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Mizrachi Passover

15 years ago
3 Comments
by ck
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This is for me!

yehudipassover

Sigh. Every year around this time, without fail, my Mom asks me if I’m coming to Montreal for Passover. Since I’ve moved to Jerusalem however, while I’ve been back to Montreal, I never come back for Passover. “Mom!” I say, “every year when I was with you guys we’d end the seder with ‘Next year in Jerusalem!’ Now I’m here and you think I’m going to leave? Especially for Passover?” That might seem a bit, I don’t know, insensitive maybe? But it’s really no reflection on how much I actually miss my parents and my sisters and my cousins and nephews and new niece and my Aunt Dina and Uncle ernie and Safta Julie z”l. Our seders are very special, at least to me, and certainly to our guests who are served a but gusting array of delicacies. And the seder? I think it’s the only seder anywhere where you will hear traditional Mizrachi, random Ashkenazic AND Arabic tunes.

We have an Arabic seder and all the kids groan when my Dad pulls it out but… well, I miss it. Luckily, I found darkeabotenou.com (the paths of our Fathers) wherein you’ll find a whole series of YouTube videos featuring traditional Moroccan Jewish piyutim in French, Ladino, Hebrew and… Arabic. Here’s a couple!

Chad Gadya:

Echad Mi Yodeia:

These seriously make me misty. So before I actually tear up, I better watch this clip from popular Israeli TV Comedy show, Eretz Nehederet. It depicts a Passover Seder featuring recurring Mizrachi wedding entertainers Momi and Shirel. It’s not really what we’re like and is more a reflection of the ever so clever ya’ani “cosmopolitan” Tel Avivians who write the skits, but that’s kind of what makes it funny. The caricatures are so over the top that I can’t help but feel warmth towards Momi and Shirel and just a little contempt towards the writers. But let it never be said that Moroccan Jews can’t take a little ribbing! After all:

מרוקאים לא עצבניים, מעצבניים אותם

I can’t translate that, or the video, but enjoy it anyway and have a great Passover! Miss you Mom and Dad and Sandy and Tanya and Tiffy and Noam and Jordan and Eyal and Avia. Come visit!

As for the rest of you, have a happy Passover! Well… most of you anyway. 😉

ck
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ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

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3 Comments

  • Pesach seder should be in the language the kids understand.

    That was probably Arabic for little north African Jews.

    Ever year that I’ve been on the grownup side (making the seder) – I get an urge to chuck the standard text and do something more improvisational that will “interest the kids”.

    Ironically it is the kids who insist on the traditional text. But that may be because their teachers load them up with little commentary things to say on the haggadah.