Hablad mi madre1

Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Yc 1188/6

Hablad mi madre, based on the liturgical poem composed in the 12th century by Rabbi Judah ibn Abbas of Fez, is chanted on Rosh Hashanah and in some communities also on Yom Kippur. Based on the biblical account of the sacrificing of Isaac (Genesis 22:1–14), it depicts Abraham’s faith, and the anguish of Sarah, most poignantly in the stanza beginning with “Speak to my mother,” in which Isaac laments his mother’s grief upon learning of his sacrifice. Written in six-line stanzas, often ending with the refrain “עוקד והנעקד והמזבח” (“the binder, the bound, and the altar”), the poem evokes the merit of the patriarchs and the power of their devotion as a plea for God’s mercy and salvation in the Days of Awe.

Text:
Hablad a mi madre que su gozo se muvió 
El hijo que parió a los noventa años 
fue para el fuego y para el cochillo se aparejó. 
¿Ande bushcaré a ella, adó conortador? 
Angustia a mí por mi madre que llorará y alguayará. 
Atan i el atado en el mizbeah

Translation:
Speak to my mother, for her joy has been disturbed 
The son she gave birth to at ninety 
was for the fire and for the offering. 
Where shall I find her, how shall I comfort her 
My anguish for my mother, for she will weep and keen 
Here he is bound to the alter