C.P.,hope you found your Seder. The song is "Chad Gadyah". One of many Passover songs (and other prayers) that is not in Hebrew, but Aramaic, the vernacular language of Israel 2000 or so years ago.

Pesach, or Passover, is possibly the oldest, and certainly one of the most important, of the Jewish festivals. I don't know all the scholarship, but like many festivals in many cultures, it incorporates religious, agricultural, and possibly prehistoric and "pre-religious" aspects. It is the spring festival, and the festival of freedom, as it commemorates the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. The number four figures prominently in the Seder: 4 cups of wine, 4 questions, 4 types of children asking about the holiday. The word "Seder" means "order", as there is a series of prayers and rituals that dates from the Middle Ages. But the holiday is one that is supposedly oriented toward children ("And you shall tell your child on that day..." And as all of us kids know, the most important ritual is "Shulchan Orech" -- the table is spread! After that come more cups of wine and more songs, but we're all asleep by then...

I'd love to add more, but I'm stuck at home on a cellular connection. Maybe this weekend I'll get into the office and talk story some more. Thanks, Joe, for the link -- I can't wait to see those Four Questions! Oh, and "Shaloha" is courtesy of the congregation on the other side of the island, Kona Beth Shalom. It seems to fit nicely.

Aloha,
Mark