Taroudant, Morocco- Day 1

After a long night of deadlines (our paper before each trip, which was due at 11:55 pm Saturday night, and having our bags packed, because there is a small time slot to put our things in storage), gross, cold pizza at midnight, and a crazy finish to the Syracuse-Louisville game, Kivunim 2012-13 embarked on our second of four trips this year. We boarded the bus at 1:30 am for what may have been the longest traveling day of our entire lives- 21 STRAIGHT HOURS. And when I say straight I mean it. It’s not like we had a five-hour layover or something like that. We went from Tel Aviv to Istanbul, Istanbul to Casablanca, Morocco, and then, after our warm welcome in Casablanca,

we drove 7 hours south to Taroudant. When we arrived in Turkey we went straight to the next gate where we boarded no more than thirty minutes later.

We arrived in Taroudant at around 9pm, went straight to dinner, and from dinner to bed. After virtually 36 hours with no solid sleep, all of us were happy to get horizontal regardless of the facilities, but a few of us got a slight adrenaline rush after seeing our rooms. Four of us, myself included, had the privilege to stay in two-story rooms with two queen size beds, two bathrooms, a living space, and larger than necessary porches.  The porch in my room was so big they could have used half of it as an extension to our room and it still would have been big enough to accommodate our whole group… twice. However the coolest part of the hotel was the fact that it was built as a palace for the prince of Morocco in the 12^th century. It resided just inside the city walls, which are from the same period. What makes Taroudant really awesome is the city is still inside the same walls it has been in for hundreds of years.

In the morning we left at 9 for the souk (shuk) where they are known for their leather products and colorful spices (mom, Gabriella, and Oma let me know if there’s anything you want. That goes for everyone else too, of course).

 Honestly it was not very eventful, but it was still a nice way to start our Moroccan experience. Then we drove about an hour to the small village of Arazane with a very interesting and touching story.
Before I tell you this story though, I should give you a quick preface of necessary knowledge. Morocco had a large Jewish community for centuries. After the destruction of the first temple many Jews began migrating west, and some eventually settled in Morocco. The Jewish community became a constant here until after the Holocaust. Now you might be thinking that the fate of the Jews in Morocco was the same as the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, but thankfully the story has a much happier ending. Despite the Nazis coming to Morocco and setting up Labor camps, virtually all the Jews of Morocco survived. So what happened to all the Jews? After the establishment of Israel, almost all the Moroccan Jews immigrated to the new Jewish state.

So now here’s the story. When the Jews left Arazane in 1960 the Rabbi gave the key of the synagogue to Harim, a local Berber Muslim man. A Berber, for those who don’t know, is a native of North Africa. The Rabbi asked Harim to give the key to any Jew who came asking for the synagogue. He held the key for over 40 years until Raphie, our tour guide, came to him because he had heard there used to be Jews there. When Raphie came to him asking for the synagogue Harim handed him the key and responded, “Baruch HaBah.”

When we arrived to Arazane we walked through the winding streets until we came to the synagogue. There we met Harim and heard his story. Peter Geffen, the founder of Kivunim, brought to our attention how remarkable Harim was. He held onto this key for close to 50 years when he could have used that space for himself and his family of seven kids. We sang Ashrei in the shul and put up a mezuzah, then went on our way. We ate lunch and then drove the rest of the day to Errashadiya.