Mystic Flower

Al Pasar Por Casablanca - Romance de Don Bueso

2011-12-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

Al Pasar por Casablanca - Don Bueso - Una Tarde de Verano are different names for this pan-Mediterranean Romance which deals with the fear of captivity and the relief of release--a common concern during times of Reconquista and Inquisition.

We chose to shoot the video in the dramatic landscape of the American Southwest, stark and reminiscent of certain places in Morocco, but in the "new world" where many Sephardic Jews fled to escape forced conversions in the 15th century.

Today we are witnessing the awakening of thousands of descendants of these very Sephardim to their ancestral religion.

La Serena

2011-12-19T01:58:00.001-08:00

excerpt from Mystic Siren: Women's voice in the balance of creation ©Gaon Books 2007

This entire song refers to our spiritual awakening and the different stages through which we must pass to reach a point of spiritual transformation that culminates in mystical ecstacy. First, there's a search for identity, then a confrontation of pain, finally a question of what's the source of love. At this point the realization of the soul comes into the song and the desire to connect with the soul, a sadness for time lost and the excitement of finally consummating the connection.

If the sea were of milk
and boats were of cinnamon
I would stain myself completely
to save my banner.

If the sea were of milk
I would become a fisherman
I would fish out my pain
with words of love.

If the sea were of milk
I would become a salesman
walking and asking
where does love begin?

In the sea there's a tower
in the tower there's a window
in the window there's a girl
who loves sailors.

Give me your hand, dove
so I may come to your nest
wretched are you who sleeps alone!
I come to sleep with you.

Don't kill me with a knife
nor with a revolver
kill me with your love
I will die in your arms.

VIHUELA

2011-12-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

Here I go on a new musical adventure! I am recently the owner of this beautiful vihuela made by Rafael Weisman. It took months and all sorts of coordinations for it to make it to Casablanca from the mountains north of Taos New Mexico... Now to the adventure of learning to play it!
I encourage you to find out about vihuela's little known history and repertoire... I in turn plan to sing Romances to the vihuela, which was done throughout the 15th and 16th centuries... recordings and videos will be forthcoming!

article dans Le Matin

2011-12-15T02:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.lematin.ma/journal/Entretien-avec-Vanessa-Paloma-soliste-auteure_-Le-conte-nous-plonge-rapidement-dans-un-monde-onirique-/159887.html
lematin.ma art et culture
Entretien avec Vanessa Paloma, soliste, auteure
«Le conte nous plonge rapidement dans un monde onirique»
Publié le : 09.12.2011 | 17h41

L'artiste soliste Vanessa Paloma vient de faire paraître son deuxième ouvrage sur les contes du nord du Maroc. la parution en anglais: «The Moutain, the desert and the Pomegranate : stories of Morocco and beyond» devrait bientôt être suivie d'une traduction.

LE MATIN : Pourquoi avoir choisi d'écrire un livre sous forme de contes ?

VANESSA PALOMA : En fait, moi j'adore lire les contes. Je pense qu'étant donné que le conte est écrit dans un format court, il a la faculté de nous plonger rapidement dans un monde onirique. C'est donc plus facile pour les gens de lire un style plus léger, plus accessible, même si on est en présence d'idées profondes.

Pour pénétrer votre nouveau livre, quel angle de lecture recommandez-vous pour un public d'amateurs ?

C'est simple. Je pense qu'il faut juste le lire avec un esprit ouvert, ce qui permet au lecteur de voyager à travers le contenu.

D'où vous vient votre passion pour l'écriture ?

En fait, je suis chanteuse à la base et les chants que j'interprète sont issus d'une tradition orale racontant des histoires. C'est donc une manière orale d'écrire et les personnes ont tendance à relier l'écriture au papier, alors que les mots restent les mots. Personnellement, depuis toujours, j'adore l'écriture et les chants et c'est justement cette relation avec les mots, les histoires et les contes qui m'a incitée à aller vers l'écriture.

Que pensez-vous de la littérature marocaine ?

D'abord, il est très important de rappeler que la littérature marocaine est très ancienne et repose en grande partie sur la tradition orale. En effet, cette dernière est d'une richesse incroyable ! Et malheureusement, nous avons tendance à oublier ce côté oral. Quand il s'agit de littérature, on pense principalement au côté écrit et sacré du livre. Or, ce n'est pas toujours vrai. L'oral est plus fort que l'écrit, car il existe en chacun de nous. C'est la mémoire des anciens (les grands-parents, etc.). Dans ce sens, c'est une richesse, un héritage millénaire de la littérature marocaine qu'il faut valoriser et mettre en avant.

