Demes parás para ‘l baño.
Por parás vos daré ducados.
Los ducados m’arronjates,
en el corazón me dates,
dicime por qué,
yo m’alegraré,
háblame por qué,
mi alma y mi bien
Halilem, halilem..aman…
Give me money to go to the ritual bath
For the money, I will give you ducats.
The ducats you threw at me
pierced my heart
tell me why
and I will rejoice
speak to me, tell me why
my soul and my love.
Halilem, halilem..aman…
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc1038/8
Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 213, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak.
This is a cantiga, which belongs to the songs centered around the ritual bath, banio, or mikveh in Hebrew. Here is a request for money to pay for the ritual bath, reserved for the occasion, and which is traditionally paid by the father or brothers of the groom.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025