B'nai Israel Congregation Trip to Morocco 2022

After a very long wait, our synagogue’s Jewish heritage tour to Morocco (originally scheduled for April 2020) finally took place in March 2022. The trip is part luxury vacation, part exploration of Jewish history and heritage, and part opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with members of our community. The Jewish community in Morocco dates back to ancient times, with a great wave of immigration coming at the end of the 15th-century after the Expulsion from Spain. The once mighty Jewish community of more than 250,000 has dwindled in the last 100 years to less than 3,000. But the many beautiful Jewish heritage sites and recent arrival of Jews looking to establish lives here has made it a very popular Jewish destination of late. 

BLOG ADDENDUM, MARCH 10 BY LARRY LESSER

We stayed an extra day and here is what we saw...

As sad as we were to say goodbye to our group as they departed Morocco, Susan and I stayed on, heading for Rabat, Morocco's capital, for the day.

While in Rabat, we passed by some of the key government ministries important in the governing process as well as the Moroccan Parliament. See related photo. The King governs via policy decrees and also makes recommendations for legislative action.  The Parliament acts by considering legislation on policy priorities for the nation.  

As one of the first Jewish groups to visit Morocco since its reopening February 7, we were delighted with the warm welcome our group received everywhere we went.  With many more similar visits anticipated, we were thrilled that we could help Morocco kick off the recovery of its tourism sector as it seeks to restart its economy.  

In the months ahead, Morocco, with its small remaining Jewish community of less than 3,000, and Israel, with many Jewish emigres from Morocco, look forward to reaping the benefits of normalization by expanding tourism, trade and diplomatic relations.  

For example, we just learned that on Sunday, March 13, Royal Air Maroc is scheduled to initiate commercial air service between Casablanca and Tel Aviv.  The flight is expected to carry a delegation of more than 70 Moroccan business executives and economic experts.  They plan to visit Israel as part of an economic mission organized by Morocco's General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises.

Final Post, March 9 – Rabbi Michael Safra

I am writing this final blog post on our flight back to the United States. This morning we had a quick tour of the Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco and the only one where non-Muslims are allowed to enter. It is the third largest mosque in the world, with the larger mosques standing in Mecca and Medina.

The gigantic space accommodates 25,000 worshippers inside (5,000 in the women’s balcony, a “modern” feature missing from the other mosques, which are reserved for men only) and another 80,000 worshippers outside. It is built on the water, as it is written in the Koran that “God’s throne is established on the water.” King Hassan II (the father of the current king) wanted the mosque to be for Casablanca what the Statue of Liberty is to New York.

The construction project would have made Solomon proud. 100,000 artisans worked over 6 years to hand craft the stucco, install the best of Moroccan cedar, and hand design and paint all the tiles. All the materials come from Morocco, except for the 57 venetian chandeliers and two Carrara marble pillars in the marble in the front. It is said that the total cost was $800 million, but many believe it cost much more. One of the most impressive features – and the one that seals the deal for any comparison to America’s most impressive football stadiums – is the retractable roof, which can be opened in about 3 minutes.  (I hope I got all my figures right; but even if I missed a few details, the mosque is most impressive).

Of course, we didn’t travel to Morocco just to see a mosque. This was a Jewish heritage tour. We learned so much, but here are a few of my initial takeaways.