Qu'est-ce qui vous plaît particulièrement dans le genre du conte ?

Dans ce livre, il y a une partie qui relève purement de la fiction et une autre qui découle d'un vécu, d'une expérience personnelle que j'exprime. Et c'est justement dans cet apport varié que réside la richesse du conte. Chaque rencontre ayant sa magie et ce genre d'écrit donne du sens à ce qui est oublié, tout en faisant passer un message profond.

Vous avez grandi en Colombie, à Puerto Rico et aux États-Unis. Comment s'est fait le passage d'une culture à l'autre, par exemple pour écrire ce livre, qui trouve ses racines dans la culture marocaine d'antan ?

Je pense qu'on a trop tendance à se focaliser sur la différence des gens et à oublier ce que nous avons en commun. D'ailleurs, j'ai toujours pensé que le Maroc était très proche de l'Amérique latine et qu'il n'y avait pas une très grande différence entre ces deux cultures. J'ai toujours dit que le Maroc, c'est la Colombie en arabe. En partie, bien sûr, mais il y a plusieurs similitudes et c'est sur ce fond commun qu'il faut travailler. À ce propos, je prends l'exemple d'une chaise. Bien que cette dernière ait des appellations différentes d'une langue à l'autre, elle reste quand même une chaise en fin de compte. Et c'est là l'idée qu'il faut avoir et transmettre, à savoir qu'il y a des choses communes à l'humanité, avec des différences d'une culture à l'autre, et c'est justement cela qui fait la richesse de l'humanité.

On dit parfois que les contes nous plongent dans un monde irréel, fait de rêves et de fantasmes. Qu'en pensez-vous ?

À mon sens, il faut aller au-delà des apparences, car il y a d'autres niveaux de la vie, qui se déroulent en même temps que notre quotidien. D'où la nécessité de s'ouvrir à d'autres expériences, d'autres «mondes».

Parlons de votre nouveau roman. Comment est née l'idée de départ ?

En fait, je suis soliste à la base et aussi chercheuse en ethnologie. Donc voilà, j'avais des contes écrits antérieurement et ce que je chante est en étroit rapport avec les contes, exprimant parfois une réalité et parfois de la pure fiction. Donc voilà, du fait des thèmes que je chante, on m'a demandé d'écrire un livre pour mettre cet héritage oral sur papier. Au début, j'étais réticente et gênée, puisque ce n'était pas là mon métier, mais après je me suis rendu compte que tout mon travail, ma vie étaient autour du conte et que, d'une certaine façon, traduire cette littérature orale à l'écrit était en quelque sorte un devoir. C'est ainsi que j'ai décidé de me mettre à l'écriture.

Ce roman est intimement lié à votre pays d'origine, le Maroc. Que pouvez-vous nous dire sur votre relation à ce pays ?

J'ai des racines remontant à cinq générations au Maroc et suis originaire de Tétouan. Et c'est là une partie de mes racines. Au début, je suis venue en tant que chercheuse dans le domaine de l'ethnologie (les chants judéo-marocain des femmes du nord) pour ensuite m'installer définitivement. Une décision «mûrement» réfléchie, qui comporte un côté positif et, bien sûr, un aspect difficile, lié à l'intégration.

Votre roman est un véritable éloge du chant, où puisez-vous votre inspiration ?

C'est le chant qui m'inspire, surtout lorsqu'on voit ce moment de communion entres les gens que le chant crée. À mon avis, le chant a une grande force de ralliement, de cohésion… Pour transmettre une émotion pure, pour unifier les gens en les rassemblant autour d'un héritage commun. D'ailleurs, dans ce livre, il y a un compte qui s'appelle «Estrella» qui veut dire étoile.

Quels sont vos projets ? Sur quoi travaillez-vous en ce moment ?

En ce moment, je travaille sur plusieurs projets différents. Une recherche sur les femmes musiciennes au Maroc et je prépare également un mon travail doctoral à l'INALCO (La Sorbonne) par rapport aux femmes juives du nord du Maroc et la tradition orale, cette hybridité identitaire qui est très importante à découvrir pour faire un travail d'archivage.

