One little goat
A story of revenge and its futility
Passover is coming and Jews will once again practice their favourite hobbies – eating and remembering (and silently judging family members, but that is a different post).
This is what we do – we specialize in remembering. A brutal account of our story that is not always favourite to us. At times even making it clear that we don’t completely understand, or agree, with the divine plan.
Jewish stories tend to admit the wrongs on all accounts – not only Pharaoh made mistake after mistake but so did Moses. Mistakes that are shown in detail and the price they both pay is explained. Nothing ends up swept under the rug.
History is told by the winners, and as such more often than not presents a narrative that shows the winner in a kinder light, a heroic one. Not the Torah. Every Hero is shown as a flawed man in one way or another.
Our tool of memory during Passover is the Haggadah – the telling (from the stem N G D). A small book that tells the story of the exit of the Jews from Egypt. Songs, stories and lessons were added to it to make it more interesting. Along with different symbolic nibbles that represent different aspects of the story and prevent us from starving over the hour long reading and singing.
One of these songs is חד גדיא “Chad Gadya” – one kid. This is a text written in broken Aramaic in the 15th century and made part of the Haggadah a century later (as far as we know).
Amsterdam - 1796, Breginski collection
On the face of it it is a simple children song that has no room in the Haggadah. It tells about a father that bought a small goat in the market, The father brings the kid home but it gets eaten by a cat, that in turn gets bitten by a dog. The dog gets hit by a stick that is burned by fire that was put out by water that was drunk by an Ox that was slaughtered by a Shochet ( a man who’s job it is to slaughter animals for food by Jewish law) that was taken by the angel of death that was slaughtered by G-D.
It is an accumulative song , meaning every stanza has another character appearing in it. From a simple story that could happen in any house (in late middle ages Europe that is) to the grimness of slaughter and to Hashem - G-D taking control over his creation.
In this ever growing reservoir of players what are we, the listeners? What is this song trying to teach us? All good deeds are met with the same punishment as bad ones? The water and the cat were both treated equally even though one was kind and the other wasn’t. And the poor Ox, all he did was quench his thirst.
Shortly after the first Intifada a rock/pop album was released. “London” by Chava Albershtein contained a few songs that were deemed controversial and some were banned from being played on the radio, one was “Chad Gadya”.
It was not the religious, Haggadah, Chad Gadya that was banned but Albershteins’ interpretation of it. The renowned Israeli singer translated into Hebrew the old text and kept it almost the same, but changed the ending.
I have been meaning to write about the erasure of G-D from Israeli text for a long while and still hope to do so - but for now let me just point out that the modern Israeli song stops short of reaching G-D’s presence in the text and change the narrative to this:
מה פתאום את שרה חד גדיא?
אביב עוד לא הגיע ופסח לא בא.
ומה השתנה לך מה השתנה?
אני השתניתי לי השנה
ובכל הלילות בכל הלילות
שאלתי רק ארבע קושיות
הלילה הזה יש לי עוד שאלה
עד מתי יימשך מעגל האימה
רודף הוא נרדף מכה הוא מוכה
מתי ייגמר הטירוף הזה
ומה השתנה לך מה השתנה?
אני השתניתי לי השנה
הייתי פעם כבש וגדי שליו
היום אני נמר וזאב טורף
הייתי כבר יונה והייתי צבי
היום איני יודעת מי אני
Why are you singing Chad Gadya?,
It is not spring yet and Passover did not come yet.
And what has changed ? what has changed?
I have changed this year.
At all night, all night I have asked only four questions
This night I have one more – until when will this cycle of horror continue?
A hunted is a hunter
An abused is an abuser
Until when will this madness continue?
What difference is it for you?
I am different
I was once a sheep and a peaceful lamb
Today I am a tiger and a preying wolf
I was once a dove and a gazelle
Today I do not know who I am
Our father bought a little lamb
Here we go again.
The first Intifada made way to many political failures, bloodshed and more horizons that closed before our eyes, hopes that crushed. Another Intifada followed with even worse bloodshed and the albums that followed it sounded like a eulogy void of any criticism.
The days of Jewish leaders that were criticised openly and publicly are apparently over (October 14th the prime minister said – I am responsible for the failure. That is - October 1994, prime minister Isaac Rabin Z”L) . We are told now that there is only Pharaoh, guilty of all, And a flawless Moses. Now we are a sheep with guided missiles. Now we are tigers that chant for peace. We found our match in an enemy that is just as addicted to this cycle, just as self-righteous and badly led.
There are some who chant for Intifada on the streets of London and New York - a third one. They think of it as an equivalent to a revolution. I wish I could let them take a look inside my head and see the scorched buses and university cafeteria that are etched there, the pictures of my 20is as a young student in Hebrew U. I wish I could make them think about this cycle.
They want to start counting the war from the eve of October 7th, as if it had no morning. Israelis think of nothing but the morning of October 7th. blood spills like water and we all try to find out who is the water and who is the Ox in Chad Gadya, but we are all the water, the goat, the angel of death. we wish it on each other and grieve when it reaches us.
And the lord says – if you shall see the Amalek and you should forget that you were a slave, stone him and shout – death to the Arabs.
A graffiti in Jerusalem – artist unknown.
this is not really a biblical quotation. Rather – it is the artist’s words, phrased to look biblical. Amalek being the biblical enemy of the Israelite which G-D has commanded to be wiped from the face of the earth.
I don’t talk about the fault of the other side in this war, I am not fluent in their language, not the linguistic one nor the emotional one. they, and their ill guided supporters worldwide are not the focus of my thought, as much as I pray for their safety. It is of my people that I think, and so it sounds as if I speak ill of them - no, I speak with concern.
This cycle should end for the sake of us all, but If we cannot count on the other side to become a better people – may I dare and suggest we should look at ourselves.
Maimonides said – If you want to change the world change yourself. I think we have some work to do.
Today we marked six months to the start of the war, six months of unbelievable pain that is over clouding our judgment, of ever growing threat from mounting enemies. If our leaders cannot be Moses, let’s listen to another Moses, just as great and wise - Maimonides. enough with the goats to the slaughter.