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XJU SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
11
A Day With the Jews of North Africa
Tlirough the powerful telescope in the
fortress of Gibraltar at the peak of the
rock, on a clear day, one can see the towns
of Tangiers and Ceuta, across the narrow
strait, gleaming in all their white-washed
desert splendor, like an often imagined
vision of Oriental loveliness. The perpetual
North African sun seems to impart a bit
of warmth even to our damp vantage
point, but it is purely imaginary, and with
my teeth chattering from the early morn
ing chill I scramble down the torturous
path to the dock, to learn that the trip
can be made in the time that it takes to
smoke a medium-sized Spanish cigar. Or
as the Captain says, “en un puro encen-
dido”, so on his guarantee that no time
shall be lost, I purchase deck passage for
20c and half an hour later am on another
continent, face to face with the clock-
tower near the Tangiers city gate.
Here, as in Spain, the donkey is the
most popular means of transportation, and
with his long robes trailing in the dust
and bare legs dangling listlessly, the
haughty Moor rides through the sun
baked streets to the Saturday morning
“Soko” in the central square, where his
Fez-clad brethren are deep in the throes
of the type of bargaining that includes a
complete recital of family shortcomings
and eternal condemnation, in no uncertain
Arabic phraseology. The commodities ar
ia,veil on the ground for public inspection
are, for the most part, articles of wearing
apparel, from yellow leather sharp-toed
sandals to hooded black silk wrappers and
bolts of kashmiri cloth. Scented soap is
as important to the well-being of the Moor
' ‘ood, but from my experience with the
articular brands they favor, I have found
;it its cleansing properties are subordi-
aud to the pleasing odors of myrrh and
pine that perfumes the voluminous folds
the national costume, and the neatly
' xe( l displays are certainly more attrac-
to the eye and the sense of smell than
neighboring fly-infested meat bazaar,
be heat and the dust become almost
wearable as noon approaches and I am
■ ut to forsake the crowded market-place
search for a cool doorway or even the
dlest patch of shade in the shimmering
nets, when I hear the sound of distant
nting and the faint clash of cymbals,
announces the Sabbath pilgrimage
he Rabbi and the Shamus from the
! agogue. Throughout the year, despite
weather, they bring a small portion of
congregation to the town on this
kl y visit, to solicit alms by reciting
srs for departed relatives of Chris-
b Moor and Jew alike, showing a sur-
n g fraternity of religious purpose.
Sabbath In Tangiers
By SYDNEY OPPENHEIM
In this sketch you are taken for a stroll
through the crowded market place of Tan
giers on a Saturday forenoon. A fascinat
ing description by an American journalist,
formerly on the staff of the Chicago Daily
Mews, written exclusively for the Southern
Israelite.
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The Rabbi, I see, has retained the tradi
tional beard and his smoothshaven head
is covered by a black skull-cap, but his
dress is that of the Moor and had I not
recognized the familiar inflection of the
“nigen” that accompanies the prayers for
departed souls, I might have missed the
full significance of the feeling that exists
between three races so utterly dissimilar.
They first stopped near the entrance to
the market, and in Hebrew, Arabic,
French and Spanish the Shamus chanted
the opening benediction for the peoples of
Northern Africa that have undergone
countless years of religious and social per
secution, and urged all those in need of
spiritual consolation to join the Rabbi
and mourners in prayers for the dear de
parted. A hush overspreads the entire
assembled crowd of buyers and sellers in
the bazaars, and small groups began to
gather, no one of whose members was im
pelled by curiosity, and each stood with
head bowed, in a state of devotion in
spired by the beautiful memories the
Rabbi’s chant invoked. As it drew to a
close, the crowd thinned out and the pro
cession moved on, but there were a few
who deserted their immediate earthly
pursuits, and by the time the main street
had been traversed, the original number
of worshippers had been more than tri
pled, and at each new point still more
ioined in this brief noon-day service,
placing small offerings in the Shamus’
hand after touching their forehead, in
true Moorish fashion.
I followed the bent figure of the Rabbi
with my eyes as far as the haze of heat
and dust would permit and then decided
to add my unworthy presence to his con
gregation, and as I hurried after them
through the narrow street, many donkey-
trains and herds of goats were pressed
against the w^alls of overhanging houses
to allow them a respectful and unob
structed passage. When the shadow of the
mosque was reached, those of divergent
faiths heeded the call of the Muzzim and
entered to continue their meditation on a
prayer-rug, surrounded by inscriptions
from the Koran. But the transition was
more physical than spiritual, for they had
worshipped at another altar and found a
certain measure of comfort, and now were
able to continue to a higher degree in the
understanding of Mohamet’s teachings.
There is an outstanding similarity be
tween certain portions of the Koran and
the Old Testament, but I had never fully
realized the depth of mutual sympathy
and accord between the application of
Judaism in its true relation to the numer
ous tangent faiths of the Orient, and
Mohammedanism.
The Synagogue of Tangiers stands high
up in the hills behind the town and is of
distinctly Moorish architecture, although
devoid of the endless religious inscriptions
that characterize the native Tangerian
places of worship. As w’e began the long
winding ascent, the strategic possibility of
its position occurred to me, and I learned
from the Shamus that it has always
served as a place of refuge in times of re
ligious uprisings and until Spanish rule
brought a definite law and order to bear
upon desert tribes, it had been destroyed
and rebuilt nearly thirty times within five
hundred years, but always stronger and
more securely constructed, and in the same
spot overlooking the town and the harbor.
The Jewish population, numbering less
than 2 000 lives today clustered about its
protecting walls much the same, in out
ward appearance and customs, as it did
many years before the first invasion of
their sanctuary and my impression was
one of homecoming to my own people, in
their true environment.
Women dressed in long white robes
gathered loosely at the hips by a colored
cord, bare feet caressing the soft earth
and balancing water-jugs on their head,
on the way to and from the fountain near
the Temple, had the pure olive skin and
fine features of a race untouched by inter
marriage. Beauty and poise the Bible tells
us Rebecca and Esther had, within intelli
gence and sympathy of understanding that
has been preserved through centuries of
purposeful segregation and in their domes
tic life enjoy the same simple tastes.
There are many looms, for their princi
pal source of income is the traffic of rugs,
tapestries and finer materials with the
Moors, once the scourge of the land, for
food and earthen-ware. For although the
copper-workers and jewelry craftsmen of
the hill-colony are famous throughout the
north of Africa and the Orient for their
exquisite bracelets, hammered necklaces
and plaques there are few potters and the
land in this particular part of the country
is too arid for farming, so that in a sense
they are semi-dependent, which may prove
to be a valuable asset to their continued
cultural development.
Copyright 1981 by S. A. F. S.