1. Jewish Heritage. So much of Jewish history developed in this part of North Africa, with great Jewish luminaries like Maimoniedes, Dunash ibn Labrat, Chaim ibn Attar, and many other rabbis I should probably know more about having spent time there. Our educational curricula tend to focus on the great Ashkenazic luminaries like Rashi and Nachmanides, Kabbalists, and the Hasidim and Mitnagdim. We think of the Jews of Africa as exotic but that is a myopic reading of our heritage. Berber Jews and Jews of Arab lands made great contributions to Judaism, but their stories are not always told. Unlike the Ashkenazi Jews who lived in ghettos, the Jews of Morocco (and other Arab lands) often mixed with their Muslim neighbors and there was a lot of cross-cultural fertilization. Medieval Jewish philosophy was often written in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic written with Hebrew letters) and was heavily influenced by Islam. Many of the rabbis in Arab lands were admired by Muslims, and their graves are still visited by Muslims today.
2. History. Walking through the medinas (Arabic for old, walled cities) of Fez and Marrakech felt like walking through the pages of the Talmud. The large communal ovens that were common in ancient times are still used in the medinas today. When we visited a tannery, we were given mint leaves to sniff to cover the smell. I found it ironic that I had recently studied the Talmudic passage exempting tanners from traveling to Jerusalem for the Pilgrimage Festivals. Tanners smelled, and the other pilgrims didn’t want to be around them. Now I have first-hand experience of the Talmud’s concern.
3. Zionism. The tough question that kept coming up was: what will befall the Moroccan Jewish community in another generation or two. A community that once numbered nearly 300,000 now numbers less than 3,000; and the residents are getting older. Many Jews were forced out during certain dark periods in the 20th-century; but many others were actively recruited by the State of Israel. From the Zionist ideological perspective, it will not be a tragedy when the Moroccan Jewish community ceases to exist; because even if Jews lived in that land for a thousand years, it was never where Jews belonged. Jews belong in the Jewish homeland; and it can be viewed as a success that so many thousands of Israelis now visit to see the places where their parents and grandparents once lived. But I admit to feeling a little ambivalent about the Zionist perspective. Morocco (and the rest of North Africa) was not a deviation from the Jewish story; it was the Jewish story, and that story has changed dramatically in the last 100 years.
4. The Peace Dividend. We didn’t talk about this part as much as we should have, but it is important. If we had visited Morocco when we were supposed to in 2020, it would have been before the historic peace deal between Morocco and Israel. Tourism suffered considerably during the pandemic, but it is coming back; and a lot of it is coming from Israel. It was a special feeling to be in an Arab country where most of the tour guides speak at least some Hebrew. Or to get off the bus in Marrakech and have a street vendor pull out Israeli flags to offer our Jewish-looking group. Or to have random strangers on the street say “thank you” for coming, sometimes in Hebrew. Peace is a big deal, and the benefits are real. I pray that we will soon see more agreements and increased normalization between Israel and her neighbors.

I am grateful to the fantastic members of our group who built a wonderful community, shared such moving experiences, and made it to every bus departure on time. And to our wonderful hosts from ITC and Heirloom Travel, and the wonderful guides who taught us so much while leading us on a truly unforgettable journey.

Here are some final photos:

A view of the old city of AL Jadida, which the Portugese called Mazagan. The sand-colored building on the right was once a synagogue; the steeple in the center was once a church; the octagonal minaret to the left is a mosque. Time and again, we saw evidence of a time when the different faith communities lived together in peace and harmony.

Barrels of natural dyes from the tannery in the medina of Fez. Artisans there still use methods developed in ancient times.

Inside the El Azama synagogue in Marrakech. The synagogue was built 500 years ago by the Megorashim, the community expelled from Spain, and restored in the mid-90s. A sign outside the synagogue indicates that there have been services in this space for over 500 years, but today they need help to ensure a minyan.

Sixth Post - March 7 by Darice Bailer

Although most of the people on our trip to Morocco are from B’nai Israel, it’s such a large synagogue that very few people really knew each other. 

Yes, they knew another couple or two here and there, but the rest were strangers. After nine days together, sitting next to one another at restaurants and on the bus as we watch the cities, streets and countryside of Morocco roll by, celebrating three birthdays together, and lending an arm as we walked side by side down centuries-old stone steps, we are no longer strangers. 

We are friends! 

We’re typing in our phone numbers and email addresses on other phones, sharing our best recipes and a list of our favorite books, and hoping to get together again when we return home. 

Today we rode the bus to see what remains of an ancient Roman community called Volubilis nestled In the foothills of a lush green farming area, but most of us have forgotten which dynasty the Roman emperor lived in who established this community.  

What we will remember is singing Happy Birthday to each other in three different languages — English, Hebrew, and Arabic — while Rabbi Safra chimes in with “ For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” at the back of the bus (which he did for Benson Goldstein’s 70th yesterday), laughing how we are turning vegetarian after walking through a crowded city market where carcasses of meat hung, chickens were weighed on a scale in front of us and were soon heard squawking to protest being chosen for dinner, and laughing how we will always travel with toilet paper in the future, because you never know when you won’t find any. 

