https://youtu.be/8-fLevfG0d0?si=cxOCYKrDmBygQbU6# Pesach a la ManoThe origins of this relatively modern piyyut in Espanyol may be traced back to the work of Hazzan Yosef Shalom Gallego. Born in Salonika in the late 16th century, Gallego became the first Hazzan of Amsterdam’s Portuguese Jewish community in around 1614. In 1628, he published ‘Imrei No’am’, a compendium of piyyutim that helped spread a new style of Hebrew religious song from the Ottoman Empire to Western Sephardi and North African communities. Among these was the Hebrew piyyut ‘Purim, Purim, Purim Lanu’ (פורים, פורים, פורים לנו), which recounts the Purim story and the salvation of the Jewish people. The song became widely popular in the Sephardi tradition, inspiring the well-known Espanyol saying ‘Purim, Purim, Purim Lanu, Pesah a la Mano—meaning “Purim is upon us, Passover is near.” This phrase in turn became the opening line of ‘Pesah a la Mano’, a beloved Ladino song by Flory Jagoda (1923–2021). Please like and Share.