חד גדיא

Haggadah Section: Songs

חד גדיא

Have you ever wondered why we need to say חד גדיא at the end of the seder? Ok maybe we fall asleep before that part. Come on you got to admit it. You have fallen asleep before the Seder actually ended The purpose of saying  חד גדיא at the end of the seder is because there are so many cheerful words in חד גדיא.  Each of the parts of חד גדיא represents a different part of the story. The first part is   חד גדיא.חד גדיא represents one kid. The one kid represents two zuzim. The two zuzim represent the two goats that Yacov brought to his father. Those goats are the symbol of the Pesach offering and the חד גדיא offering. The חד גדיא is that the children of Yacov will bring an offering every Pesach. The one kid in the חד גדיא is the blessing that was received and based on the blessing for the first born of Yosef. The second part of חד גדיא is a cat. The cat represents jealousy that Yosef's brothers had and that made them sold Yosef which made the whole family go down to Egypt. The third part of חד גדיא is a dog. The dog represents Pharaoh. The dog represents The Egyptians and the Egyptians did bad things to the Jews which is the cat. The fourth part of חד גדיא is a stick. The stick represents the stick that Hashem gave to Moshe to do all the Ten Commandments to get Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. Before Moshe died, he gave the stick to Yehuda which then was passed down from generation to generation. The fifth part of חד גדיא is the fire. The fire represents Yetzer Hara and the Yetzer Hara burns the insides of people. The sixth part of חד גדיא is the water. The water represents men helping the people never do Yetzer Hara again and it says that these people were the water that put out the fire. The seventh part of חד גדיא is an ox. The ox is compared as the Romans as a very wild and strong ox. The eighth part of חד גדיא is the slaughter. The slaughter represents when Hashem comes to save Bnei Yisrael. He will send them a משיח from the tribe of Yosef. He will fight against Bnei Yisrael enemies and begin to slaughter them. The ninth part of חד גדיא is the angel of death. The angel of death represents himself. He is going to kill the משיח בן יוסף during the war. The tenth part of חד גדיא is Hashem the God of everything. When  משיח comes we will get all the blessings that Hashem gave to us when Yacov received the bracha from Yitzchak. All these ten parts are like the Ten Commandments.

In חד גדיא, you might notice that there are many differences and similarities in these ten answers. One of the differences are mostly noticeable is the dog and the cat. The dog and the cat are found in the third and fourth part of חד גדיא. The differences are between the dog and the cat are that the dog is compared to the Egyptians which were Bnei Yisrael enemies in מצרים. The cat is compared as us, Bnei Yisrael. Us, Bnei Yisrael got tortured by our enemies, the dog, that is known as The Egyptians. This is a difference that is mostly noticeable in חד גדיא. The lesson that you can learn from this difference is that Bnei Yisrael can always be better than their enemies and they always will with Hashem's help!!

Inspired to create
your own Haggadah?

Make your own Haggadah and share with other Seder lovers around the world

Have an idea
for a clip?

People like you bring their creativity to Haggadot.com when they share their ideas in a clip

Support Us
with your donation

Help us build moments of meaning and connection through
home-based Jewish rituals.

OUR TOP CONTRIBUTORS

contributor image
Esther Kustanowitz
4 Haggadahs44 Clips
contributor image
JQ International
1 Haggadah40 Clips
contributor image
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
5 Haggadahs109 Clips
contributor image
18Doors
1 Haggadah13 Clips
contributor image
JewishBoston
1 Haggadah78 Clips
contributor image
Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
1 Haggadah36 Clips
contributor image
American Jewish World Service
1 Haggadah44 Clips
contributor image
JewBelong
3 Haggadahs57 Clips
contributor image
Repair the World
12 Clips
contributor image
HIAS
5 Haggadahs48 Clips
contributor image
Be'chol Lashon
2 Haggadahs27 Clips
contributor image
PJ Library
1 Haggadah17 Clips
contributor image
Jewish World Watch
3 Haggadahs42 Clips
contributor image
Secular Synagogue
10 Clips
contributor image
SVIVAH
1 Haggadah9 Clips
contributor image
The Blue Dove Foundation
20 Clips
contributor image
ReformJudaism.org
24 Clips
contributor image
Jewish Emergent Network
1 Haggadah22 Clips

Passover Guide

Hosting your first Passover Seder? Not sure what food to serve? Curious to
know more about the holiday? Explore our Passover 101 Guide for answers
to all of your questions.

Haggadot

Haggadot.com by Recustom, is a free resource for all backgrounds and experiences. Consider making a donation to help support the continuation of this free platform.

Copyright © 2024 Custom and Craft Jewish Rituals Inc, dba Recustom, dba Haggadot.com.
All Rights Reserved. 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. EIN: 82-4765805.