"Kuando el rey Nimrod" (קואנדו אל ריי נמרוד, , or modern Spanish spelling: ''Cuando el Rey Nimrod''; "When King Nimrod") is a

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

folk song. It is sung in the

Judaeo-Spanish Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew script: , Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: ), also known as Ladino, is a Romance languages, Romance language derived from Old Spanish language, Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain ...

language and tells the story of the birth of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, the father of the Jewish people and of monotheism.

History

In contrast to a popular misconception, "Kuando el rey Nimrod" is not a song that dates from the times when the Jews lived in Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages, and has its roots in a

piyyut A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...

called ''La vocación de Abraham'', of which several versions have been found that date from the 18th century and were written by anonymous authors in the former

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The song, with its original much longer lyrics and its

makam The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam speci ...

-based structure, would become popular in the Sephardic communities of the Mediterranean basin. Around the year 1890, an anonymous author from

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capit ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

wrote a different version of the song, shortening its lyrics and composing a new melody in maqam Hejaz. This reduced and catchier version survived to our days to become arguably the most popular song in the Sephardic repertoire, becoming a staple for Ladino singers such as

Yehoram Gaon Yehoram Gaon ( he, יהורם גאון, born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture. The son of Sephardic Jewish ...

and Fortuna, and even for some

Klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

bands whenever they want to include a Sephardic song into their repertoire.

Interpretations

Anachronistically,

— who in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

is the very first Jew and the ancestor of all who followed, hence his appellation "Avinu" (Our Father)—is in the

song already born, in the ''juderia'' (modern Spanish: ''judería'', Judaeo-Spanish: ''djudería''), the Jewish quarter. Abraham became the first Jew by acknowledging the existence of one God. Abraham in the Bible is the very first man to be

circumcised Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

and perform

circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

. Much of this story is based on the account of Abraham's life written in the book "Maaseh Avraham Avinu Alav HaShalom" as well as the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

regarding the furnace and

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

concerning Elijah the Prophet.

Lyrics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuando El Rey Nimrod Jewish folk songs Judaeo-Spanish-language songs Cultural depictions of Abraham Nimrod