Jews – An Integral and Indispensable Part of Moroccan Society
There are nineteen royal palaces spread throughout the country. Some of them date back centuries. Often located as the focal structure in the Medinas (ancient cities), the Mellah (Jewish neighborhoods) are usually adjacent to the palaces. Unlike European nations that granted and rescinded protected status to their Jews—resulting in countless expulsions—Moroccan kings sheltered their Jews for centuries. Gates were locked from the inside for safety, not imprisonment. We were fascinated to see mezzuzot on the doors of homes in the Mellahs and synagogues restored and safeguarded by Arab custodians. In Fes, the Moroccan Museum of Jewish heritage is newly completed and awaiting its dedication by the king. All of the great cities had their Jewish quarters and, in sharp contrast to the Jordanian destruction of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem in 1948, the Moroccans have carefully preserved and maintained their Jewish legacy.
We drove deep into the Berber mountains and gathered around the grave of Salomon Ben Hench, a 16th century Moroccan sage who is revered as a Tzaddik (Jewish saint) by Jews and Muslims. Jews settled along trade roots deep in Berber lands where they were welcomed for centuries. The Berber family that maintains it is paid by the state and through donations by visitors. Hundreds of Moroccan Jews still make pilgrimages, or hilulim, to carefully maintained shrines like this throughout the country—a custom that will likely resume as the Gaza war tensions ebb. We visited refurbished cemeteries, where the graves of tzaddikim (and some tzaddikot/women) were well kept and replete with Hebrew prayers and lengthy epitaphs.
The departure of Jews from Morocco is complicated. Living in an Islamic country is not without challenges, so life in the U.S., France, and Israel carries significant attraction and numbers have dropped precipitously. However, Jewish schools, synagogues, restaurants, butchers, and other trappings of Jewish life remain. Though the community is aging, there are still children present. We attended traditional Kabbalat Shabbat Services in Marrakesh (women sit separately) where a boy of Bar Mitzvah age led us through a section of the very lengthy Kabbalat Shabbat using the Moroccan melodies and style. Other members of the congregation chanted their assigned parts from where they sat faster than we could turn the pages. Luckily, we were able to recognize one or two melodies and enthusiastically sang along. All of the synagogues in the country reflect the Sephardic style wherein the reader’s stand faces the ark on the eastern wall.
Earlier in the day, Dorith, a community representative, hosted us for lunch in her home and overflowed with enthusiasm for her small community. She holds on to the dream that Morocco’s wonders will once again entice Jews to establish residency as regional tensions ease; embracing the hope that opportunities for business and recreational travel will entice Israelis as well as Americans.
For a more comprehensive survey, visit this website and here.
—Rabbi Ron Stern