Par Afaf Sakhi | LE MATIN

Recent article for reading at Villa des Arts

2011-12-15T02:44:00.001-08:00

SONG as an INTRINSIC part of PROPHECY

2011-11-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Thoughts to Ponder

No Mashiach Without a Song

Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Whether the angels play only Bach praising God, I am not quite sure;
I am sure, however, that en famille they play Mozart. (1)

When attending synagogue services around the world, one is often confronted with a lack of religious enthusiasm. In many synagogues, services are heavy and often depressing. It is not always the lack of concentration by the worshippers that makes synagogue services unattractive, but the absence of a song and passion. It is true that prayer is a most serious undertaking, yet our sages have often emphasized the fact that the opportunity to speak to the Lord of the Universe is a great privilege, which should bring much happiness to man. After all, for humans to converse with their Maker is something that has no logical basis. Who is man to speak to the King of Kings? This is even more surprising when one contemplates the fact that man has the opportunity to praise God with hymns and laudations. As the great German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe once said, “Wer einen lobt, stellt sich ihm gleich.” (He who praises another person places himself on the other’s level.) And as Aristotle said—probably referring to Plato—“Everyone may criticize him, but who is permitted to praise him?”

Most interesting is the fact that one of the ways we are able to identify the Mashiach is by his capacity and willingness to sing. In the talmudic tractate Sanhedrin (94a), Bar Kapara states that God intended to appoint King Chizkiyahu as the Mashiach, the ultimate redeemer of mankind, but eventually did not.

Chizkiyahu is known as one of the most righteous men the Jewish people has ever seen. He introduced significant religious reforms and was a man of outstanding devotion, committed to the highest level of morality. In fact, he was so successful in promoting Torah study that there was “no boy or girl, no man or woman in the land who was not well-versed in the religious laws of tahara and tuma – purity and impurity!”

Still, King Chizkiyahu was unable to teach the awe of God to his own son and heir to the throne, Menashe. King Menashe is known for his wickedness, and commentators observe that this was partially due to the fact that his righteous father did not know how to sing and was therefore unable to inspire him. We can be sure that Menashe was well educated in Jewish learning, but all such learning was academic and frigid, because the warmth of a song did not accompany it.
Most telling is that, as the sages inform us, King Chizkiyahu did not sing even after he experienced a great miracle that saved Israel from the hands of the wicked Sancheriv, the Assyrian king (ibid).

Being unable to sing is considered by our sages a serious and irreparable weakness that invalidates one from becoming the Mashiach (ibid). Indeed we find that all of King Chizkiyahu’s efforts to encourage Torah learning came to an end after he passed away. There is no future to Jewish education and Judaism without a song and passion.

This, however, needs some clarification. What is there in a song, not found in the spoken word, that makes it so crucial to the Jewish tradition?

It may be worthwhile to look at a highly irregular statement by the great rationalist thinker, Rambam. Discussing human reason and prophecy, he writes:

I say there is a limit to human reason, and as long as the soul resides
within the body, it cannot grasp what is above nature, for nothing that
is immersed in nature can see above it. Reason is limited to the sphere
of nature and is unable to understand what is above its limits…
Know that there is a level of knowledge that is higher than all philosophy,
namely prophecy. Prophecy is a different source and category
of knowledge. Proof and examination are inapplicable to it. If prophecy is genuine then it cannot depend on the validation of reason….
Our faith is based on the principle that the words of Moshe are prophecy
and therefore beyond the domain of speculation, validation, argument or
proof. Reason is inherently unable to pass judgment in the area from which prophecy originates. It would be like trying to put all the water in the world into a little cap. (2)

Music raises the spoken word to a level that borders on prophecy. It gives it a taste of that which is beyond and transforms it into something untouchable. There no way to explain the difference between a spoken word and one which is sung, unless one sings. It lifts a person out of the mundane and gives him a feeling of the imponderable, which is the entrance to joy. It sets the soul in operation and brings us near to the Infinite.

“Some men go on a hunger strike in the prison of the mind, starving for God,” said Heschel (3). Only song will free them. Prayer is our answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. “To be able to pray is to know how to stand still and to dwell upon a word” (4).This is true, even more so, when a group of human beings join in communal song.

