THE DETROIT JEWIS H NE W S — Friday, April 24, '959-46
Origin of Seder Folk Songs Outlined by Prof. Caster
ieval times. A typical verse
reads:
In. Egypt, when they held
the feast
They were redeemed
and free;
But we who keep it here,
0 Lord,
Are bowed 'neath tyranny.
American Jews, sitting down
to the first Seder can measure
the blessings of American free-
dom by contrast with the Pass-
over of the Jews of Carpentras.
happened in Egypt on the night
all but perceptive book, of the liberation of the Chil-
Passover: Its His t or y and dren of Israel will be repeated
in the final redemption of the
f raditions."
The first of the songs, which Jews from exile.
Another example is a poem
egin S: "Laban the Ara-
iy ean" and which is recited only found in the prayer-book of the
of Carpentras, which elo-
1 the first Seder, is one which Jews
r, hearses, in an alphabetical quently describes the sadness
a rostic, a series of miracles which so often accompanied the
celebration of Passover in med-
hich are said in the Jewish
s‘ criptures
to have been per-
rmed in the dead of night,
Happy Passover Greetings
ii fl ke that of the Passover.
This poem has been part of
he Haggadah for centuries but
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he authorship was only dis-
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overed recently, according to
TE 4-2440
rof. Gaster. Some 30 years
9543 GRAND RIVER
go, Prof. Israel Davidson made
--tr---w---z-r—v\s—...r----vv---u---w-^J---1/4-----u---------zAr---7-s at he discovery that an ancient
r manuscript of the Greek Bible
..
Season's Cordial Greetings
N vas actually written over a still
Sincerest Best .Wishes on .Passover
C elder Hebrew document.
The document proved on
Novara Insurance Agency
investigation to be a copy of
"For Better Real Estate Service"
the poems of Yannai, a Jew-
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ish liturgist of the Seventh
Confidential Reports
Century
and
one
of
the
poems
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WO 5 5440
20th
FLOOR,
PENOBSCOT
BLDG.
19435 James Couzens
was the acrostic. Originally
it had been composed for the
Sabbath in the Passover week
Best Wishes on the Holiday
and later it was transferred .
Best Wishes for a Happy Passover
to the Haggadah.
The background of the hymn
DETROIT'S OLDEST RESTAURANT
`Addir Hu" the most rousing
.
J. WILLIAM KLEM , REALTOR.
Open Week Days till 10 P.M. — Saturday till 2 A.M.
tune in the Seder service, is
Closed Sunday
described by Prof. Gaster as
"The fir m to call for fast, accurate service"
TE 1-5940
dating from the Fifteenth Cen-
3401 Riopelle, Cor. Erskine
Over 25 Years' Experience in Northwest Detroit
- He reports that "Addir
tury.
UN 4-4600
14003 West 8 Mile Rd.
Hu" was the concluding melody
for the Seder services in Ger-
-
many for many years.
Happy Passover Greetings
-
"Addir Hu" was not reserved
Happy Passover Greetings
.
- for Passover in the ritual of the
- .
_
Jews of Avignon in France.
BEAUTY
SALON
KL1P & KU
- _
These Jews sang it as a general
Snap-Out Continuous Printers
- REBA PASKE, Prop.
festival hymn. Prof. Gaster
Hair
Cutting
-
Permanent
Waving
-
Tinting
and
Bleaching
notes that the very same attri-
-_
3945 Bellevue
WE 1-0119 - butes as are assigned to God in
- 11757 Broadstreet
-
LI
8-1155
"Addir
Hu"
are
likewise
as-
: 8558 W. 9 Mile, Oak Park
. signed, and in the same alpha-
..)
betical order, to the bridegroom
Happy Passover Greetings
in a modern Jewish wedding
Holiday Best Wishes
song from Yemen.
i
The counting song, which be-
i
gins: "Who Knows One?" is
UNITED STATES FASTENER CORP.
Freight Traffic Managers
labeled a pure folksong. The
iBolts - Nuts - Screws - Allied Products
N. M. Jarvis, Manager
fact that the count proceeds to
"Serving the Nation's Industry"
13, in line with the reference—
FO 6-6300
5109
EAST
7
MI
LE RD.
