What I am really surprised is, to find that there were Jews in Morocco even before there were Arabs in the region! In the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis, there are traces of a synagogue.
Today, however, most of the synagogues are deserted as the remains of this ancient civilization. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of Isreal in 1948, there were about 240,000 to 350,000 Jews in the country in which gave Morocco the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world. By 2017, only 2000 or so Jews remain, mostly in the big urban areas of Casablanca and Marrakech. The Jewish people of Morocco have left, most for Israel, France, Canada, and the US. The old country, Morocco, however, remembers them. In every city, you can find a mellah, the walled Jewish quarter of an old Jewish quarter of ghetto. Moroccan antique shops are still stocked with Jewish handicrafts and artifacts, even menorahs and, mezuzahs.
Jews in Morocco, originally speakers of Berber languages, Judeo Berber languages, Judeo Moroccan Arabic or Judao-Spanish, were the first in the country to adopt the French language, and unlike the general population, French remains the main (and, in many cases, the exclusive) language of members of the Jewish community. Much of the “traditional” Moroccan culture, the artwork, and the music have its origins in the Moroccan Jewish community. Every tour guide in every city will say, ” This is a place of respect and cooperation for every person, regardless of religion! Jews and Muslims live here as friends for many years.” The Jews have left behind traces of their existence, whether in buildings or objects or less tangibly in music and stories or handed down stories and memories, were ubiquitous if sometimes elusive in the mellahs of Fez and Marrakesh. One thing for sure is that the Moroccan Jewish legacy, though rich, is a fast-disappearing heritage. It is with this sense of urgency about what will happen in the coming years that more should be done to preserve the heritage and history of the Jews in Morocco.
The Mellah is a 20-minute walk from Fez’s medina. The year was 1438, oral tradition places the Jews in Morocco since just after the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem in the sixth century B.C. Under Arab rule, the climate was for long periods (but not without exception) characterized by a general spirit of tolerance, first formulated in the seventh century when Jews became known as dhimmi, or “protected persons.” They were free to practice their religion, but they were also required to pay a special poll tax, and they were barred from certain occupations. At times they were allowed to live in the city; at others not. Long stretches of tranquillity were interrupted by sporadic outbreaks of violence.
It was after one particular extreme attack that the Sultan moved the city’s Jews to a walled neighborhood near his palace on what had once been a salt marsh. Mellahs soon appeared in Marrakesh, Rabat, Sale, and elsewhere. Although European ghettos were established out of punitive impulse, the Moroccan mellah was intended to safeguard. Today, the mellah in Fez still feels distinct from the city’s other precincts. The buildings are multistoried, to accommodate a growing population. They are also pierced with windows and fitted with festive balconies, while in the medina most turn blank facade to the street, in support of the Muslim policy of keeping women concealed.
Sephardic Jews worked as scholars, writers, printers, and artisans whose metalwork transformed the local culture. At the Danan, there is ample evidence of their abiding flair in the intricate zillij tile work and dashing green carved wooden trim on the bema, the raised platform from which the Torah was read; downstairs a mikvah, or ritual bath, and communal oven attest to the multiple uses the building was once put to. Nearly all the Jews of Marrakesh mellah have died or moved away
Most of the synagogues are abandoned now, some are turned into museums. Inside the abandoned Synagogue Fassin, a layer of dust covered the red leather benches. the Torah was still in place, protected in a handsome wooden ark; nearby a calendar, dated 1982, dangled from a nail.
The stillness was ineffably beautiful and infinitely sad.
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Thank you, Eleanora! (We have similar names and friends from Europe call me Eleanora!!) Feel free to browse through some suggested ‘off the beaten paths’ itineraries for Morocco which includes The Sahara Desert. The sunrises/sunsets are AMAZING in the Sahara!!!
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Thank you very much for your kind comments! Stay tuned for write-ups about my travel and adventures to Morocco. I have spent more than a month traveling the whole of Morocco from the Sahara Desert to the High Atlas Mountains, through the valleys and oasis to the Atlantic ocean. Warmest Regards, Eleanor
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Thank you, Alexandria for your positive feedback. I appreciate it very much! Stay tuned for my recent travels to Morocco. I have spent more than a month traveling all over Morocco from the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Coast, from the High Atlas Mountains to the Valleys and Oasis, and more. Warmest Regards, Eleanor
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Thank you, Damien, for all your kind comments. I have just returned from a month in Morocco. Stay tuned to my travel website as I will be writing about all my travel experiences and adventures. Warmest Regards, Eleanor
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