10 Songs to Make Your Passover Seder Rock

Passover is one of the most musical of Jewish holidays. The annual springtime celebration of the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt is full of beloved traditions, from the elaborate seder meal to inviting the prophet Elijah in to join the festivities, and, of course, the eating of unleavened bread called matzah.

The meal is also packed with tunes that chronicle the harsh conditions the Jewish people suffered under the Pharaoh in Egypt. There are the Four Questions, sung by the youngest members of the family (“Ma Nishtana”), as well as “Avadim Hayinu,” a song about the transition from slavery to freedom and the rousing “Dayenu” (which translates to “It would have been enough”), expressing gratitude for God’s blessings.

Once the meal has been concluded, many families wind things down with the traditional final song, “Chad Gadya,” a breathless recitation of a chain of events that tells the story of the Jewish people using an elaborate metaphor that begins with a father buying a goat for two coins, only to have it eaten by a cat, who gets bitten by a dog. The mutt, in turn, is beaten with a stick that is burnt by fire, then quenched by water, which is consumed by an ox that is slaughtered by a butcher who is killed by the angel of death. Whew. The cumulative song is traditionally sung at an ever-increasing, frantic pace until the Holy One slays the Angel of death.

For the most part, unlike the barrage of Christmas classics, Passover songs have not made the cross-over into mainstream, Billboard chart territory. There are plenty of traditional, as well as updated versions of the songs mentioned above, though, plus some modern tales in folk, reggae and pop styles by the likes of Matisyahu and even Jack Black, as well as a few parody tracks that lean into legitimate pop and K-pop hits to tell the ancient tale.

In honor of the holiday that kicks off on Saturday (April 12), check out our list of 10 Passover tunes you Haggadah-have.