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Inside Life In
Jewish Morocco

ilif ia BARBARA KINGSTONE

r. Livingston's,
...I presume.

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

During a recent visit to Morroco,
I discovered Jewish life in the
neighboring cities of Agadir and
Marrakesh.
Agadir's Temple Beth-El is an
Orthodox Sephardic synagogue. ,
A passerby would never guess
this unassuming building was a
house of worship for the 50 Jew-
ish families who live in this sea-
side resort city.
Temple Beth-El doesn't have
a view of the ocean; it is in a more
commercial area surrounded by
business buildings, with the
Chamber of Commerce close by.
But nothing in Agadir is too far
away. Through the white stucco
entrance, I found myself in a gar-
den courtyard. The synagogue it-
self is modest but charming, with
chandeliers hanging over the bur-
gundy velvet chairs that face
each other. Large menorot flank
the bimah.
This small synagogue does
have minyans, Rabbi El Hadad
told me, but only three times a
week — Monday, Thursday and
Saturday. However, come the
High Holidays, not only do the
city's observant attend the ser-
vices, but visitors to the Jewish
seaside oasis are welcomed. One
of the young caretakers told me
children come to learn here; how-
ever, he didn't know if it was a
weekly or daily. occurrence.
During my trip to Morocco, I
had asked various local people

/—'

about life and conditions for the
remaining Jews in this North
African country. Rabbi El Hadad
agreed with everyone I had asked.
`There are no difficulties and cer-
tainly no reason to leave. My fam-
ily and I are staying. Life is
comfortable," he told me.
There were once over 250,000
Jews living in Morocco and now
there are 22,000. It's too small a
population for any other political
or religious faction to fear.
Neighbor to Agadir, Mar-
rakesh is one of the largest cities
in Morocco. Even though Jews
have lived for centuries in Mar-
rakesh, the marketplace hardly
seemed like the area where I'd
find one of the five still existing
synagogues. Narrow, maze-like
alleys are filled with ragged-look-
ing children, dirtied by playing
in the sand and mud of the lanes,
so narrow that passersby can't
help but elbow each other. This
is the mellah — the old Jewish
Quarter. "Mellah" means salt:
Some Jews were salt traders in
this area.
A turn down a darkish street
gives way to a somewhat brighter
area, where you find La Zama, an

INSIDE LIFE page 116

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