In a very ancient land, we’ve fast become new friends. 

Fifth Post – March 6 by Howard Chalker

It was a beautiful day touring the ancient walled city of Fez, even if we were a little wet and weary!

We started our rainy morning with a bus ride up to a hilltop with a panoramic view of the old, old city of Fez. Fez is one of Morocco’s largest cities and it was the capital of the country a few times. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It looked a little bit like the city of Jerusalem with its green, sloping hills and crowded white stone buildings below. We could see the wall circling the medina, or the old walled city of this North African town. We learned once again that there is the “old, old” city of Fez built in the 7th-century; the “old” city from the 13th-century; and the “new” city, established during the French Protectorate in the beginning of the 20th-century.. 

Then we drove off to a ceramic factory where we learned how ceramic tile tables, fountains, pots, and dishware are made. We saw hand-painted menorahs and Kiddush cups. The tiny stone artistry has been going on for 400 years. 

From there we entered the beautiful tower and gates of the Medina and learned that the tiny green tiles decorating the gates represent Islam and the blue tiles Fez.

We toured the Madrasa Bou Inania, built in the 14th Century. A is a school, also used as a congregational mosque for prayer. Inside the courtyard we admired the very old artistry of this place. We looked up at the hand-carved cedar, the hand scribed tiles, and the decorated ceramic walls below. We marveled how so many workers were able to create this lovely courtyard so quickly. We looked in on a room with red rugs that is still used for prayer today.

We also saw the University of Al-Qarawiyyin which was founded by a Muslim woman and is the oldest university in the world that is continuously operating according to the Guinness World Book of records. It was established in 859 AD and even Maimonides studied here. It is a space for worship and learning.

We traipsed along the narrow alleyways inside the medina. Some of the cobblestone streets were so narrow that we felt like we were traveling through a cave! As rain dropped down on our heads, we tried to keep our eyes on our friends in front of us as townspeople squeezed past us. The alleyways were full of tiny shops selling women’s caftans, Moroccan pastries, silver tea sets, bolts of fabrics, jeweled belts, hand-embroidered tablecloths, leather slippers and sandals, delicately-carved wooden boxes, and even New York Yankee hats! For all of you shoppers out there, this is a Mecca (but it’s Fez)! We were told by our guide that if we got lost in one of the many alleyways, we should stay and wait for someone to find us and not try to find the rest of the group!  

We looked in on two synagogues very quickly. When we finally stopped for lunch, we were delighted that we were treated to a vegetarian tangine with steamed carrots, peas, and squash that was different than the Moroccan  lunches we have had each day.

After lunch we toured the Chaouwara Tannery, one of three tanneries in Fez where thousands of leather jackets, coats, briefcases, purses, shoes, slippers, and wallets were stacked on shelf after shelf, floor after floor, in a dizzying display of colored leather goods. We started at the top of the tannery which dates back to the 11th Century, looking out on the balcony at the barrels of dye below.  We learned about different types of leather, from calf skin to camel skin! We held little sprigs of mint to our noses because of the strong odor from all the leather. We bought a little bit of everything, helping the country of Morocco after the pandemic forced the country to close its borders the last two years.

We ended the evening with an elegant dinner in the Sahrai Hotel with a buffet that was a symphony of food. There was a table set with many different kinds of salads, and one with warming dishes filled with vegetables, rice, pasta, and fish. There was even a delicious dessert table with plates of Moroccan cookies to sample. The candles were lit on our tables, a caftanned musician serenaded us with music, and when we finished, we stepped out on a balcony overlooking the city for one last night-time view of this very old city.
 

fourth post – march 5 by Susan Weinmann

Shavua tov from Fes, Morocco!  This is a phrase I never thought I’d utter, particularly when everything shut down two years ago and our trip was postponed, seemingly indefinitely.