When our sages inform us that one who is unable to sing cannot be Mashiach, it should be a message to all who want to be religious. Song with passion is crucial while praying and when trying to live a meaningful life. We are deeply indebted to Sephardic tradition, Chassidism and legendary figures such as Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l, for they have placed song in the center of modern Jewish life. While there is much more to Judaism than song and music, it is time that synagogue rabbis give this aspect of spiritual expression their devoted attention, teaching members of their communities to surprise themselves at what their souls are able to achieve. It is prayer in the form of song that makes this possible.

******
(1) Karl Barth quoted in his obituary, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 1968

(2) “Letter to Rabbi Chisdai” in Kovetz Teshuvot HaRambam Ve’iggerotav, Abraham Lichtenberg, ed. Leipzig: H.L. Shnoys, 1859. II, pp. 23a-23b

(3) Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1976. p. 90

(4) Abraham Joshua Heschel, Between God and Man, New York: Free Press, 1997. p. 206

Sukkot 5772 in Casablanca

2011-10-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

The deconstruction of building a sukkah in Casablanca--
FINAL step--enjoying the night air and an artistic moment with creatives in the city--
and before?
Abdelkader (the plumber!) built the structure and set up all the different materials, palm branches and date palm fruits-- you can see the city from the terrace while we were building it. I believe that this is possibly the highest Sukkah in Africa (14th floor)--does anyone have one higher? Please do let me know!
I got the branches a couple of blocks from our building on a busy corner, and from there they transported it over to the house in a pushcart and then they were hand carried up 14 floors because they didn't fit in the elevator--alas.
Thanks to all the wonderful Moroccan Muslims who made this sukkah possible! I think that this is a real example of what the sukkah symbolizes in unifying peoples and bringing different types together--

Mohammed V juste parmi les nations

2011-09-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

At Al Akhawin University in Ifrane and the Jewish Museum in Casablanca there was a conference to remember Morocco's King's counter to the Vichy's Statut du Juif, here is the New York Times' article on the conference

AUTO DE FE commemorating Crypto-Jews in Jerusalem

2011-08-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

AUTO DE FE
(the official name the Inquisition gave for the ceremony to burn people at the stake)

AUGUST 9 AT 9PM
Doors open at 8:45

A concert in Judeo-Spanish (Ladino, Haketía, Judezmo) of music as seen through the eyes of the Crypto-Jewish Community.

Starting with the forced conversions of 1391 that ravaged Spanish Jewish communities and culminating with the Expulsion Edict of 1492, the great community of Spanish Jews was decimated and splintered. Many converted, others migrated throughout the Mediterranean and to the Americas and the land of Israel. Those who converted and stayed in the Iberian Peninsula were confronted with five centuries of Inquisitional horrors and harassment.

This concert features music that was sung by Conversos in Europe, Spain and the Americas that kept them attached to their Judaism as well as modern compositions by their descendants. Songs from the community in Belmonte, Portugal, as well as from Anousi poets in New Mexico and California linger together with prayers kept through the generations by women.

In our generation we are witnessing the return of unprecedented numbers of descendants of Conversos back into Judaism. This concert is dedicated to them and their strength in withstanding the test of time.

Internationally renowned singer and researcher of Judeo-Spanish, Vanessa Paloma, on medieval harp and vocals will be accompanied by composer and performer Ariel Lazarus on guitar and Gonen Vizel on percussion.

Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center of the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
And Moreshet Yisrael Synagogue
4 Agron Street
Jerusalem, Israel

Arabic newschannel on our Mawazine show

2011-06-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

La Mujer en Paz

2011-06-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

en un palacio en las afueras de Casablanca, un frío dia de enero, lluvioso y húmedo hemos pasado horas y horas cantando canciones que evocan la paz, el amor y la profundidad del alma de tiempos pasados y presentes. Este grupo de mujeres, cada una con su aporte único, una orquesta de mújeres en Caftanes de sedas riquísimas con bordados detallados e instrumentos tallados se han unido a 3 otras de las 3 religiones monoteístas a cantar canciones de Mediterraneo en paz, con amor y desde el punto de vista de lo femenino. Musulmana, Cristiana y Judía recuerdan al-Andalus en el Marruecos contemporáneo.

MAWAZINE - Riad Al Achikat

2011-05-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

pre-concert photos with the band and 3 singers: Samira Kadiri, Begoña Olavide and Vanessa Paloma at the Villa des Arts-Rabat.

