In continuation of the spirit of community and solidarity, equality and mutual humanity present in Mimouna, the Moroccan Jewish-Muslim celebration of the end of Passover, we are delighted to invite our Jewish and Muslim communities to the first Mimouna celebration in West Philadelphia.
April 7th, 2018
4-7pm
Calvary Center for Culture and Community
48th & Baltimore Ave
Join us to share food and music together!
If you are able, please bring a vegetarian dish to share for our potluck meal.
Please do not season your food with wine or other alcohol, and this event will be alcohol-free.
Bringing your own dish, cup, utensils, and napkin is also encouraged to help reduce waste.
More on Mimouna from Brahim Benmbark:
Jews have been living in Morocco for two millennia. This extensive Jewish life in this North African country produced a culture, traditions as well as multiple rites that were forged in the daily interaction between the different populations that inhabited what would become the Moroccan nation-state. Divided into two categories– indigenous Jews and Andalusian Jews–, Moroccan Jewry is an exemplum of rootedness and openness, which produced one of the most fascinating Jewish cultures. One such fascinating aspect of Jewish-Muslim shared life in Morocco is the celebration of Mimouna—a secular party that announced the end of the Jewish fast of Passover. Mimouna, which means, among other things, prosperous, lucky and blessed, was an inherently North African moment of inter-religious dialogue between Jews and Muslim. During Mimouna Jews and Muslims transcend religious boundaries and embrace each other’s humanity. This Jewish-Muslim acknowledgement of each other takes different forms, which all enact a transformation in these two communities perception of each other. Muslim traditionally bring food for the Jews to break their fast and in so doing their gesture shows support to the Jewish communities. Additionally, Mimouna is a time for dance and merrymaking. These activities require a sense of proximity and a feeling of equality, which are also embodied in dance, wine drinking and the active transgression of religious boundaries. Interestingly, during Mimouna, the Jewish quarter becomes the center of the city or village universe whose throbbing heart is transferred for the duration of the celebration to the Jewish neighborhood. However, the lessons of Mimouna are far deeper and much more profound than just an exchange of festivities and victuals—Mimouna was, is and should remain one of the occasions in which Muslim-Jewish solidarity is embodied.
