Saint Veneration Among the Jews in Morocco

Couverture
Wayne State University Press, 1998 - 388 pages

Among Moroccan Jews, saint worship is an important cultural characteristic, practiced throughout the population. Saint Veneration among the Jews in Morocco, the only book in English on this topic, contains essential information about Moroccan Jewry not available anywhere else. The Hebrew edition, published by Magnes Press in 1984, has become a standard classic in the study of the history, culture, and religious practices of Moroccan Jewry.

In this new English language edition, based on ten years of fieldwork, Issachar Ben-Ami provides the basic historical and ethnographic information about saint veneration. He illuminates the intricate network that connects the saints and their faithful followers, while revealing the ideological fundamentals that sustain the interrelationship and ensure ritual continuity.

Using material selected from more

than 1,200 testimonies collected during the course of his research, Ben-Ami describes historical and legendary types of saints, customs and beliefs related to the saints or their sanctuaries, and the practices and ceremonies that take place during or outside the hillulah, the the festival that celebrates the anniversary of the death of a saint. Two chapters are dedicated to a comparison with the cult of saints among the Muslims in Morocco as well as to the relationship between Jews and Muslims in Morocco in what concerning saint veneration.

In addition, Ben-Ami has included an exhaustive list of 656 saints-25 of whom are women-as well as documentation of the burial sites and legendary stories of the saints' lives as they have been told by their followers and worshippers in Israel. Also included are popular creative works such as legends, stories, dreams, and songs extolling the greatness and miraculous deeds of the saints.

The picture that emerges from this study is that of a strong community of believing Jews who lived in the expectancy of the coming of the Messiah and welcomed miracles as part of their routine life. With the immigration of the

Jews of Morocco to other countries, this fascinating world has disappeared, although it has found new ways of expression in Israel.

 

Table des matières

List of Illustrations
9
Part
11
Introduction
13
Terms Used to Designate Saints
19
Genesis of a Saint
23
Slaughter ritual continued 220 262 264 268 270 276
24
Venerator See Worshipper 29 31 52 66 70 90
29
Families of Saints and Their Descendants
35
Saint Worship as Practiced by Jews and Muslims in Morocco
147
Visit to the saint See Pilgrimage 146n 17 156 197n 18 204 226
156
Study of Torah and Talmud 2425 161 163 169n 45 203 210
161
Moroccan Jewry and Saint Worship in Israel
171
Conclusion
181
Part
190
Tales and Legends
201
Vow 49 50 54 55 56 57 59n 12 227 238 249 251 253 258
227

The Saints and Erets Yisrael
41
Saints and Their Disciples
49
Saints as Miracle Makers
61
Saints and the World of Nature
75
Dreams in Saint Veneration
85
The Hillulah
93
Poems and Songs of the Hillulah
105
The Communal Organization around the Holy Sites
125
Relations between Jews and Muslims in Saint Veneration
131
Tales and Legends
305
Dates of the Hillulah
322
Map of Jewish Saints
326
List of Saints According to Their Burial Place
327
Glossary
336
Bibliography
341
Index of Saints and Their Tombs
355
General Index
375
Droits d'auteur

Expressions et termes fréquents

À propos de l'auteur (1998)

Issachar Ben-Ami is a senior researcher and lecturer in the department of Jewish and Comparative Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. from Georg-August University in G6ttingen, Germany, and is the author of several books including Moroccan Jewry: Ethno-Cultural Studies (Hebrew and French); Jewish Holy Men of Morocco and Their Miracles (Hebrew); and Thousand and One Jewish Proverbs from Morocco (Hebrew).

Informations bibliographiques