel (Korban Ha'Edah c. 1704-1762) writes that
normally, people used to sing zemiros after the meal.
However, after the meal on Pesach, one should sing Hallel. {}
b. As such, one would have to view the piyyutim as an extension
of Hallel.
c. R. Moshe Rosenbaum (d. 1877) suggests that the prohibition
only applies to secular songs, not ‫ שירי קודש‬and therefore, our
zemiros are not included in this prohibition. {}
2. The last of the ‫ סימנים‬of the seder is ‫נרצה‬. What does one do at ‫?נרצה‬
a. R. Yehuda Loew (Maharal c. 1520-1609) suggests that it is not
a separate ‫סימן‬. Rather, there is one ‫ סימן‬called ‫הלל נרצה‬. {}
b. R. Eliyahu Bakshi Doron (b. 1941) suggests that even if there
are two separate ‫סימנים‬, it only means that ‫ הלל‬is the ‫הלל המצרי‬
recited before the meal and ‫ נרצה‬is the ‫ הלל הגדול‬recited after
the meal. {}
3. R. Tzidkiyah HaRofei (Shibolei HaLeket c. 1210-1275) writes that it is
customary to recite additional piyyutim as part of ‫הלל הגדול‬. {}
a. R. Shimon ben Tzemach (1361-1444) writes that one should
recite the additional piyyutim before the fourth cup. The
reason he gives is that one should not go to sleep thirsty. {}
 However, it would only be justifiable to recite these piyyutim
before the fourth cup if they were part of Hallel.
b. R. Shlomo Luria (1510-1574) objects to reciting these
piyyutim before the fourth cup because the fourth cup is
supposed to be recited immediately after the beracha on Hallel.
{}
i. It is unclear if his objection is based on the piyyutim
having a different function than Hallel or more of a
technical problem of splitting up the two berachos.
ii. There is an idea which we read about in the haggadah about spending extra
time discussing the sippur yetzias Mitzrayim.
1. R. Aharon HaKohen of Lunil (14th century) as well as other Rishonim
are of the opinion that this should be done after the conclusion of the
seder, when the children are already sleeping. {}
2. As such, the piyyutim can be seen as a fulfillment of the mitzvah of
sippur yetzias Mitzrayim.
iii. The Tosefta states that one should spend time after the Seder discussing the
laws of Pesach. {}
iv. To keep the children awake- R. Moshe Sofer (1762-1839) would translate the
piyyutim of ‫ אחד מי יודע‬,‫ אדיר הוא‬and ‫ חד גדיא‬into German for the younger
children and he said that they are recited at the Seder as a way of keeping the
children engaged until the very end. {}
III. The Origins of Chad Gadya
a. It is unclear who wrote Chad Gadya and when it first became part of the Seder.
i. There are rumors that it was found on the scroll in the Beis Medrash of R.
Elazar Rokeach. {} Being that the Beis Medrash was destroyed in 1349,
when the Jewish community was destroyed, this scroll must be from sometime
after 1349.
1. There is a manuscript of a siddur from 1406 which is reported to
contain Chad Gadya. {} and attributes it to the Beis Medrash of the
Rokeach.
ii. A number of Acharonim write that the Tashbetz has comments on Chad
Gadya, {} but these do not seem to appear in our versions of ‫ מאמר החמץ‬or ‫יבין‬
‫( שמועה‬if anyone can find these comments, please let us know). If Tashbetz
did comment on Chad Gadya, it was in the early 15th century.
iii. A Haggadah printed in Prague 1527 does not contain Chad Gadya but when it
was reprinted in 1590, it was included.
 iv. There is a manuscript from Historical Society of Jerusalem that dates back to
the 15th or 16th century. The one interesting thing about this manuscript is that
there is an additional character: the mouse. In this version, it is the mouse
who attacks the goat and is subsequently attacked by the cat. {}
v. Any of these origins seems to pre-date the German folk song The Farmer
Sends out the Jockel (Google Translation) which has almost the same story
line, but was first printed in 1609.
b. Midrashic Underpinnings of Chad Gadya: There are two statements in the Midrash
that seem to be the basis of Chad Gadya:
i. The Midrash writes that when Avram first started speaking about
monotheism, he was brought to Nimrod and Nimrod asked him why he
doesn't worship fire. Avram responded that water is superior to fire because
water can extinguish fire. He then asked, what about worshipping water to
which Avram responded that clouds are superior because they absorb water
and the conversation continued until Nimrod gave up and said "I am going to
stick to fire as a God" and proceeded to throw Avram into the ‫כבשן האש‬. {}
ii. The Gemara states that there are ten objects, each stronger than the next. A
mountain is strong and can be cut by iron which can be destroyed by fire
which can be extinguished by water which can be absorbed by clouds, etc.
until the passage concludes that death is the strongest of all and tzedakah can
save from death. {}
c. Chad Gadya as part of our Mesorah- R. Chaim Y.D. Azulai (Chida 1724-1807)
discusses the case of someone who mocked Chad Gadya and he was placed in nidui.
Chida writes that it is appropriate to place this person in nidui because the fact that
Ashkenazi Jews all recite it is enough to give it some sanctity. {}
IV. Questions that are asked about Chad Gadya (and short answers)
a. What kind of cat can eat a goat? If we are talking about a larger cat like a lynx or
even a tiger, it's unlikely that a dog would be able to defeat such a cat. Furthermore,
the Gemara states that it is unusual for a cat to attack a large chicken and for a dog to
attack large cattle {}, so certainly it is unusual for a small cat to attack a goat or for a
dog to attack a large cat.
i. Chasam Sofer addresses this question from a different perspective. He asks:
how is it possible that the goat, which represents the hero, is eaten?