After a very long bus ride, we arrived in Fes in time for Shabbat. We had a lovely service at the hotel, which was followed by dinner at the Maimonides Center, a Jewish club.  One of the things that has amazed me all week is that even in places like Fes, where there are only a few dozen Jews left, there is still a Jewish club serving kosher meals.  We were joined by several other groups from the United States and Israel, all of whom had come here to learn about the country’s rich Jewish history.  One of the groups included the brother of our Fred Messing, one of our gabbaim!  It’s nice to know that even in Morocco, we can play Jewish geography.

We attended Shabbat services this morning at the synagogue, where our group outnumbered the regular congregants.  In keeping with traditional practice, the women were separated by a curtain, and unfortunately, it was difficult to see or hear what was happening on the other side. However, it was interesting to note the obvious differences in the service, such as raising the Torah scroll (Hagbah) before the reading instead of after, and the use of a Sephardic trope to chant the Torah.  

After lunch, we enjoyed a walking tour of the Mellah, which is the old Jewish quarter of the city. We visited the Ibn Danan synagogue, which was built by a prominent Jewish family in the 17th century.  Some people believe that this family was descended from the tribe of Dan.  The synagogue served the Megorashim (expelled Jews), who had come to Morocco from Spain and Portugal.  While these Jews lived side-by-side with the existing Jewish community (called the Toshavim), they did not mingle, and each group had their own synagogues.  (While in the Mellah, we passed the Slat Al Fassiyine Synagogue, built around the same time by the Toshavim.)  The division reminded me that things never really change, and that we are always more comfortable with that which is familiar to us.  The current divisions in our own country are a painful reminder of this fact.

Most of us gathered for Havdalah this evening to mark the end of Shabbat, and a group of us had dinner together at our hotel.  The small size of this group has given us all the opportunity to get to know one another, an unexpected benefit of the trip.  In fact, we have already talked of a group reunion a couple of months after our return.  Each day has brought new adventures on this trip, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Third Post – March 4 by Rabbi Michael Safra

Yesterday was a day to enjoy the beauty of Marrakech. We began the day in Jardin Majorelle, a beautiful garden originally build by the French orientalist Jacques Majorelle in 1931. After Majorelle’s death in 1962, the garden fell into disrepair. It was later acquired by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, after they fell in love with Marrakech and built a home here. In addition to restoring the garden, they build a museum to the Berber people, the largest ethnic group in Morocco. We learned that a significant portion of the Berber population was originally Jewish, and there are still Berber Jews today. Our group purchased a handmade rug that was handwoven by Berber Jews about 100 years ago. 

We then visited the Saadien Tombs, the beautiful mausoleum of the dynasty that once ruled North Africa, before heading to lunch and a tour of the Marrakech souks. There we saw artisans weaving, hammering, and embroidering using traditional methods that have endured for centuries. 

In the evening we headed to a beautiful campsite in the High Atlas mountains for a little “glamping” (glamorous camping). We enjoyed camel rides, another beautiful dinner, and a little birthday celebration for one of our fellow travelers. 

Today it is off to Fez – seven hours through the mountains and 8 centuries back in time – for Shabbat. Fez was once home to such luminaries as Maimonides and Isaac Alfasi, and the halakhic center of the Jewish world. I can’t wait to infuse the spirit of B’nai Israel with the timeless values of our Jewish heritage.

SECOND POST – March 3 by TED FREDMAN

On Wednesday March 2nd, our group had fabulous opportunities to get to know each other and to be with Morocco’s people.  One of the most stimulating and exciting events was a visit to a small Berber village for a private kosher outdoor cooking class hosted by a famous chef aided by another chef and several women assistants.  The first part involved the group sitting on small seats gathered around the chef who explained the unique tea that was being served to each participant. Each person on the tour told about themselves.  The beautiful setting included fire pits, an oven with its own flames where bread was made, and an area with small tables for up to six people who each had knives and scrapers and a large flat place to cut up vegetables.  Also on each table were spices, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice.  

The tour was divided into tables A through D. Each table made a large fish dish, a large chicken dish, a large vegetable dish (all cooked on a hot fire) as well as a salad of beets, one of carrots, another with couscous. Later each table ate what it had made. 

In the afternoon, we had a chance to relax and enjoy the enormous outdoor swimming pools at our beautiful hotel in Marrakech. A smaller group walked over to the Kutubiya Mosque which dates back to 1185 A.D. At 253 ft, the mosque towers over Marrakech; in fact, building codes prohibit the construction of any taller building. 

