Ay, mi padre y ay, mi madre, a vo lo quiero decir Que me fragüis un estudio donde meldar i escribir. Digo yo así: de la ley quiero yo empezar. Un chorro de agua de rosas y el otro de un toronjil donde se lave este niño el día de sus tefelim. Digo …. Tal será tu casamiento como el de Lea y Rahel Doce hijos que tuvieron Doce sevatim de la ley. Digo …..
Oh, my father and oh, my mother, I want to tell you That I want you to prepare a study Where I can read and write. I say this: I want to start With the law. A stream of rose water and another of orange blossom where this child may wash himself on the day of his tefillin (Bar Mitsva). I say... May your marriage be like that of Leah and Rachel. They had twelve children, twelve tribes of the Torah I say...
From Merendjenas, Orit Perlman, 2023 This is a copla for the Bar mitsva ceremony. The boy asks his parents to prepare a room for him to study reading and writing. The recurring refrain repeats: “I say that I want to start studying Torah”. The second verse describes how the boy is bathed in rose and orange blossom water on this special day. The third verse is a blessing for many future children like those of Leah and Rachel, who conceived the sons who fathered the twelve tribes of Israel.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025