It is one of the most beloved Sephardic-Ladino folk songs. Some might call it the national anthem of Judeo-Spanish Jewry. Generation after generation has grown up singing Cuando El Rey Nimrod, with it's catchy and upbeat chorus - Avraham Avinu, padre querido, Padre bendicho, luz de Israel.
Why has this heartwarming Ladino song about Nimrod the King and Abraham the Patriarch captured the hearts and imaginations of Ladino Jews for centuries? How does this song provide a beautiful source of commentary to Parashat Lekh Lekha, this week's Torah portion?
At the end of last week's parasha, we learn of the birth of two individuals - Nimrod and Abram. The Torah describes Nimrod as "the first man of might on earth" (Genesis 10:8), but for Abram (later named Abraham), the Torah initially says nothing.
It is in this week's parasha that we meet Abram, but our meeting with him is sudden and abrupt:
"God said to Abram: Go forth - Lekh Lekha - from your native land and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing" (Genesis 12:1-2).
Who was Abram? What was his background story? Not only is the Torah silent on all of this, it tells us that our initial encounter with Abram happens at a later stage of his life: "Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran" (Genesis 12:4). What about his birth and childhood?
Enter our Ladino song, Cuando El Rey Nimrod, whose entire narrative is the telling of the birth of the man who came to be known as Avraham Avinu - Abraham our Patriarch.
In the first stanza, the song tells us how Nimrod - who by now is "King Nimrod", the mighty monarch of the ancient world - foresaw the birth of Abraham:
Cuando el rey Nimrod, al campo salia - When King Nimrod went into the fields
Mirava en el cielo y en la esterelleria - He looked at the heavens and at all the stars
Vido una luz santa en la juderia - He saw a holy light above the Jewish Quarter
Que havia de nacer Avraham Avinu - A sign that Abraham our Father was about to be born
We don't know who composed this charming Ladino song, but more intriguing than the composer is the composer's sources: where did the story of El Rey Nimrod foreseeing the birth of Avraham Avinu come from?
An ancient Midrash named Maaseh Avraham Avinu Alav Hashalom ("The Story of Abraham our Patriarch of blessed memory") tells that a sign in the stars forecast to Nimrod and his astrologers the impending birth of Abraham, a boy who would grow up to eventually put an end to idolatry. Nimrod orders the killing of all newborn babies. Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth secretly. At a young age, Abraham recognizes God and starts worshipping God instead of idols. He confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to stop worshipping idols. Nimrod orders Abraham burned at the stake, yet when the fire is lit, Abraham walks out unscathed.
With its striking similarity to the story of Moses, this Midrash undoubtedly served as the source of inspiration for Cuando El Rey Nimrod. A charming Ladino addition to the original Midrash is that the "sign in the stars" that Nimrod saw was una luz santa en la juderia - a holy light above the Jewish Quarter. The composer clearly wrote this as a reflection of the Judeo-Spanish community's own neighborhoods, known as La Juderia - The Jewish Quarter. Our song places the birth of Abraham in La Juderia, thus endearing him to the Ladino community as "one of their own."
The Ladino song as we have come to know and sing it with it's beautiful tune, is much shorter than the original Ladino poem. In the majority of the musical versions, only two stanzas from the original poem are chanted in the traditionally beloved popular tune.
The second stanza of the musical version elaborates the narrative of Abraham's birth:
La mujer de Terah quedo prenada - When Terah's wife was pregnant
De dia en dia el le demandava - Daily he asked her the question
De que teniej la cara tan demudada? - Why is your face so pale?
Ella la savia el bien qu tenia - Already she knew the good she had within her
The beauty of this stanza is that it brings to life two people about whom we know nothing at all - Abraham's parents. Other than his name, we know nothing about Abraham's father Terah, and the Torah does not even discuss Abraham's mother.
The Ladino poem tells us that Abraham's mother had a premonition that she would give birth to a child whose life might initially be threatened (hence her face was "pale" or distraught), but would ultimately bring good to the world (hence "she knew the good she had within her"). Indeed, the Midrash tells of Nimrod threatening the young Abraham's life, as does the original lengthier Ladino poem.
It is the chorus of this Ladino song which warms our hearts every time we hear it:
Avraham Avinu, padre querido - Abraham our Patriarch, dear father
Padre bendicho, luz de Israel - Blessed father, light of Israel
The Hebrew term Avinu - which literally means "our father" - has two meanings here. One is "our patriarch," the honorable title given to Abraham as the founder of Judaism and the Jewish people. But it also takes on a more personal tone - padre querido - dear father and padre bendicho - blessed father. Abraham is both our "national father" as well as our collective "personal father." His teachings about monotheism enlightened a dark, idolatrous pagan society, and our song appropriately calls him luz de Israel - the light of Israel.
Avraham Avinu - both the person and the beloved Ladino song - continues to bring light into our lives. May we live by the light of Avraham Avinu's enlightening teachings, and may many more generations sing the heartwarming Ladino lyrics and tune of Avraham Avinu.
To read the original full length Ladino poem, click here http://www.jewishfolksongs.com/en/cuando-el-rey-nimrod
To hear Yehoram Gaon -- the padre querido of Ladino music of our generation - sing his beautiful rendition of the Ladino song, click here:
Shabbat Shalom...Buen Shabbat!
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