Background music for reading, if you like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBoTwm5Rfk8
from JIMENA’s Passover & Mimouna guide:— SO much more at the link!! e.g., the unique Libyan Bsisa ceremony, which honors the central role of women during Passover, how the four questions are recited differently in Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Spanish (Ladino), why Sephardic and Mizrah Jews eat kitniyot (grains/seeds/legumes) on Passover while Ashkenazim don’t… it’s a wonderful webpage! For now, just to start:
| <big>2,400 years ago, a Jerusalem-based man named Hananiah wrote his brother Jedoniah a letter that [may be] the earliest discovered record of Passover rituals. The letter, written in Aramaic, [said] that the Persian King Darius II had granted the Jewish community of Elephantine, an island in the Nile River, permission to observe Passover. This “Passover Letter,” predates the Dead Sea Scrolls by four centuries and is now part of the Elephantine Archive. It includes the following instructions: “Count 14 [days in Nisan] and at [twilight?] on the 14th [from twilight observe Pesach?] from the 15th day to the 21st day of [Nisan] observe the festival of unleavened bread, eat unleavened bread for seven days. Do not work on the 15th and 21st days of Nisan … do not drink. ... And everything that is leaven take into your rooms and seal up between these days.” In it, we see first-hand how Passover rituals have evolved [reflecting] the fluidity of Jewish practices. We are reminded that what seems normal to each of us is completely relative and changes based on time, place, and circumstance. However, we are also reminded of the universal Jewish imperative of observing our Hebrew lunar calendar and of the central importance of Passover…. </big> |
Among Sephardic and Mizrachi communities in Morocco, Tunisia, West Asia, Israel, Europe, the Americas, and other places Jews of Maghrebi heritage live, nightfall ending the last day of Passover —this year, Sunday, 20 April 20—begins a24-hour neighborhood celebrationof music, dance, and potluck feasting. Friends and relatives of all heritages fill homes, gardens and yards, spilling out into the streets as they share foods forbidden the eight days of Pesach.
Sweets are especially traditional, perhaps parallel to the three dates and other dishes customary in the communal Iftar (theevening meal breaking the daily fast of the month of Ramadan). This diary’s title image is of a Moroccan date orchard. Read on as we explore some of the intertwined traditions, recipes, symbology, and music of the celebration. Get up and dance if you feel like it! — L’chaim!
Part ofthe sweet magic of Mimouna:
There are no formal invitations, and food is abundant and seemingly endless. The traditional greeting at Mimouna is Tirbah u’tissad (May you prosper and succeed),…
“Unity, acceptance and tolerance amongst Jews, and especially the value of cordial relations between Jews and Arabs, are all central to the Mimouna … We open our Mimouna to [all neighbors and friends. Everyone is] tired of living in a polarized, war-torn society, and Mimouna offers an experience when all of that goes away, at least for one night...”
“… We had cordial relations with our Muslim neighbors in Morocco, and Mimouna serves as a powerful reminder of that today....”
 <big>...like most timeless traditions, there are many theories [about the origins of what is] not only a feast, but a symbolic and spiritual event that marks the beginning of spring — a time full of [hope for abundance across the twelve months ahead]. Muslims took part in the celebration too, bringing milk and honey, hametzflours [see below] and couscous to their Jewish neighbors. Entire communities would come together [ to bake and prepare, wishing each other] mutual productivity and prosperity for the coming year. People traveled from house to house, tasting sweets and celebrating with their neighbors. [In Israel, Mimouna is so popular among people of all back-grounds that the next day is usually unpaid off from work ...to complete the full 24 hours of celebration … and perhaps sleep off the hangovers, if any.]...</big> |
