Ahi en el midbar vide alelumbrar las tablas de la Ley vidi abajar Mira y mira quen fue senior de Moshe que subio a los cielos y mos trujo la Ley. Los malajim del cielo por el tienen celo que subio Moshe a los altos cielos boca con boca hablo con el Verdadero Mira... Los malajim del cielo lo quieren matar nacido de mujer, que busca en santedad? Con bafo de sus bocas le quieren quemar Mira... Le dijo el Dio a Moshe: Tu no te espantes detente de mi silla, yo te escapare mas quiero que les hables hables que les agraden Mira...
There in the desert I saw the shining
tablets of the Torah descend
Look and see who it was, Senior Moses,
who ascended to heaven and brought us the Torah
The angels of heaven were jealous of him.
Moses ascended to the highest heavens,
speaking mouth to mouth with the True One.
Look...
The angels of heaven wanted to kill him.
Born of a woman, what are you seeking here in the holiness?
With the trumpets of their mouths, they wanted to burn him.
Look...
The God said to Moses: Don't be afraid.
Hold my chair, I will help you escape
I want you to speak to them (I will tell you how to speak to them),
words that appease them.
Look...
From Arboleras - De las altas mares, Ecos Sefardies de la isle de Rodas, cd 2, 2009
This Shavuot copla tells of Moses’s courage as he ascended to the heavens to receive the Torah. The story draws on the Talmudic tractate Shabbat, where Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi describes how the angels, upon seeing Moses among them, asked the Master of the Universe: “What is one born of woman doing here with us?” God replied: “He has come to receive the Torah.” But Moses, sensing the angels’ anger and jealousy over this priceless gift, became afraid. Then God reassured him: “Hold on to My throne, and answer them. Explain why the Torah belongs to human beings and not to angels”. Moses then pointed out that the Torah contains commandments about Shabbat, honoring one’s parents, and the laws of eating and living in the world, commandments that apply to human life, not to angels.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025