Remembering Jewish History in Marrakesh and Connecting with the Ineffable
By Jada Rodriguez
The start of week two in Morocco begins! I knew we were all in for quite the long day with a tightly packed itinerary, but I also knew that it would be rewarding. After a simple breakfast and a nice cup of coffee to start the day, Professor Rabinovitch gave us a brief introduction to the history of Marrakesh as a trading center as well as an overview of the presence of the Jewish community in the city. Before going to visit the medina, or the old town, the Jewish cemetery, and the Synagogue, we learned that Jewish, Christian, and Muslims have been living together in Morocco for centuries. For Moroccans, the Moroccan-Jewish community has always been seen as indigenous. Prior to the establishment of Israel, the largest non-Ashkenazi Jewish community was in Morocco. Over 250,000 Moroccan Jews relocated to Israel after its founding, and they are now a minority group in Morocco with a population of less than 2,000. With that being said, the legacy of their presence and history remains.
A tsedakah box for charitable donations (left). The Slat El-Azama Synagogue, facing east towards Jerusalem (right). Photos by Jada Rodriguez.
We went on our way through the old medina of Marrakesh to get to the Slat El-Azama Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery shortly afterwards. I’ve been interested in theology from a very young age, so I was looking forward to asking our tour guide, Mustapha, and Professor Rabinovitch about the orientation of the synagogue and about certain ritual behaviors. Something I’ve found interesting about synagogues is that they have been a place of study in addition to a place for religious practice. Obviously studying religious law, Torah, and practice overlap and intertwine in many ways, but where the separation and distinction occurs is interesting to me. Before the destruction of the first and second Temples, the Temples would be the place for more religious and ritualistic practices. After the destruction, especially as the Jewish community started becoming more of a diaspora spread across the world, there became more need for discussion on how to continue this religion without the Temple, where ritual behavior previously revolved around and depended on. I believe much of this discussion would occur in a kind of synagogue setting.
The most interesting part of this portion of our day to me was about how we have such a good record of correspondence between Jewish scholars. In Morocco much of the Jewish community would speak Judeo-Amazigh while often being able to read and/or write in Arabic and Hebrew. Arabic was the literary high culture but all Jewish religious texts were in Hebrew and Aramaic. Hebrew was the written common language between different Jewish communities from all over the world, so correspondence between them was done in Hebrew, and was usually about business and law. There was always a belief that because Hebrew is a holy language for Jews, it can’t be disposed of normally; so Synagogues developed a “trash library,” called a Genizah. These letters and texts get put in this library and are preserved rather than destroyed which is why we have such a good record of how these communities consulted one another.
After a visit to the Bahia and Badi Palaces where we learned more about pre-colonial Moroccan architecture, we visited the Ben Youssef School in the afternoon, and spoke with Youssef Ben-Meir about the High Atlas Foundation. Their goal as a sustainable development organization is to hear the needs of the rural communities they serve, and not only design a plan that intends to meet their needs, but continue adapting said plan in order to make sure the action yields the intended results. The main issue they’ve been fighting against for rural communities in Morocco over the last several years has been water infrastructure.
We ended our day together at the Music Museum in Marrakesh. We learned about Sufism and got to experience a performance by a small group of female Sufi musicians. If I remember correctly, they are of a very small community who still practice and perform this particular genre of Sufi music. We were invited to dance and allow the music to flow through us, to be in the moment with the rhythm. I admit I didn’t invite myself to the center with everyone to dance, but as a musician who self proclaims a passion in the art, I found the experience very moving. I don’t ascribe to a particular religion or claim to be religious in any way, but I often feel some deeper connection to the fabric and foundation of existence. In this religious space with the company of these Sufi musicians, I felt a deep sense of being centered with myself even if for just a moment in the day. This is experience is one that I definitely couldn’t begin to explain in words. The approximation here doesn’t even get close to the feeling. After the very long day I was moved emotionally by our time listening, dancing, and feeling, and I have a great appreciation for the fortunate position I’m in to have this culture be shared with myself and my peers.
Video by Jada Rodriguez.