ii. Chasam Sofer answers that the goat is not eaten by the cat, but the cat thinks
that he ate the goat. The goat and God are the only two left remaining at the
end of the story and that is why we repeat ‫ חד גדיא‬at the end of each verse. {}
b. Why does every stanza build on the previous one? Why not just start at the end?
 c. If the cat kills the goat, then the dog is justified in killing the cat to avenge the death
of the goat. The stick then is not justified and the fire is. The water is not justified
and the bull is. The shochet is not justified and the Malach HaMaves is justified.
Why then does God slaughter the Malacha HaMaves?
i. If the mouse is also part of the equation, this is not a question.
ii. R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1832-1909) answers that the dog was not
justified in attacking the cat because it wasn't a fight that he had any relevance
to. This is why we read it at the end of the seder- to address the question why
the Egyptians were punished for doing something that was decreed by God.
The answer is that although the Jewish People were destined to be enslaved,
the Egyptians didn't have to be the ones to get involved. It could have been
taken care of by a different nation. {}
1. There is a Midrash that has a mashal about a wolf who attacked a goat
and a dog started to attack the wolf. The wolf responded "This has
nothing to with you, you should not intervene." {}
iii. There is a story told of a rav who found a number of people discussing his
dispute with another rav. The rav proceeded to tell over this idea. The
message was not to get involved in other people's machlokes. This idea is
recorded as happening to R. Yonasan Eibeschitz as well as R. Nosson Adler.
{}
iv. According to many of the approaches that we will summarize or reference,
this is not a question, either because it is not about one being justified and the
other not justified or because there are multiple aggressors involved.
d. Why is the term ‫ חד גדיא‬repeated in every stanza? Is there one goat or two?
V. Explanation of Chad Gadya (this will include some summaries and links to others)
a. If one wants to understand Chad Gadya as an extension of ‫הלל הגדול‬, then perhaps the
approach most appropriate is that the story of Chad Gadya is a story of divine
providence. On the surface, each "player" feels superior, but in the end it is all in the
hands of God. This idea is advance by R. Gamliel Rabinowitz. {}
i. It fits with the theme of ‫ הלל הגדול‬which is a more general discussion of God's
divine providence.
b. Chad Gadya as part of sippur yetzias Mitzrayim:
i. Chasam Sofer (in addition to his more famous explanation about Chad Gadya
as a hint to the avodah of the korban Pesach) suggests that Chad Gadya retells
the Pesach story (click here to access):
1. The goat represents the Jewish People and the father is Avraham
Avinu who "acquired" for the Jewish People their status by his two
 relocations (‫)זז‬, one from ‫ חו"ל‬to ‫( א"י‬the goat of glory) and one from
‫ א"י‬to ‫( חו"ל‬the goat of galus).
2. The cat is Paroh
3. The dog is the Jewish People who instead of prayer, screamed like
dogs. Nevertheless, their screams were heard.
4. The stick represents the increased work that Paroh gave the Jewish
People after Moshe and Aharon approached Paroh.
5. The fire is the first nine makkos that put an end to the hard work.
6. The water served a dual purpose in causing Paroh to feel diminished
but also in preventing him from freeing the Jews (‫)מים הזידונים‬.
7. The bull represents the Egyptian ‫ בכורים‬who attacked the other
Egyptians before ‫)מכת בכורות )למכה מצרים בבכוריהם‬.
8. The Shochet represents the Jews who slaughtered the korban Pesach
and in turn caused the Egyptian first born to be killed.
9. The Malacha HaMaves represents the Yetzer Harah and all of the
challenges that the Jewish People had immediately after leaving Egypt.
10. The slaughtering of the Malach HaMaves represents either Matan
Torah or the coming of Mashiach.
ii. The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) explains that Chad Gadya represents the entirety
of Jewish history (click here to access). There are two versions of the Gaon's
comments. This summary blends the two.
1. The goat represents the berachos that Yitzchak gave to Ya'akov and he
passed them on to Yosef. The berachos came about from the two
goats that were presented to Yitzchak.
2. The cat is a symbol of jealousy and represents the brothers who were
jealous of the berachos and caused the Jewish People to go down to
Egypt.
3. The dog represent Paroh or the Egyptians
4. The stick is the staff of Moshe Rabbeinu that symbolizes the Exodus.
5. The fire is the Yetzer Harah or the burning of the Beis HaMikdash.
6. The water is either Jewish People who defeat the Yetzer HaRah or the
Anshei Knesses HaGedolah who rebuilt the Beis HaMikdash.
7. The bull is ‫אדום‬.
 8. The shochet is ‫משיח בן יוסף‬.
9. The Malacha HaMaves is ‫ ארמילוס‬who kills ‫משיח בן יוסף‬.
10. The story ends when God brings ‫ משיח בן דוד‬to redeem the Jewish
People.
c. Chad Gadya as a fulfillment of learning about the laws of Pesach
i. Chasam Sofer's more popular explanation is that Chad Gadya is a review of
the process of bringing the korban Pesach (click here to access).
ii. R. Chaim Gelernter (19th century) has an explanation ‫ על דרך הפלפול‬where
Chad Gadya is a lengthy discussion whether ‫ כורך‬is Pesach, Matzah and Maror
or just Matzah and Maror (click here to access)
d. There are some early kuntrusim written on Chad Gadya that have philosophical or
kabbalistic explanations:
i. ‫אחוית אחידן‬
ii. ‫איל יצחק‬
iii. ‫ מאמר יהונתן‬by R. Yonasan Eibeschitz (1690-1764).
 ‫‪ .5‬בנין אב תשובות ב‪:‬כז‬ ‫‪ .1‬ירושלמי פסחים י‪:‬ו‬

