This song is taken from the play Queen Esther (אֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה Ester haMalka), act II, end of scene 3, by Natan Alterman. The play was a retelling of the Biblical Book of Esther, inspired by the Jewish Purim spiel tradition as well as the Arabian Nights. Commissioned by the Cameri Theatre, it was written in 1965 as a musical, as those were in vogue in Israel in the 1960s, and Alterman had recently seen great success with his previous one, King Solomon and Shalmai the Cobbler (שׁלְֹמֹה הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשַׁלְמַי הַסַּנְדְּלָר Šlomo haMelex veŠalmay haSandlar); as with the other play, this one also had its music composed by celebrated composer Sasha Argov. It appears at the end of a scene inspired by the beginning of Esther 6, in which the king, portrayed as somewhat childish who mostly just wants to be left alone and eat his fill, wishes to go to sleep; however, is constantly interrupted, for comedic effect. Finally, the king’s wise jester lulls him to sleep with this song. (This was not a part of the original Biblical narrative: Alterman assumed his viewers would be familiar with it, so he focused instead on minor characters and some he added on his own.)

The play premiered on February 6th, 1966, following much hype. Unfortunately, although it seemed to be a sure bet, it was soon widely panned by critics for being overproduced and featuring a convoluted and unfocused plot; it ran only for 38 shows. Still, this particular song has demonstrated much more staying power, being covered by a multitude of singers over the decades, often in oddly serious renditions that clash with the original comedic tone.