Concert at the 10th Mawazine Festival in Rabat 2011

2011-05-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

RIAD EL ACHIKAT
May 22 Villa des Arts Rabat 19:30

Introduced by Maroc cultures, this event is intended to honor women and their voices through the songs of the Mediterranean Basin. This exceptional initiative stages three singers from different cultural backgrounds but who share the same passion at the artistic level.
These world-famous classical singers have walked different paths and find themselves gathered to celebrate femininity of whatever cultures and traditions. The singers are:
- Vanessa Paloma is a singer, a writer and a lecturer. She studied Jewish mysticism in the old city of Jerusalem and continues her research in Morocco.
- Begonia Olavide is considered both for her voice and her talent as a musician. She is specialized in psaltery.
- Samira Kadiri is a Moroccan singer who has broken the boundaries between the two sides of the Mediterranean.
Three divas from whose origins are different (Christian, Jew, and Moslem are considered as the pioneers of intercultural mix. They unite splendidly to confirm "a feminine Riad" in the center of which are the soul, the beauty and the light.
Renowned for their golden voices and their passion for Mediterranean music (Andalusian-iberian), this exclusive group makes every effort to complete and to enrich women’s musical heritage.
In the same perspective, our three singers wish, through their voice, to celebrate in a concert agora musical "the woman" in the widest sense of the word. Indeed, Samira, Vanessa and Begonia delved into their rich musical heritage to illustrate women's diverse portraits: mother /Kayna/Mystical/Sublimated... To complete this edifying landscape, the feminine orchestra headed by Zakia Yekhlef and whose improvisations and musical calligraphy are impressive will unite with the three singers.
This program aims at transporting music lovers into a world of spirituality, mystery, harmony, intimism where "Eve" is the sole protagonist to confirm that she is the heart beating of the universe.

Initié par Maroc cultures, cet événement met à l’honneur les femmes et leur voix à travers les chants du bassin méditerranéen. Cette initiative exceptionnelle met en scène trois chanteuses de milieux Culturels différents mais qui partagent la même passion au niveau artistique.
Ces cantatrices de renommée mondiale ont eu parcours différents et se retrouvent unies pour célébrer la féminité quelles que soient les cultures et les traditions. Les chanteuses sont :

- Vanessa Paloma est chanteuse, écrivain et conférencière. Elle a étudié le mysticisme juif dans la vieille ville de Jérusalem et a continué ses recherches au Maroc.
- Begonia Olavide réputée tant pour sa voix que par ses dons de musicienne. Elle est spécialisée dans le psalterion.
L’instigatrice du projet qu’on ne présente plus puisqu’elle est à l’origine de ce fabuleux événement : Samira Kadiri
Les trois divas dont l’origine est différent (chrétienne, juive, et musulmane est considérées comme les pionnières de la fusion interculturelle. Elles s’unissent magnifiquement pour confirmer un « Riad au Féminin » au centre duquel se trouvent l’âme, la beauté et la lumière.

Réputées pour leurs voix en « or » et pour leur passion des musiques méditerranéennes (Andalousses-ibériques), cette gente exclusivement féminine s’évertuera à compléter et à enrichir le patrimoine musical féminin.

Dans cette même perspective, nos trois cantatrices souhaitent, à travers leur voix, célébrer dans un concert agora musical « la femme » au sens le plus large du terme. En effet, les dames Samira, Vanessa et Begonia ont puisé dans le riche patrimoine musical pour illustrer les divers portraits de femmes : Mère/Kayna/Mystique/Sublimée… Pour compléter ce paysage édifiant, l’ensemble féminin dirigé par Zakia Yekhlef et dont les improvisations et calligraphies musicales sont impressionnantes s’unira aux trois cantatrices.

Ce programme vise à transporter les mélomanes les mélomanes dans un monde de spiritualité, de mystère d’harmonie, d’intimisme ou « Eve » est seul protagoniste et surtout pour confirmer qu’elle est le cœur battant de l’univers.

Morena sos Dama - VANESSA PALOMA

2011-02-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Berberisca Tableau Vivant ASF

2011-02-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Images from the Tableau Vivant--beautiful embroidered cloths, color, music, ritual, song--bringing Jewish Morocco to Manhattan!

Tangier TuBiShvat

2011-01-24T13:09:00.001-08:00

Dulces, letuarios, pasteles y dulce lo vivas!

