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The Museum of Moroccan Judaism (, ) is a museum of Jewish life in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Morocco. Established in 1997, it is the only museum devoted to
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
in the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
. The museum, whose building originated in 1948 as a Jewish orphanage that housed up to 160 Jewish youth, was opened by King
Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...
on December 20, 2016.


History

Moroccan Jews Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 to 350,000 Jews in the country, which made Morocco the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world, but fewer than 2,500 remain today. The museum was initiated by Jewish Moroccans Serge Berdugo, Jacques Toledano, Bo­ris Toledano and
Simon Levy Simon Levy (born May 12, 1949) is a theater director and playwright who has been the producing director and dramaturg with The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles since 1993. Biography Levy was born in Surrey, England and grew up in San Fran ...
(1934 – 2011). Levy, a former professor at the University of Rabat, was also the administrator of the Foundation of Jewish Cultural Heritage. Prior to his role in preserving Moroccan Jewish culture, he was known as an activist for national independence and human rights from the time of the
French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
and the reign of King Hassan II. After its restoration, the building was rededicated as museum by King
Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...
on December 20, 2016. In addition to the king and Moroccan government officials, the opening was attended by the museum's president, Jacques Toledano, and
Samuel L. Kaplan Samuel Louis Kaplan (born 1936) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Morocco. He was appointed ambassador in 2009 by President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American ...
, US ambassador to Morocco.


Exhibits

The building, situated in the
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
neighborhood of Casablanca, covers 700 square meters and consists of a large multipurpose room and three exhibition rooms. The multipurpose room presents paintings, photographs, and sculptures of Jewish life in Morocco. The exhibition rooms contain ritual objects, historic documents, costumes and jewelry from religious and family life, in addition to reconstructions of Moroccan synagogues. Further, visitors can find artifacts of Moroccan Jewish life, including the bimah (c. 1944) from the Beni-Issakhar Synagogue in Casablanca,
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
scrolls,
mezuzah A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a '' klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the ...
s, and a
Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nig ...
menorah. The museum also touts a collection of Jewish Berber history, including costumes, jewelry, and hand-shaped ''khmisa'' pendants. Visitors can also observe a reconstructed jewelry-making workshop, which was created using the workbench and tools of Jewish
silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...
Saul Cohen. A historic Moroccan document about the persecution of Jews in North Africa by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the
Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
, commemorating the defeat of the
Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
in Africa, is the so-called ''Megilat Hitler''. This document was written by Asher Ḥassin, a Moroccan Jew and Hebrew teacher, who lived through the horrors of the Vichy regime and wrote this scroll in the style of the biblical
Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish '' Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the ...
. In January 2019, French-Moroccan opera singer David Serero donated a large part of his Moroccan Judaica art collection, the largest donation of Judaica artifacts ever donated to a Moroccan museum. One of the most notable items is the
preamble A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subj ...
of Morocco’s updated 2011
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
, which cites Hebraic influences as a pillar of national unity. Museum director, Zhor Rehihil, was quoted declaring that, “the new constitution emphasizes both ethnic and religious pluralism in Morocco.”


Pictures of the museum collection

File:One of the halls at the Moroccan Jewish Museum of Casablanca, Morocco.jpg, One of the halls of the Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca File:One of the halls at the Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca, Morocco.jpg, One of the halls of the Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca File:One of the halls at the Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca.jpg, One of the halls of the Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca File:The Book of Deuteronomy, Debarim. Hebrew with translation in Judo-Arabic, transcribed in Hebrew letters. From Livorno, 1894 CE. Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca.jpg, The
Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_ ...
, Debarim. Hebrew with translation in
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic dialects (, ; ; ) are ethnolects formerly spoken by Jews throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Under the ISO 639 international standard for language codes, Judeo-Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage under the code jrb, enco ...
, transcribed in Hebrew letters, 1894 CE File:A wall sign advising attendants of a Jewish synagogue on what to do during prayer. Moroccan Jewish Museum, Morocco.jpg, A wall sign advising attendants of a Jewish synagogue on what to do during prayer. File:Jewelry, once belonged to a Jewish family. Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca.jpg, '' Khmisa''
amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protect ...
s, once belonging to a Jewish family File:Pair of anklets, silver molded, city style. Once belonged to a Jewish woman. Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca.jpg, Pair of silver
anklet An anklet, also called ''ankle chain'', ''ankle bracelet'' or ''ankle string'', is an ornament worn around the ankle. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for at least over 8,000 years by girls and women in Indus Valley, ...
s, once belonging to a Jewish woman File:Megillah, Megillat-Hitler, Moroccan Jewish Museum, Casablanca.jpg,
Megillah Megillah ( he, מגילה, scroll) may refer to: Bible *The Book of Esther (''Megillat Esther''), read on the Jewish holiday of Purim *The Five Megillot * Megillat Antiochus Rabbinic literature *Tractate Megillah in the Talmud. *Megillat Taanit ...
, so-called ''Megillat-Hitler''


See also

*
History of the Jews in Morocco Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 to 350,000 Jews in the country, which gave Morocco the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world, but by 2017 onl ...
* Maghrebi Jews * List of Moroccan Jews


References


Further reading

*


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moroccan Jewish Museum Jewish Moroccan history Jewish museums in Morocco Jews and Judaism in Casablanca History of the Jews in Africa Religious buildings and structures in Casablanca Islamic and Jewish interfaith dialogue Islam and Judaism Museums established in 1997 1997 establishments in Morocco