"Echad Mi Yodea" () is a traditional cumulative song sung on

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

and found in the

haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

. It enumerates common

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

motifs and teachings. It is meant to be fun and humorous, while still imparting important lessons to the children present. Recitation is varied from family to family. The song has versions in Hebrew,

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

, Arabic, and many other

vernacular languages Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of language, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More narr ...

. Sometimes it is played as a memory game, recited without looking. Sometimes the goal is to recite the entire verse in one breath.

Names

The song is known in several languages. *

as () * Ladino as *

Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...

, according to the

Syrian Jews Syrian Jews ( ''Yehudey Surya'', ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who live in the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin ...

of Aleppo, as *

, according to the Tunisian Jews of Djerba, as * Bukhori as * Lishan Didan as (מַנִי כיֵל חָא)

Meaning

Although it can appear to be simply a juvenile children's song, an important message is being imparted to those present at the

table. The main theme of Passover, and particularly of the Seder, is not only the physical freedom of a nation of slaves. More importantly, it is the spiritual and mental freeing of this people, to become a nation unto

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, His

Chosen People Throughout history, various groups of people have considered themselves to be the chosen people of a deity, for a particular purpose. The phenomenon of "chosen people" is well known among the Israelites and Jews, where the term () refers to the ...

. As His people, the Jewish Nation is expected to be wholly at one with God, and to relate everything in their lives to Him. It is sometimes thought that word association reveals the

unconscious mind In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection. Although these processes exist beneath the surface of conscious awareness, they are t ...

. Thus, it is at this point in the Seder that the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

sing this cumulative song. After relating God's wonders and kindness, and the events of the Exodus, the song demonstrates how everything can and should relate to God: "If I say 'One', you think 'God!', if I say 'Five', you think 'Books of Moses!'".

History

According to the

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

, this song is first found in Ashkenazi Haggadot of the 16th century and this song did not appear in non-Ashkenazi Haggadot until the 19th century. It is believed to have originated in Germany in the 15th century, possibly based on a German folk song "", which means "Good friend, I ask you". In a handwritten siddur from the year 1406, it is written that the ''

piyyut A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...

'' was found in the synagogue of Rabbi Elazar of Vurmiza, author of ''Sefer HaRokeach''. The ''piyyut'' was first printed in Ashkenazi Haggadot in 1590 (Prague printing).

Structure and text

"Echad Mi Yodea" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are thirteen verses. ''The first verse runs:'' :Who knows one? :I know one. :One is our God, in heaven and on earth.
''The second verse:'' :Who knows two? :I know two. :Two are the tablets of the covenant; :One is our God, in heaven and on earth.
''...and so forth. The last verse is:'' :Who knows thirteen? :I know thirteen. :Thirteen are God's principles; :Twelve are the tribes of Israel; :Eleven are the stars of

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

's dream; :Ten are the Commandments; :Nine are the months of

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

; :Eight are the days before

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

; :Seven are the days of the

week A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are ofte ...

; :Six are the sections of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

; :Five are the books of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

; :Four are the Matriarchs; :Three are the Patriarchs; :Two are the tablets of the covenant; :One is our

, in heaven and on earth.

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
version

Spanish version

Showing the last complete paragraph, as an example. First and Last verses would be sung in Hebrew.

Judaeo-Ladino version

Judaeo-Arabic version

According to the custom of Aram Soba, Aleppo: ;''Transliteration'' ;''Translation'' : Who knows, and who understands? : God is the master of the revealed universe : God is the one and the only Creator. : God, God, there is no God but God. :: (some say: Blessed be He and Blessed be His Name) :: (some say: God is one) : Thirteen is bar mitzvah : twelve tribes of Israel : eleven stars in the sky : ten commandments : nine months of pregnancy : eight days for circumcision : seven days for huppa : six orders of the Mishna : five books of the Torah : four mothers : three fathers : two are Moses and Aaron : God is the one and the only Creator. : God, God, there is no God but God.

Judaeo-Tajik or Bokharian version

Lishan Didan version

...

Popular culture

The song appears in The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (film) 1970 movie, sung amidst the rise of Mussolini's racial laws and alignment with Nazi Germany. The Judaism section of the Stack Exchange Network of question-and-answer websites is named Mi Yodeya after this song. Entebbe (titled 7 Days in Entebbe in the U.S.), a 2018 crime thriller film directed by José Padilha and written by Gregory Burke, features a dance on the tunes of the Echad Mi Yodea song, choreographed by Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva dance company. During an episode of the interactive cartoon "Charlie Gets Fired", the user has the chance for Charlie to sing the whole song. This much chagrin to his boss.

References

External links

Listen to Echad Mi Yodea online
* {{Passover Footer Passover songs Songs in Hebrew Cumulative songs Haggadah of Pesach Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings