Im Nin'Alu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Im Nin'alu is an Hebrew poem of 17th century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi, which has later been put to music, and which was sung by Ofra Haza and others.

The poem starts with the words:

Im nin'alu daltei n'divim daltei marom lo nin'alu

Even if the gates of the rich will be closed, the gates of heaven will not be closed.

Ofra Haza became famous in Europe with this song in the year 1988, when it reached the top ten of popular music in various countries. Even though her version of the song shows her own interpretation, and its presentation was modern and popular, it still fit in the Yemenite tradition that she represented. The song was part of the albums Shaday of 1988 and the album (Fifty Gates of Wisdom:) Yemenite Songs.

The singer Madonna used the words of the poem in one of her songs, Isaac, which is part of the album Confessions on a Dancefloor. The English text of this piece also states that The gates of heaven are always open.

The Song was sampled by legendery rapper Rakim in his all time classic single: Paid In Full.

Yemenite-Israeli singer Michal Cohen performs "Im Nin‘alu" on La Kahena (2005) by dj Cheb i Sabbah.