Melody and arrangement, Flory Jagoda; text based on the Sephardic piyyut “Im afes.” (Third verse by Howard Bass)
When Flory taught us this song she said that a rabbi had invited her to sing at his synagogue and that he asked specifically for a song about the binding of Isaac; this song was the result. On her hand-written manuscript of the composition she wrote “Lyrics—Traditional Bible Story.” The song as performed by Flory and taught to Howard and Susan has only two verses (the first two recorded here), and Howard often asked Flory about writing a third verse, since the second verse ends with Isaac bound and ready for the sacrifice, and it seemed to cry out for the more satisfactory conclusion (at least for Isaac!) that we know from the Torah. As Flory aged and it became clear that she wouldn’t be writing any more verses to this song, Howard took it upon himself to write the third verse that we recorded here.
However, it turns out there is much more to know about the source of the verses Flory used. When Susan heard the Persian singer and scholar, Galeet Dardashti, perform the piyyut “Im Afes” in a concert, she noted the similarities between the prayer and Flory’s two verses. Isaac (Ike) Azose, a Sephardic cantor, singer, and scholar whose parents emigrated from Turkey to Seattle, Washington, where he was born in 1930, enlightened us about these verses. About “Im Afes” Ike wrote: “There are two versions. The one by (the twelveth century) Rabbi Efraim Yitshak of Regensburg (Bavaria, Germany) is the one that was used by the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire. I cannot explain why they used his poem rather than one by some Sephardic rabbi. However, the Sephardim put Ladino words to “Im Afes,” and only sing the first stanza in Hebrew, and then complete it with singing each succeeding stanza in Ladino.” It seems certain that Flory knew the Sephardic piyyut “Im Afes,” and that she adapted the verses from this prayer.
For some additional information about “Im Afes,” read this article by Ty Alhadeff.
Listen to Flory and Friends perform: Abraham
Susan, vocals; Howard, guitar; Tina, bass viol;
Shane Shanahan, darabuka
LYRICS + TRANSLATIONS
| Abraham kiju a santifikar a su fiju | Abraham wanted to sanctify his son |
| I su alma, atada kun su alma | And his soul, to bind with his own soul |
| Lo enkorono kun lenuys i su fuego | He crowned him with firewood and fire |
| Korona, korona de su Diyo | The crown of his God upon his head |
| Sovre su kavesa | |
| Il fiju presiyadu, i fiju lijero komu il korso | The precious son made himself lithe as a deer |
| Rispondyo i disho, mi Sinyor Padre | He responded and said, my honored father |
| Il fuego i il lenyu tinemus | We have the fire and the wood |
| Ma il karnero, ma il karnero no lo trushimus | But we did not bring the scrificial lamb |
| Korona korona … | The crown of his God |
| Abraham atada su fiju i levanto el kuchiyo. | Abraham bound his son and lifted up the knife; |
| El obedeciyo la palavra de su Diyo; | He had obeyed the word of his God |
| El Diyo enviyo el karnero a su servidor; | God sent a sacrificial lamb to his servant. |
| Korona… | The crown of God upon his head |
