Iz gekummen der ochs... aus Had Gadya (a goat), Kultur-Lige Kiev

Chad Gadya, or ‘One Little Goat’, takes its title from a Yiddish folksong. Over ten verses, it tells the story of a little goat that gets eaten by a cat; the cat is bitten by a dog; the dog is struck by a stick; the stick is burnt in a fire; water extinguishes the fire; an ox drinks the water (see illustration); a butcher slaughters the ox; the Angel of Death kills the butcher, and Death is finally destroyed by God, the Lord. While the song is characterized by a somewhat childlike tone, it also invites a more allegorical interpretation. The most usual reading of the song is as an allegory for the destiny of the Jewish people, who are here represented by the little goat. All the figures that turn against the goat, meanwhile, represent the various enemies of the Jewish people over the course of the centuries. However, Chad Gadya can also be interpreted as a story of destruction and renewal, in which existing power structures give way and a new order is brought into being.