La mujer de Terah preñada quedó de día en día la cara se le demudó le decían la gente: qué es el mal que tenías vos. Ella ya sabía el bien que tenía, ma con su marido se descubría, un día salió por depedrida, topó una mear y lo parería. A punto que cayó, la criatura habló: - Andavos mi madre, por vuestro lugar, aquí si tupare qué me alechará , los malahim del cielo me acompañarán. Esto que sintió su madre, se voltió atrás, despues de quince años lo fue a buscar. Lo topó mancebo, mancebo gayar. - Que buscas, señora, por este lugar? - Un hijo que dejí, lo vengo a tomar, un hijo preciado que dejí, lo vengo a buscar. - Como era preciado, cómo lo dejás? Esto que sintió su madre empezó a llorar. - No llores, mi madre, ni vos aharves, porque so vuestro hijo, vuestro hijo, Avraham, anda, decí a Memron que hay Dio 'n los cielos.
The wife of Terah became pregnant day by day her face paled, people asked her: what is the trouble you have? She already knew the blessing she carried, but she kept it hidden from her husband, one day she went out, feeling disturbed, she found a cave and gave birth there. Just as she gave birth, the child spoke: – Go, my mother, return to your place, here someone will be found to nurse me By the angels of heaven that accompany me. When his mother heard this, she turned back, fifteen years later she came to find him. She found a young man, a handsome youth. – What are you looking for, lady, in this place? – A son I left, I’ve come to reclaim, a precious son I left, I’ve come to find. – If he was so precious, how did you leave him? When she heard this, his mother began to cry. – Do not cry, my mother, nor be troubled, for I am your son, your son Abraham. Go, tell Mamre (Nimrod) that there is a God in heaven.
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5823b/33 Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 119, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak. This copla, linked to the circumcision ritual, retells a Talmudic legend about Abraham’s miraculous birth and early life. Terah’s wife, unaware she is pregnant, gives birth to Abraham in a cave. Like a mythical hero, the newborn speaks, telling his mother to leave him, as angels will care for him and find someone to nurse him. Fifteen years later, she returns and finds him a grown man. In a moving dialogue, he reveals his identity and instructs her to tell Memron (Nimrod) that there is a God in heaven. The narrative unfolds in monorhymed quartets, following midrashic themes.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025