I am sitting in MHBJ enjoying the ice cream and ample sundae toppings that are leftover from our Beijing Shavuot ice cream party. I was not around to partake during the holiday because I went to Morocco for the last two weeks to visit my brother, who was studying abroad in Rabat.
I had an incredible experience in Morocco with a group of Jews who celebrate Shavuot every year together in the middle of the Atlas Mountains on the site of a former Jewish community that used to have a thriving yeshiva, shul and homes. Now it is simply an abandoned compound in the middle of Arab villages, but once a year these Jews descend upon the area to pray to a rabbi that is buried there, who they believe performs miracles. This is called a hiloula, which is a special Moroccan Jewish custom.
I haven't even begun to give you the details that will serve to both illuminate this scene and at once make it seem more complex. I am writing about this hiloula ritual for the Jewish press and also producing a short video, and I will upload those links to the blog so you can learn more.
Since I left Morocco I have been thinking about the issues of galut, of Jewish communities in the diaspora. In Morocco, Jews have a long history, longer than Islam I think, and have enjoyed established community. In China, Jewish history is much shorter and scarcer, yet I left Morocco thinking that it is preferable for me to be a Jew today in China. Do you think where you live is preferable for a young Jew today? Why, and if not, where is it most preferable?
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