 <big>Lalla Mimounasaint,* celebrated by the Jews of the Maghreb, and known thru’-out the Maghreb, especially in Morocco and Algeria. The [coastal town] ofLalla Mimouna ... in the province of Kenitrain Morocco bears [the saint’s] name. Jewishfamilies inTlemcen, Algeria, celebrate Mimouna…. (“saint” is a rough translation not meaning quite the same as in English.) Read down for the custom o going to the seashore, which you only can do in a coastal area. _____________ Some related wik pages & others:■ Berber Jews■Berbers[/Amazigh] (Barbary coast)■Moroccan Jews■Innov Gnawa“honors the strength of Moroccan national identity to transcend religious distinctions with a rare performance of the Jewish songbook of this ancient Moroccan musical tradition.”</big> |
Sprinkle your guests with mint! Iranian and Afghani Passover traditions include Seder participants playfully smacking each other with scallions right before singing “Dayenu”— it represents masters whipping slaves in ancient Mitzrayim. Read down for the mint sprinkling:
 <big>...In many communities, non-Jewish neighbors sell chametz back to Jewish families as a beginning of the celebration [let the baking begin!]:</big> 
<big>Moroccan and Algerian Jews throw open their homes … setting out a lavish spread of traditional holiday cakes and sweetmeats. One of the holiday favorites is Mofletta.[MOFLETTA HOW-TO VIDEO AT THE END OF THIS DIARY.]  The table is also laid with various symbols of luck and fertility, with an emphasis on the number "5," such as five pieces of gold jewelry or five beans arranged on a leaf of pastry. The repetition of the number five references the five-fingered hamsaamulet common in both Jewish and Muslim North African and Middle Eastern communities from [ancient] times. Typically, everyone at Mimouna celebrations is sprinkled with a mint sprig or other green dipped in milk, symbolizing good fortune and new beginnings. Early in the day of the Mimouna, families go to the sea, splash water on their face, and walk barefoot in the water, [re-enacting] the miraculous crossing of the Reed Sea, which is held to have taken place on the last day of Passover...</big> |
LALA Tamar"SHUFI FIYA""شوفيفيّ" - Arabic/Hebrew - Gnawa/Sahraoui vibe - live session—Written and composed with great love and admiration to the Gnaoua culture, based and inspired by the beautiful song, Ghzayel Meyel —“dedicated to the women to sing to each other with unconditional love — stay safe!” On April 5, 2022Morrocan & Israeli artists and consulates to the New England region celebrated Mimouna, dedicated in memory of Zohra El Fassia— Israeli-Moroccan singer and poet, first woman recording artist in Morocco and a pioneer of modern Arabic music — [featuring] musical performances by Grammy-nominated Samir LanGus (Morocco) and Itamar Borochov (Israel), as part of their collaboration on the Jewish Gnawa Project; a recording session from Agadir, Morocco, with singer Lala Tamar(Israel), and Mehdi Nassouli(Morocco); with a tribute to Jewish-Moroccan dances by Jackie Barzvi(U.S.), a Middle Eastern dancer and the creator of the Mizrachi Dance Archive. more info HERE
...Though [Mimouna] only began to be recorded in the middle of the 18th century...[7]
<big>...its derivation and etymology are ancient. Possibl[y the name comes from]: "Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef" (father of the Rambam Maimonides) [perhaps to] mark the date of his birth or death ... the Hebrew word "emuna" (... אמונה…"faith") or "ma’amin" (... מאמין... "I believe");... the Arabic word for "wealth" or "good luck"… as [midrash says that] on this day … the gold and jewelry of the drowned [pursuing army of] Egyptians washed up on the shore of the Red [Reed] Sea;… associated with "faith" and "belief" in immediate prosperity, as seen in its customs of matchmaking, and well-wishes for successful childbearing;...manna, which was the food [by which God sustained the mixed multitudeExodus 12:38 in Parashat Bo — Ex. 10:1– 13:16]…wandering in the wilderness...</big> |
LALLA MIMOUNA
 <big>[was an 8thcentury saint] celebrated by Moroccan Jews. Émile Dermenghem tells an anecdote about her: Abd al-Wahid b. Zayd wished to know who would be his neighbor in paradise and he was told, "O 'Abdalwahid, you will have for neighbor Mimoûna the black one". And where is she, this Mimoûna the black, he continued to ask with more audacity than discretion. At Banou-Un Tel, in Koûfa. He went to Koûfa and inquired about Mimoûna. It was, he is told, a madwoman who grazed sheep on the side of the cemetery. He found her praying. The flock was grazing all by itself and that was all the more wonderful because the sheep were mixed with wolves and the wolves did not eat the sheep and the sheep were not afraid of the wolves ...</big> |
Recipes/Food!
