The COVID-19 pandemic has ripped through Morocco’s close-knit Jewish community, claiming at least 14 lives. Though less than 1 percent of Morocco’s total population, Jews represent more than 10 percent of the country’s total coronavirus deaths. “It’s a huge number when it comes to a community of 2,000 people,” said community member Abdou Ladino. Community…
If you think seder is tough on Zoom, try mimouna, the Moroccan festival that marks Passover’s end. In normal times, Moroccan Jews throw open their doors and host friends and neighbors with tables full of sweets: candied fruits and vegetables, pastries drenched in syrups, all varieties of cookies and cakes. It’s too many people and…
As Passover draws to a close, I’m starting to feel holiday-deprived. Envious, really. It’s not that I want more matzo — I’m not insane. It’s that there’s a holiday, Mimouna, which marks the end of Passover for North African Jews, that I have never celebrated. And it sounds delicious. I decided to investigate on a…
Tonight, right after sundown, chef Simon Elmaleh will discard the Passover matzo, set out fine platters laden with leavened, sugary sweets and welcome friends into his home with cries of terbhou ou tseedou, Arabic for “good luck.” For Moroccan Jews like Elmaleh, the end of Passover marks the start of the Jewish-Moroccan festival Mimouna —…
For Moroccan Jews, Passover isn’t Passover without Mimouna
Tuesday was Mimouna, the annual festival of the Moroccan Jewish community, and there were lively parties across Israel. But while the Moroccan community tends to come out in force for Mimouna, it seems that as a whole it is losing connection with its traditions. A new poll published by Maariv reported that only 51% of…
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