Mimouna
Encyclopedia
Chametz
Chametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
, i.e., leavened bread and bread by-products, which are forbidden throughout the week of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
.
Origin of name
Some believe the source of the name is Maimon, the father of the Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, and the Mimouna marks the date of his birth or death.Recent research by Yigal Bin-Nun provides another point of view, suggesting that Mimouna is a relic of a paganism ritual to "Lady Luck".
Customs
The celebration begins after nightfall on the last day of Passover. Moroccan and Algerian Jews throw open their homes to visitors, after setting out a lavish spread of traditional holiday cakes and sweetmeats. One of the holiday favorites is MoflettaMofletta
Mofletta is a North African-Jewish pancake traditionally eaten during the Mimouna celebration, the day after Passover.Mofletta is a thin crepe made from water, flour and oil. The dough is rolled out thinly and cooked in a greased frying pan until it is yellow-brown in color...
. The table is also laid with various symbols of luck and fertility, with an emphasis on the number "5," such as five pieces of gold jewelry or five beans arranged on a leaf of pastry.
In Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the Mimouna has become a popular annual happening featuring outdoor parties, picnics and BBQs. After settling in Israel, Jewish immigrants from North Africa (Maghrebim
Maghrebim
Maghrebi Jews are Jews who traditionally lived in the Maghreb region of North Africa , established Jewish communities long before the arrival of Jews expelled from Spain; see Alhambra decree...
) celebrated the Mimouna with their families. In 1966, it was introduced as a national holiday, and has been adopted by other ethnic groups, mainly in the Mizrahi sector.
In 2006, the Moroccan Jewish community
History of the Jews in Morocco
Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. Before the founding of Israel in 1948, there were about 250,000 to 350,000 Jews in the country, but fewer than 7,000 or so remain.-Under the Romans:...
of Paris, France, celebrated the holiday publicly for the first time.
The festival has been celebrated by Amsterdam's Moroccan Jewish community for many years.