Closing Message - Rabbanit Bracha
View video version here.
Many years ago, I was invited to my Morrocan neighbors for their Mimouna celebration, starting just hours after Pesach concluded. My family was busy cleaning and scrubbing, transferring the last of our Pesach food to chametz containers, when laughter and music wafted into the hallway of our apartment building from the floor above. We changed our clothes and went upstairs to find an open door, bright lights, and celebration.
I was amazed to see them set up so quickly after chag, their table laden with delicacies such as couscous au lait, candies made of nougat rolled in nuts and sesame, almond crisps, and candied orange peels dipped in chocolate. A delicious scent filled the air as my neighbor fried batches of the traditional mufleta, crepes filled with butter and honey. There was a festive feeling in the room which was filled beyond capacity with men, women and children, all dressed in holiday clothing, laughing and dancing. In the center of it all was my neighbor, in a traditional white and gold ceremonial dress, glowing, as she handed out fresh mufleta and urged everyone to eat.
The Mimouna began as a Morrocan holiday which has since spread to other North African communities and is now widely celebrated in Israel and other locations around the world. Various suggestions are offered for its Jewish origins and over time it has evolved with a solid character of its own. Fresh, piping-hot traditional foods are made from the chametz bought back after Pesach. The front door is open to all, and blessings for health, wealth, and mazal, luck, are showered on all the guests.
The Mimouna was described this way by a member of Bet Aharon, our Sephardic minyan: “We are now free, after the holiday of Pesach, and we can celebrate as free people!”
I leave you with the traditional Mimouna blessing:
תִּרְבָחוּ וְתִסְעַדוּ: Tirvachu Vetisadu!
“May you be prosperous so you can help others!”
Reminder to all to take good care of ourselves and each other. Try to do something specific today that strengthens you, and something else that strengthens someone else.