JIMENA email noted that since most grains are forbidden during the week of Passover, and time to prepare for Mimouna is short, desserts for the feast made in advance often are based on marzipan, nuts and fruit. Moufleta (mentioned above) is of wheat flour but very fast! See musical moffleta recipe video at almost the very end of the diary. Naturally, if any charoset actually remains from the week — I make a huge amount, myself, but magically there is rarely any left over! — it will be enhanced for dessert-making, altho’ some North African recipes already include bananas, dates, pistachios and cardamom. More:
🍊 Mimouna: A Delicious Way to Celebrate the End of Passover ■■ 🍊 Nosher.8 Jewish Persian Dishes to Try,“From herbaceous kuku sabzi to comforting gondi, you'll love every one!”■■🍊 ibidThe Jewish cuisines of Morocco, Tunisia and Libya “are influenced not only by Jewish traditions, but also the Mediterranean and Arabic cultures that surround them. Meals are often centered around vegetables or fish and couscous, and spiced with aromatic spices like turmeric, ginger, hot peppers, cinnamon, paprika, saffron, caraway and cumin...” ■■🍊 recipes fromjewishfoodsociety.org ■■🍊 Bimuelos/buñuelos, fried doughnuts originally from Spain with developed variations following expulsions of the Jews from Iberia, 1492 onward, such as baklava style, among others, at TasteOfHome.com where you’ll also find carciofi alla giudìa, a Jewish recipe for fried artichoke that all denizens of Rome enjoy. Plus matzo pie with fillings of spinach and cheese (resembling spanikopita), or ground beef or lamb, other meats, seasonal spring vegetables like leeks, asparagus or artichokes, and for vegans with cashews, avocado and dairy-free shredded cheese. And more! ■■🍊Recipes from marocmamma.com■■🍊 Tangerines!“The name was first used for fruit coming from Tangier, Morocco”[3] As Jewish feminists know, Dartmouth College Jewish studies professor Susanna Heschel (daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel) originated the idea of an orange on the Seder plateto represent the fruitfulness of gay and lesbian Jews, directing celebrants to eat an orange wedge and spit out the seeds in repudiation of homophobia and misogny. It’s popular also to say it’s a feminist act defying any men who say women don’t belong in the rabbinate (& House, & Senate, & WhiteHouse!) — yeah, like oranges don’t belong on the seder plate. Ha! Instead of having a messy orange to cut up, a tangerine per person peels nicely, you lose none of the delicious juice to drips, and you still get to spit pits! Why not for Mimouna too. Chances are, it will be mostly women preparing the celebration, after all! :D ■■🍊
SamirLangus (Morocco) who partners with Itamar Borochov (Israel) on the Jewish Gnawa Project.
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<big>Mechtaly [speaking of one of her paintings]: ... the product of some personal research that sort of blew my mind suggesting strong ties between Gnaoua, Moroccan Mysticism and Judaism. Lalla Mimouna is a saint often mentioned and revered by Gnaoua musicians. Some tell the story of how she saved a slave by showing up in the middle of the Sahara desert and offering him a water canteen when he was about to die of thirst. The slave, who was inspired by the sound of water in a leather canteen, later created Gnaoua music and told others the story of Mimouna, his savior. Interestingly, Lalla Mimouna today is a small village in the south of Morocco that was built around a water source named after the saint. Mimouna is also a festive occasion celebrated by Moroccan Jews at the end of Passover where Muslim neighbors traditionally visit Jewish homes carrying baked goods and leavened foods that aren’t allowed in Jewish homes during Passover. The story of Passover is a story of slavery, freedom, desert crossing and miracles, very similar to that of Gnaoua. What’s even more fascinating is that Gnaoua musicians [visit] the village of Lalla Mimouna every year around the time of Passover to pay their respect to Lalla Mimouna’s spirit in a three day pilgrimage. [There’s a lot of overlap in symbolism between the Gnaoua pilgrimage to Lalla Mimouna and Passover‘s exodus,] Passover commemorates the journey from spiritual slavery to spiritual freedom, which is a central concept in Gnaoua music….</big> |
This next video is of a recent celebration organized by the Mimouna Association, a Moroccan non-profit originating in 2007 as a Muslim student-run club at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, to promote Jewish heritage and interfaith dialogue around the country.[2]"One of the founding principles of the Association is to reclaim the cultural diversity of Morocco through its history...”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKl68QNGOM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ti-e2bY0mE
Musical Moufleta How-TO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3GQXm5Uukk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPbCdrFBvcQ
Some terrific Jewish Maghrebi Gnawa music by Ravid Kahalani ... you might want to turn the volume down a little! :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5APzfs4TB04
As we acknowledge our ancestors’ struggles, and welcome their bringing us reasons to celebrate as well, let us remember the Passover tradition that calls upon us to remove drops of wine from our cup of joy for every plague recited in the Haggadah, for it was and is not ourselves alone who have suffered —
<big><big><big>אַפריילעכןפּסח
</big></big> — a freilachn Pesach
<big><big>Ikun ‘lik ‘el-’id mbark</big></big>
Happy Passover</big>
—no cup of joy can ever be full until ALL can enjoy secure places for families to live, with good neighbors, food sovereignty, health, livelihood, a trustworthy view of the future for their children, and the right to observe and celebrate their own traditions in joy and safety in their own days.
