Jews and Muslims in Morocco: Their Intersecting Worlds (Sephardic and Mizrahi Studies)

Multiple traditions of Jewish origins in Morocco emphasize the distinctiveness of Moroccan Jewry as indigenous to the area, rooted in its earliest settlements and possessing deep connections and associations with the historic peoples of the region. The creative interaction of Moroccan Jewry with the Arab and Berber cultures was noted in the Jews’ use of Morocco’s multiple languages and dialects, characteristic poetry, and musical works as well as their shared magical rites and popular texts and proverbs. In Jews and Muslims in Morocco: Their Intersecting Worlds historians, anthropologists, musicologists, Rabbinic scholars, Arabists, and linguists analyze this culture, in all its complexity and hybridity. The volume’s collection of essays span political and social interactions throughout history, cultural commonalities, traditions, and halakhic developments. As Jewish life in Morocco has dwindled, much of what is left are traditions maintained in Moroccan ex-pat communities, and memories of those who stayed and those who left. The volume concludes with shared memories from the perspective of a Jewish intellectual from Morocco, a Moroccan Muslim scholar, an analysis of a visual memoir painted by the nineteenth-century artist, Eugène Delacroix, and a photo essay of the vanished world of Jewish life in Morocco. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Figures List of Figures List of Audio-Visual Material – on website Map Introduction Cultural Developments Notes Part I: Political and Social Interactions Chapter 1: Refuge in Morocco after 1492 Introduction Sources for Reconstructing Jewish Refuge in Morocco Historical Precedents of Refuge in Morocco The Departure from Iberia and Reception in North Africa Who Were the Refugees to Morocco? From Outcaste in Spain to Dhimmi in Morocco: The Texture of Muslim-Jewish Relations Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 2: Jews and the Moroccan Monarchy in the Age of Imperialism Imperialism and the Royal Alliance Colonial Monarchy, Colonial Dhimmīs Toward a New Royal Alliance Notes Bibliography Chapter 3: Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Youssef and the Jews of Morocco during the Second World War: New Discoveries Introduction: Re-Examination of Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Youssef’s Action and Protection of Moroccan Jews Renewing the Dhimmah as a Governance Strategy The Jewish Appeals and Their Meetings with the Sultan The Role of Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Youssef in Moderating the Decrees of the Second Law on the Status of Jews Conclusion: The Sultan’s Rationalized and Empathetic Policy toward Morocco’s Jews Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: Centering the Margin: Family Networks, Occupational Mobility, and Saharan Jews The Daggatouns and Jewish Mobility in the Sahara Intra-regional Mobility and Jewish Communities’ Survival Practical Self-Segregation: Jewish Quarters in the Anti-Atlas Families and Lifecycles inside Jewish Neighborhoods Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 5: Jewish Bodies, Muslim Bodies, and French Medicine in Morocco Medicine and the French Civilizing Mission Berbers, Arabs, and Jews as Depicted in French Medical Literature A Nosology of “Arab” and “Jewish” Diseases Scientific Racism and Racial Tropes Manuals for Prospective Physicians in Morocco The Jewish Affinity for European Medicine The Self-Image of French Physicians Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part II: Cultural Commonalities Chapter 6: Sebaa Ouled Ben Zmirou in Jewish and Muslim Contexts: Return to the Dead and Encounters after Death Introduction The Expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula and Their Reunion in Morocco Return to the Death: The Benzamerro of Safi Encounters after Death: Sebaa Ouled Ben Zmirou in Jewish and Muslim Contexts Some Final Remarks Notes Bibliography Chapter 7: Invisible Neighbors: Demonology between Jews and Muslims in Morocco Introduction: Jews, Muslims, and Demons in Morocco Moroccan Demonology as Shared Practice Jewish Clients and Muslim Practitioners Muslim Clients and Jewish Practitioners Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 8: A Common Language: Popular Music in Morocco  Introduction Cementing a Common but Distinct Identity Marocanité and Song Jews in the Bled The Jews, the Constitutional Referendum, and the Diverse Nation Layers of Repertoire Levels Sonic Presence as Jewish Musical Commonality Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 9: The Aḥwash: Jewish and Muslim Articulations of a Shared Amazigh (Berber) Cultural Tradition in Morocco and its Diaspora Introduction The Aḥwash: A Thumbnail Description Brief Historical Background Aḥwash IN ISRAEL: PERFORMANCE OF BERBERNESS IN A NEW CONTEXT Aḥwash in Morocco, Present and Past: Sharing Commonalities, Celebrating Difference