In the evening, we were hosted for dinner at the apartment of local merchant, Yitzhak Ohayon and his wife. It was another fantastic meal. After the meal, Mr. Ohayon – who speaks Arabic, French, and Hebrew (but no English) spoke to the group in Hebrew with Rabbi Safra translating into English. He explained that his family’s history in Marrakech dates back 2000 years and was in Morocco at a time when the community here boasted more than 200,000, among them some of the greatest scholars, halkhists, and mystics of Jewish history. Today, the community has dwindled, and Mr. Ohayon has taken it upon himself to repair and sustain the city’s two synagogues—one of which dates back more than 500 years to the Expulsion from Spain—and its largest cemetery. 

In response to a question from one of our group members, Mr. Ohayon admitted that the future of the community is uncertain. Six of his seven children have already created lives for themselves in Israel and Europe, and his youngest daughter will soon leave Morocco to travel to France. Unfortunately, they do not believe that there is a future for them in Morocco if they want to lead traditional observant lives. 

But even Jews who have left Morocco maintain connections to the land of their ancestry, which they love. Thousands of Jews visit Morocco every year (including approximately 5,000 who come for Passover!), many of whom end up hosted in the Ohayon home for kosher meals. Mr. Ohayon loved having Jewish people in his home. We sang the birkat hamazon and he led us in a medley of other Hebrew songs. There are questions about what Jewish life will look like for the next generation in this particular city; but there is no question that the People of Israel lives on, am Yisrael chai.

FIRST POST – MARCH 2 by Sheryl Tilles

Our long awaited trip to Morocco, led by Rabbi Safra and Sharon Safra began at Dulles Airport on Sunday evening with an overnight flight to Casablanca on Royal Air Maroc. We arrived in Casablanca on Monday morning tired but eager to begin our journey into the history of the Jewish people in Morocco. Our tour guides met us at the airport, excited to be sharing this journey with us. 

The Jewish community of Morocco that once numbered over 250,000 people has dwindled to less than 3000. There are different reasons for the decline; but today mot Jews of Moroccan heritage are living in Israel, France, the United States, and other countries. Our first stop was a Jewish museum in Casablanca that was refurbished in 1997. We then had lunch at a kosher tennis club and checked into our hotel for a short rest before dinner. We had dinner at a beautiful restaurant alongside the Atlantic ocean with beautiful views of the waves crashing onto the shore. 

On Tuesday morning we visited the Neve Shalom School and met the director, Rabbi Yitzhak Sibag. He told us about the history and the students at the school, which currently has 110 students enrolled in the primary school and a similar number in the secondary school. About 50 years ago, the Jewish school system enrolled more than 15,000 students. Before leaving Casablanca for Marrakech, we visited a beautiful synagogue, Temple Beth-El. The synagogue continues to meet with a few hundred members. We learned how it was refurbished as part of a program of King Mohammed VI, which began in 1997. We asked why the king wanted to restore so many Jewish sites and didn’t get a straight answer; but it may have something to do with the rapproachment with Israel, which culminated with the Abraham Accords last fall.  

We headed to Marrakech (about a 3 hour bus ride) with a stop for lunch. There, we visited the Mellah (Arabic for Jewish Quarter) in the Medina (the old walled city). Jews no longer live in the Mellah, which is a very poor area, but the synagogue there is still maintained by Isaac Ohayon. That synagogue, which was founded at the end of the 15th-century by exiles from Spain, is thought to be the oldest continually functioning synagogue in the world. We then visited a very large Jewish cemetery, which was also restored as part of the 1997 program. Some of the graves date back hundreds of years, but the most recent burial was only about 2 months ago. 

We checked into the beautiful Hotel Sofitel Marrakech Lounge and Spa with beautiful views from every angle. We had a wonderful vegetarian dinner (family style) and got to learn more about the history of Morocco, and Morocco today. What an amazing feeling to visit the synagogues and learn about the long history of the Jewish people in Morocco. 

And we’ve only been here for a day and a half. Stay tuned for more!