‫‪ .2‬קרבן העדה שם‬

‫‪ .3‬פירוש מתא דירושלים פסחים י‪:‬ו‬

‫‪ .4‬הגדה של פסח דברי נגידים‬

‫‪ .6‬שבלי הלקט ס' ריח‬

‫‪ .7‬תשב"ץ קטן ס' צט‬

‫‪ .8‬שו"ת מהרש"ל ס' פח‬

‫‪ .9‬ארחות חיים הגדה של פסח מעשה בר' אליעזר‬

 ‫‪ .14‬מחניים חוברת נה‬ ‫‪ .10‬תוספתא פסחים י‪:‬ח‬

‫‪ .11‬מנהגי חתם סופר י‪:‬כא‬

‫‪ .12‬הגדת מרבה לספר‬

‫הנה פיוט זה מזמרין בכל תפוצות ישראל‬

‫ושמעתי שמצאו זה הפיוט ואחד מי יודע‬
‫גנוז וכתוב על הקלף בבית המדרש הרוקח‬
‫בגרמייזא וקבעו אותן לדורות לזמר בליל‬
‫פסח וא"כ לא דבר ר]י[ק הוא‪.‬‬

‫‪ .13‬הגדה של פסח באר מרים‬

‫‪ .15‬אוצר כל מנהגי ישורון ס' נא‬

‫‪ .16‬בראשית רבה פרשת נח פרשה לח‬

‫‪ .17‬בבא בתרא י‪:‬‬

‫תניא ר"י אומר גדולה צדקה שמקרבת את‬
‫הגאולה שנאמר כה אמר ה' שמרו משפט‬
‫ועשו צדקה כי קרובה ישועתי לבא וצדקתי‬
‫להגלות הוא היה אומר עשרה דברים‬
‫קשים נבראו בעולם הר קשה ברזל מחתכו‬
‫ברזל קשה אור מפעפעו אור קשה מים‬
‫מכבין או תו מים קשים עבים סובלים אותן‬
‫עבים קשים רוח מפזרתן רוח קשה גוף‬
‫סובלו גוף קשה פחד שוברו פחד קשה יין‬
‫מפיגו יין קשה שינה מפכחתו ומיתה קשה‬
‫מכולם ]וצדקה מצלת מן המיתה[ דכתיב‬
‫וצדקה תציל ממות‪.‬‬
‫‪ .22‬ילקוט שמעוני פרשת בלק כב‪:‬ב‬ ‫‪ .18‬שו"ת חיים שאל א‪:‬כח‬

‫‪ .23‬שיחות חכמים עמ' יח‬

‫‪ .19‬בבא קמא טו‪:‬‬

‫‪ .20‬דרשות חתם סופר ח"ב עמ' רעח‬

‫‪ .21‬הגדת הבן איש חי ד"ה ברוך שומר הבטחתו‬

‫‪ .24‬טיב ההגדה לחד גדיא‬