Hi again,

Okay - one last thing to note here. I had actually written to the contact listed on Theodore Bikel's web site, to ask about the context of this beautiful song. And believe it or not, someone actually wrote back! Here is what they wrote:

Jim Friedman - who wrote this song - and Mr. Bikel both Jews. They relate to the story of the birth of Jesus as allegory and have great respect the tradition. The intriguing notion was that Mary, singing a lullaby to the Christ child, would be singing in the language of the land and of the time - Aramaic.

So there you go - Theodore Bikel says it was supposed to be sung from the point of view of Mary (but probably not the "Mary" from this forum, hehe.)

That is a very beautiful notion indeed. The entire song seems very sweet from that point of view. Of course, it raises a few questions, like:

• Why is Mary singing to the "holy virgin" (alma k'dosha)?
  
• Wouldn't Mary have known "why they came in praise of thee"?

But the parts about her singing to her sleeping baby, and about her asking about the star shining "bright in the heavens" are very sweet indeed.

By the way - I may be reading into it, but it seems that the opening comment about Jesus being "allegory" speaks volumes. It's a little heartbreaking.

Well, anyway - Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Peace,
Mark