Lech Lecha: Zemer of The Week - The Ramaz School
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Archived: 2026-04-23 17:30
Lech Lecha: Zemer of The Week - The Ramaz School
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Lech Lecha: Zemer of The Week
“
Yama
” – Benny Friedman
https://youtu.be/nUY6TMUza6g
https://www.jyrics.com/lyrics/yama-ימה/
A fun video about traversing
Eretz Yisrael
the way Avraham Avinu did, and showing many of the memorable sites from Israel.
“
Avram Avinu
/
Cuando El Rey Nimrod
” – Gerard Edery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRIHuJD9Sc
According to its YouTube description, “
Avram Avinu
, or more commonly known as
Cuando El Rey Nimrod
, is as close to the Sephardic ‘national anthem’ as you’ll get.”
A traditional
zemer
connected to this parsha: “
Yah Ribon
”
The
zemer
for this week:
י-ה רבון
R’ Yisrael Najara of Tzfat wrote this
zemer
in the 1500s. (“
Yisrael
” is the acrostic of its five stanzas.) He was the son of Jews who were exiled from Spain in the late 1400s. The
zemer
praises Hashem the Creator, asks Him to save
Bnai Yisrael
from enemies and return them from exile, and pleads for a return to Yerushalayim and the rebuilt
Bais Hamikdash
.
Major elements of this parsha include the war between the 4 kings and the 5 kings (leading to Avram’s/Avraham’s saving of Lot), the
Brit Bein Habetarim
(with Hashem’s promises to Avraham about his progeny), the
bracha
from Malkitzedek, and the birth of Yishmael.
Some of the connections to the
parsha
:
· 2nd line of 1st stanza: “
מלכא מלך מלכא
” (The King, King of kings) – Yes, those 9 kings were powerful (
Bereishit
14:8-11), as was
Par’oh
(
Bereishit
12:17-20), but Hashem is the King of all earthly kings.
· Last line of 2nd stanza: “
חיות ברא עופי שמיא
” (“Beasts of the field and birds of the sky”): The
Brit Bein Habetarim
included both beasts and birds (
Bereishit
15:9).
· 3rd line of 4th stanza: “
מגו גלותא
” (“From the midst of exile”) – During the
Brit Bein Habetarim
, Hashem informed Avraham that He would rescue
Bnei Yisrael
from their exile in Egypt (
Bereishit
15:13-14).
· Last line of 5th stanza: “
בירושלם
” (“In Yerushalayim”) – This
parsha
has the first reference to the city of Yerushalayim (then called “
Shalem
”), in the form of
Malkitzedek
the king of
Shalem
(
Bereishit
14:18).
· 2nd line of 4th stanza: “
פרוק ית ענך מפום אריותא
” (“Save Your sheep from the mouths of lions”) – Artscroll cites the
Bais Yaakov
that “lions” refers to the descendants of Yishmael, who is born in this
parsha
(
Bereishit
16:15).
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my
Login
Lech Lecha: Zemer of The Week
“
Yama
” – Benny Friedman
https://youtu.be/nUY6TMUza6g
https://www.jyrics.com/lyrics/yama-ימה/
A fun video about traversing
Eretz Yisrael
the way Avraham Avinu did, and showing many of the memorable sites from Israel.
“
Avram Avinu
/
Cuando El Rey Nimrod
” – Gerard Edery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRIHuJD9Sc
According to its YouTube description, “
Avram Avinu
, or more commonly known as
Cuando El Rey Nimrod
, is as close to the Sephardic ‘national anthem’ as you’ll get.”
A traditional
zemer
connected to this parsha: “
Yah Ribon
”
The
zemer
for this week:
י-ה רבון
R’ Yisrael Najara of Tzfat wrote this
zemer
in the 1500s. (“
Yisrael
” is the acrostic of its five stanzas.) He was the son of Jews who were exiled from Spain in the late 1400s. The
zemer
praises Hashem the Creator, asks Him to save
Bnai Yisrael
from enemies and return them from exile, and pleads for a return to Yerushalayim and the rebuilt
Bais Hamikdash
.
Major elements of this parsha include the war between the 4 kings and the 5 kings (leading to Avram’s/Avraham’s saving of Lot), the
Brit Bein Habetarim
(with Hashem’s promises to Avraham about his progeny), the
bracha
from Malkitzedek, and the birth of Yishmael.
Some of the connections to the
parsha
:
· 2nd line of 1st stanza: “
מלכא מלך מלכא
” (The King, King of kings) – Yes, those 9 kings were powerful (
Bereishit
14:8-11), as was
Par’oh
(
Bereishit
12:17-20), but Hashem is the King of all earthly kings.
· Last line of 2nd stanza: “
חיות ברא עופי שמיא
” (“Beasts of the field and birds of the sky”): The
Brit Bein Habetarim
included both beasts and birds (
Bereishit
15:9).
· 3rd line of 4th stanza: “
מגו גלותא
” (“From the midst of exile”) – During the
Brit Bein Habetarim
, Hashem informed Avraham that He would rescue
Bnei Yisrael
from their exile in Egypt (
Bereishit
15:13-14).
· Last line of 5th stanza: “
בירושלם
” (“In Yerushalayim”) – This
parsha
has the first reference to the city of Yerushalayim (then called “
Shalem
”), in the form of
Malkitzedek
the king of
Shalem
(
Bereishit
14:18).
· 2nd line of 4th stanza: “
פרוק ית ענך מפום אריותא
” (“Save Your sheep from the mouths of lions”) – Artscroll cites the
Bais Yaakov
that “lions” refers to the descendants of Yishmael, who is born in this
parsha
(
Bereishit
16:15).