Tu Bishvat in Tangier is a combination of scents, cool evening breeze, laughter, candied fruit (letuario) and wonderful music.
Victoria Anidjar de Abergel and Levi Abergel hosted a wonderful soirée where we gathered with Muslims, Christians and Jews to celebrate the hidden potential that starts to reveal itself on this beautiful pre-spring holiday.

Tu Bishvat en Tánger es una combinación de aromas, risa, letuario, aire fresco del anochecer y música maravillosa. Victoria Anidjar de Abergel y Levi Abergel abrieron su casa para una velada maravillosa donde nos reunimos Musulmanes, Cristianos y Judíos para celebrar el potencial escondido que empieza a revelarse en esta maravillosa fiesta que anuncia la primavera.

Una Hija Tiene el Rey 2010 NYC

2011-01-11T05:23:00.001-08:00

Chada Al Alhane-Moroccan TV interview appearance

2011-01-05T05:30:00.001-08:00

I was interviewed on Chada Al Alhane--the first part is in Arabic... my intervention is in French, starts minute 5. enjoy!

La Rosa Enflorese - Los Bilbilicos - Tsur Mishelo

2011-01-05T05:16:00.000-08:00

Our women's day appearance on Chada Al Alhane, a Moroccan television's program on music. This video is with Begoaña Olavide, voice and psaltery; Samira Kadiri, voice and myself on voice and harp. We were accompanied by a women's orchestra from all Morocco in sumptuous Kaftan's and the filming was in a palace outside Casablanca. Magical.

LIMMUD UK 2010

2011-01-04T16:14:00.001-08:00

At Warwick in Coventry UK, 2,500 of us gathered for 5 days. This was a concert late Monday night the 27th of December where my dear friends & colleagues Judith Cohen (voice & percussion) and Rivka Gottlieb (modern harp) joined in the performance.

Radio show in Paris

2010-12-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Vanessa Paloma on Radio Shalom-Paris December 2010 by Vanessa Paloma

Sephardic Music Festival in New York 2010 at the Center for Jewish History under the auspices of the American Sephardi Federation

2010-12-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

As part of the exhibit on the 2000 years of Jewish Morocco, I was invited to the Sephardic Scholars Series of the Sephardic Music Festival. Samuel Thomas was the curator and organizer of the event and I performed with his d'Safi Takht Ensemble--we had a full house and made some beautiful music that night! Thanks to Sonia Cohen Azagury from Tangier who brought the headpiece & wrapped it so beautifully in the traditional manner. Here is one of the songs. Una Hija Tiene el Rey (Porqué no cantáis la bella?)

My New Book THE MOUNTAIN THE DESERT AND THE POMEGRANATE: STORIES FROM MOROCCO AND BEYOND

2010-11-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

I have just finished a book of short stories inspired in my life in Morocco, Jerusalem, California and others... Mystical, magical, mysterious and funny short stories that will bend your mind! Here is an excerpt from one:

The Desert is the Sahara. It is the largest desert in the world and runs across northern Africa from Egypt to Morocco. It separates the people of Mediterranean Africa, the people of the pyramids and Carthage from the Sub-Saharan Africans with ancient kingdoms of ivory and Shango. Their languages and cultures isolate them from each other in the way the desert cannot.
The Mountain is in the Atlas Mountain range in Morocco. It is a high Jbel (peak) that soars above the edge of the Desert into the coolness of the atmosphere, and it blocks the sandstorms of the Desert from visiting the rest of the land.
The Pomegranate was transported to the Desert and crossed the Mountain long ago. It is a special pomegranate that never dries out, and each of its seeds has magical qualities.
Then, the storyteller fell silent for a moment, and we all sat waiting for him to continue. Now that he had outlined the main characters, we were ready to hear what he would say. The stories I had heard during summer nights at Jama el Fna, in the heart of Marrakesh, were popular and improvised. Sometimes they had drums to punctuate the drama, or special lights. However, rumor had it this storyteller was different from the others, his stories changed people in a secret way. He went on…

It is an affordable paperback at $14--available on Amazon, BarnesandNoble and through Gaon Books.

enjoy and pass on the word!

www.gaonbooks.com

Rabbi Natan Lopes Cardozo on Prayer

2010-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

this is a photo of the Guimard Synagogue in Paris--just a photo I had in my files and wanted to share with you... not a reflection of this synagogue's prayer! I have never prayed there.

