Written by Abrâhâm Ibn Ezra, one of the leading luminaries of Hebrew secular and liturgical poetry, this hymn remains a favourite in the Baghdad tradition, where it has a dual function. It is sung every week, at the habdâlâh (Separation of the Sabbath from weekdays) service following the termination of the Sabbath (mosa-éy shabbath), when it is believed that Elijah the Prophet visits. It is also sung for the birth of a boy, and at the circumcision ceremony, normally performed when the baby is eight days old. The hymn, sedate yet festive, is sometimes punctuated by kilililili-s—ululations. Both in Baghdad and in the diaspora, for example in India, an expert in singing shbaboth would lead the singing at a special occasion (Sabbaths, life-cycle events), possibly accompanied by a small chorus of men. The song is performed in the mode of bayât, similar to the North and South Indian âsâvari and natabhairavi, respectively, and the Western natural minor scale, but with the second degree tuned a quarter tone flat, producing a three-quarter tone between intervals 1 and 2, and again between intervals 2 and 3.