Qamti be-ashmoret (Kamti)

This piyyut by Rabbi Moshe Ibn Ezra (Al-Andalus, ca. 1055-1135) serves as the opening of the seliḥot services in all Sephardi communities of the Ottoman Empire, a tradition probably dating back to the period prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. It consists of four stanzas of four verses of five grammatical syllables each. Haim performs the opening stanza of the original Hebrew poem and then a Judeo- Spanish translation of the first and second stanzas. Eastern Sephardi cantors use this same melody to sing the stanza Siḥu le-imi from the poem Et sha'arei raẓon.

Me alevantí en la madrugada,
por buscar sobre mis yerros.
A mi alma enpretenciada,
por muy de muchedumbre de mis sobrebios.

Apiadate sobre tus compañas,
que es oveja de tu pasto,
Bienaventurados los que moran en tu casa,
que siempre te alabarán a tu nombre.