Conclusion: “We Are One/the Same,” and . . . We Are Different Notes Works Cited Part III: Religious Traditions and Halakhic Developments Chapter 10: Liturgy: An Overlooked Space in the Moroccan Jewish Musical Map Previous Studies and Documentation of Moroccan Jewish Liturgy Basics of Moroccan Jewish Liturgy: Analysis of a Service Analysis of the Service Conclusion Notes References Chapter 11: The Image of Morocco in the Poetry of R. David Ben Ḥassin (1727–1792) Addendum: 7 Piyyutim of Rabbi David ben Hassin translated into English Notes Bibliography Chapter 12: Muslims and Christians in the Writings of Twentieth-Century Ḥakhamim of Morocco Introduction The Moroccan Sultanate Period The French Protectorate Independent Morocco and the State of Israel Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 13: Traveling between Place and Faith: Moroccan Jews Migrating to the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century The Holiness of Eretz-Yisrael and Its Sites Creating Holy Sites Pilgrimages, Saint Veneration, and ‘Aliyah Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 14: Takkanot of the Moroccan Rabbis Concerning the Inheritances of Wives and Daughters in the Fifteenth to Twentieth Centuries Introduction Pre-Nuptial Agreements Concerning Inheritances Spanish Takkanot Dealing with the Inheritance of Wives The Motive for Changing the Inheritance Laws Rabbi Raphael Berdugo’s Critique of the Takkanah on Inheritance Takkanot Instituted by the Rabbinic Council Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 15: Rabbi Refael ben Dva”sh: Precursor of Moroccan Legal Activity Introduction The Uniqueness of the Moroccan Tradition Ruling without Anxiety: The Case of Sucking the Blood During Circumcision Legislative Activity in Matters of Betrothal and Marriage Conclusion Notes Bibliography Part IV: Memoirs in Word and Image Chapter 16: Memories of Jewish-Muslim Co-existence in the New Mellaḥ of Meknes and Jewish Heritage Conservation in Post-Colonial Morocco Introduction The Origins of the Mellaḥ Muslim-Jewish Relationships in the Mellaḥ Jewish Quarters in Meknes: From the Old Mellaḥ to the New Mellaḥ Methodology Tolerance and Crossing the Religious/Cultural Borders Findings Related to Research Question 2: Preserving Jewish Culture Discussion Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research Notes Bibliography Chapter 17: Growing Up in the Mellaḥ of Taroudant: Spaces, Time, Acquaintances, and Rupture. A Memoir with Two Poems Notes Bibliography Chapter 18: Delacroix and the Jews of Morocco Conclusion Notes Bibliography Photo Essay: Jewish Life in Morocco in the Twentieth Century Family and Religious Life Education Index About the Contributors Section 1. Political and Social Interactions --Refuge in Morocco after 1492: From Iberian Outcast to Moroccan Dhimmi /Jane S. Gerber --Jews and the Moroccan Monarchy in the Age of Imperialism /Daniel J. Schroeter --Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Youssef and the Jews of Morocco During the Second World War: New Discoveries /Joseph Chetrit --Centering the Margin: Family Networks, Occupational Mobility and Saharan Jews /Aomar Boum --Jewish Bodies, Muslim Bodies, and French Medicine in Morocco /Jonathan G. Katz --Section 2. Cultural Commonalities --Sebaa Ouled Ben Zmirou in Jewish and Muslim Contexts: Return to the Dead and Encounters After Death /José Alberto Rodrigues da Silva Tavim --Invisible Neighbors: Demonology Between Jews and Muslims in Morocco /Noam Sienna --A Common Language: Popular Music in Morocco /Vanessa Paloma Elbaz --The Aḥwash: Articulations of a Shared Amazigh (Berber) Cultural Tradition in Morocco and its Diaspora /Sarah Levin --Section 3. Religious Traditions and Halakhic Developments --Liturgy: An Overlooked Space in the Moroccan Jewish Musical Map /Edwin Seroussi --The Image of Morocco in the Poetry of R. David Ben Ḥassin (1727-1792) /André Elbaz --Muslims and Christians in the Writings of 20th Century Hakhamim of Morocco /David Moshe Biton --Traveling Between Place and Faith: Moroccan Jews Migrating to the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century /Michal Ben Ya'akov --Takkanot Concerning the Inheritances of Wives and Daughters among Moroccan Rabbis in the 15th - 20th Centuries /Moche Amar --Rabbi Refael ben Dva"sh: Precursor of Moroccan Legal Activity /Elimelech (Melech) Westreich --Section 4. Memoirs in Word and Image --Memories of Jewish-Muslim Coexistence in the New Mellaḥ of Meknes and Jewish Heritage Conservation in Post-Colonial Morocco /Ahmed Chouari --Growing up in the Mellaḥ of Taroudant:Spaces, Time, Acquaintances and Rupture. A Memoir with Two Poems /Joseph Chetrit --Delacroix and the Jews of Morocco /Maurice Arama "Jews and Muslims of Morocco collects accounts of the intersecting worlds and emergent shared customs and culture, suggesting that the unique atmosphere in Morocco allowed for Rabbinic empowerment and a more practical approach to halakhah"-- Provided by publisher