Chazanuth and the Challenge of Prayer (1)

Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Contemporary religious life is replete with challenges. In a highly secular society it is difficult to remain religious in its authentic sense. This often becomes especially clear when one enters a synagogue hoping for an uplifting religious experience. Sometimes, one gets the impression that one has entered a concert hall in which a musical performance is being conducted including songs of prayer dictated by decorum. Other times, the prayer service lacks any music and is, in fact, downright depressing.

It is most telling when people leave the synagogue remarking that it was a "charming service." Such an observation is a tragedy. It reflects a crisis suffered by thousands of synagogues, and one of its major causes is the infiltration of unfortunate dimensions of secularity into the halls of spirituality. Since the secular world is often not able to experience inner silence, it can do nothing but turn real spirituality into an external performance. This transforms a deeply religious service into a showcase, and the result is indifference to the holy.

On the other hand, sometimes worshippers are so busy making sure that every halacha concerning prayer is meticulously observed that there is no time any more to focus on the One to Whom they are speaking. Combined with the belief that serving God is an obligation that is so serious it must thwart any joy, the service becomes thoroughly depressing.

Most tragic is the role that many cantors play in all this. Sometimes they seem to forget that an important purpose of their chazanuth is to fight the secularization of prayers. Instead, they have joined the ranks of those secularists who seem to believe that it is not God Who is their audience but rather the community. On other occasions, cantors actually destroy any uplifting religious experience.

The task of the cantor is to pierce the armor of spiritual indifference. His purpose is to protest this indifference through genuine and joyful prayer. His goal is to evoke a communal response, an elevation of souls and the revelation of the divine. The cantor must beware not to degrade the prayers by transforming his task into a skill, a technical performance, or habitual halachic behavior. For this would result in his words reaching only ears but not penitent human hearts.

Genuine chazanuth is the art of prayer exegesis. Through the cantor's intonation and inner performance, the community should hear a new meaning to the otherwise all-too-familiar prayers. Surely a cantor should have a pleasant voice, and sometimes a choir can be most helpful in giving the prayer a facelift. But it should never become a performance or display. Cantorial skill should serve to resurrect old words and infuse them with new meaning. In a play on words, the Baal Shem Tov once remarked that when Noach was told to enter the teyva (ark) before the flood began, God was telling him, in addition, to go into the deeper meaning of the ‘word’ (also teyva in Hebrew). In prayer, a man must enter the word with all that he is and has. It is the task of the cantor to guide the worshipper in this endeavor.

Here is where music comes in. The difference between a word that is spoken and a word set to music is in the fact that music is the refutation of human finality. Music is an antidote to the sloganizing of words. It reaches out to that which lies beyond the capacity of verbal propositions. As such, listening to music is an earth-shattering experience. It throws the listener into an aspect of reality that the mind cannot grasp and that words alone cannot reach. When listening to chazanuth one should be smitten and unable to recover from the spiritual blow. This is the purpose of chazanuth. It is a protest against allowing words of prayer to become stale.

Tradition has it that when a Jew would come to the Temple to bring a sacrifice in atonement for a transgression, the priest would look at him and read his thoughts. If he found that the man had not fully repented, the priest would ask the Levites to chant a melody in order to bring the sinner to full teshuva. This, indeed, is the task of the cantor.

May we be blessed with the merit to experience this.

(1) Inspired by remarks made by Abraham Joshua Heschel z.l.

Rencontre Literaire Villa des Arts Casablanca

2010-10-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

CasablancaSukkot

2010-09-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

photos by Hisham Damir

With this Sukkah Fanny Chriqui (Shree-kee) wants to transmit a message for her children who won't be present physically in her Sukkah but in spirit--she sends a message to them and to all humanity--a message of love, openness and universal peace.

Celebrating Sukkot in Casablanca, Morocco

Fanny Chriqui built a Sukkah glorifying nature in her home in Casablanca. We spent the afternoon of erev Sukkot discussing ideas on this holiday. She told me she hung bunches of dates from her date palm tree because the Sukkah is a commemoration of the time the Hebrews spent in the desert after leaving Egypt. It also reminds us that Jewish holidays are connected to the cycles of nature: Sukkot is a marker of the beginning of autumn. One of the central prayers in the synagogue on the first days of sukkot is the prayer for rain -- Tefilat HaGeshem.