1
in Exodus 34—to the 13 attri-
TO. 8-8520
1 10340 OAKLAND
butes of God, leads Prof. Gas-
--
„ - -- - „...--.......„..... -- ------....
g———„...----
— —
ter to suggest that the song
origionally was meant as a kind
Holiday Greetings
i
of catechism for boys, an ad-
Season's Greetings
ditional verse being learned
each year until the boy reached
LAFER BROTHERS
the age of Bar Mitzvah.
Glasson & Glasson Distributor
The mast familiar song, "Had
Coffee - Salad Dressing
Gadya," is believed to be an
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Teas and Syrup
16015 GRAND RIVER
imitation of a Fifteenth Cen-
Available at Neighborhood Markets
tury German rhyme. "The Mas-
ter Who Sent the Yokel on an
Errand," Dr. Gaster asserts.
For many years, "Had Gad-
Holiday Best Wishes
ya" was popularly interpreted
Family
as an allegorical history of
Israel, according to Prof. Gas-
R. HIRT JR. CO .
ter. The kid was Israel, pur-
Imported and Domestic Cheeses
chased by the Lord for the
Wish All of Their Relatives and Friends
price of the two tablets of
WO 1-1 173
A Most Joyous and Happy Passover
2468 Market St.
the Covenant. The fox was
Assyria,
the
dog
Babylon,
the
.r----v\s---z-r----2Ar----,..r---zin---tr---v,r--
stick Persia, the fire Greece,
the water Rome, the ox the
Season's Warmest Greetings
Passover Greetings
Saracens, the butcher the
Crusaders, and the Turkish
HOA KOW INN
domination the angel of
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death.
CHINESE and AMERICAN RESTAURANT
"Had Gadya," being of Ger-
7-116 General Motors Building
man origin, at first was un-
- 1 a.m. — Sat., 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Open Daily 11 a.m.
Sun., 12 Noon - 1 a.m.
TRinity 5-3773
knoWn to Sephardic Jews. It
13715 W. 9 MILE RD., Just W. of Coolidge in Oak Park
first appeared in print in an
edition of the Haggadah pub
lished at Prague in 1590. But
Happy Holiday Greetings
Happy Passover to Our Friends and Patrons
by this time,. "Had Gadya" was
familiar to Jews everywhere.
HUTCH DINING ROOM
Dr. Gaster notes also that be-
sides the hymns and folksongs
Home Made Bread and Pastry
Permanents - Coloring - Tinting - Styling
which have become part of the
. Open Sundays 12 to 7 p.m. — Closed Saturdays
Haggadah generally, there are
Lunch 11 to 2:30 p.m. — Dinner 5 to 8 p.m.
UN 2-9828
13334 West McNichols
also many Passover songs of
15813 James Couzens, South of Puritan
more limited use. They are in
UN 1.9715
local prayer-books or in edi-
tions of the Haggadah printed
in out-of-the-way places of dis-
Passover Greetings
tant Jewish communities.
Holiday Greetings
A typical example is a song
taken from the Mahzor
Romania printed in Venice in
ed B1rerage Service
aiersh&
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Complete Invvsttm
1524. It is sung after the drink-
1865
Member: New York Stock Exchange and Other Security
UN 4-9073
ing of the fourth cup of wine
19350
JAMES
COUZ ENS HWY.
and Commodity Exchanges
and is based on the rabbinic
Harry K. — Richard G.
WO
3-4320
610 FORD BLDG.
ruling that everything that
• C it y lima a a., '
/51-1L • while M
BY BEN cALLuus
(Copyright, 1959, JTA Inc.) folksongs vary from place t(
Do Jews everywhere sing the place througout the world, a
ame songs after the formal number of them have become
)ortion of the Passover Seder? standardized in Western coun
Not at all, reports a noted tries. These have become an in-
tuthority, Dr. Theodore H. _Gas- tergral part of the Seder ser-
ter; professor of comparative vice in the west.
The development and back-
•eligion at Dropsie College of
ground
of the Seder songs are
-
Philadelphia.
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Nt.---.8-1---svt----r....-
Season's Best Wishes
LI
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