Fanny said: "The Sukkah is open to all humanity. Passover is a closed holiday, but Sukkot is an open holiday. During the time of the Temple there were offerings for the nations of the world, it is representative of all the descendants of Adam and Eve. We receive the Ushpizin, the mystical guests on each night of Sukkot. It reminds us that the Sukkah is open to all."

I asked her how is it being a Jew in an Arab land? She gave an answer which may surprise some other Jews living in other parts of the Diaspora:
FS: "The Jewish exile has existed for centuries, it is thanks to the Torah and the teachings from the Torah that we still exist. I believe that exile anywhere is the same, it is still an experience of exile. If you live in a country where things go well you can be greatly enriched by the exile, by the surrounding people and traditions. In any case believing the Torah is personal and interior, no matter where you live."

Fanny asked me to include this poem:

de Le jardin des roses
(chapitre 1, 10)
Saadi Dans son Golestan (Shiraz 12e siecle)

Les fils d'Adam, les humains, sont membres d'une seule source, race, corps dans la Création d'une même essence et âme.
Si un membre de ce corps commence a souffrir, tous les autres membres ne sont plus en santé.
Si vous ne ressentez pas la souffrance des autres humaines ni leurs besoins, alors vous ne méritez pas d'être hommés fils d'Adam, êtres humains."

Tout cela est exactement Souccote et la souccah.

In Mrs. Chriqui's words:
"As the poet says, the Soucca is something fragil, but the essential is visible in the heart."

Maroc, Juifs, Juive, Casablanca, soucca, souccah, sukkot, Morocco, exile, exile, exilio, Marruecos, Judio

Ramadan

2010-09-01T03:12:00.000-07:00

At Villa Mirador, the American Consular Mansion in Casablanca, we celebrated sacred music traditions of Morocco. This place is full of history, and it was in the Map Room where Churchill and Roosevelt met for the 1943 Casablanca Conference. I sang Jewish women's wedding songs from Northern Morocco reminding us of the symbolism between the wedding on earth and the wedding of the soul and the Divine. Melhoun singer Laila Lamrini and I sang a Hebrew/Arabic matrouz accompanied by two wonderful musicians. Many other performers graced the audience that night: Andalusian, Gnawa, Amazight--and the audience in the garden traveled through their souls.

Rosh Chodesh Elul

2010-08-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

In Ouezzane at the site of the grave of Rabbi Amram ben Diwane there was a rosh chodesh Elul hilula celebration a couple of days ago. This cow was slaughtered to be eaten during the festivities.

I had to see it up close that night.

Later as I thought about it, it reminded me of Rosh Hashana 2006 in Los Angeles at Torah Ohr on Beverly Boulevard. I arrived and at the evening services felt my heart as an organ, separate from my body, trembling in terror and awe as we all embarked on the process of pruning and bettering ourselves and asking the King for mercy. I saw a vision of my heart on a silver platter trembling in fear.

We are seldom confronted with life and death in this stark manner. I was reminded of Francis Bacon's paintings and of my trembling heart.

Tarab Tanger

2010-07-28T03:31:00.000-07:00

The Festival Tarab Tanger specializes in traditional musics from around the world. Begoña Olavide, Samira Kadiri and I performed our women's voices program for the gala opening with Ensemble Rawafid, the Andalusian orchestra under the direction of oud player Omar Metioui. We were in an open air stage "Borj elHajoui" just above the port of Tangier in the medina. We did La Rosa Enflorese in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish; Bi ayyi Sabab Nuhjar, Andalusian classic; Si veriax la Rana; Dice la Nuestra Novia and others.
To see some of the other performances during that week go to www.tarabtanger.com

One of the highlights was an instrument exhibit in the gallery space of the Instituto Cervantes de Tanger. Carlos Paniagua, the luthier, put together an amazing array of instruments he constructed based on historical documentation. He took the viewer through instrument families, development and sounds. I am hoping for a book with all this information and photos. It was quite a visual feast. Look at the small oud next to me in the last photo. This is one of the pieces from the exhibition.

recording wedding songs

2010-07-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

Judith Cohen and Tamar Ilana flew into Casablanca from Spain to work on a wedding song medley to record at FTG Music. Here we were in production, dealing with mikes, sounds, percussions, voices, etc. Stay tuned to hear the women's celebration of the wedding!

Raphael Weisman's harp making

2010-06-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

in Northern New Mexico, just outside of Taos next to the town of Questa New Mexico, Raphael Weisman has a harp making shop. It's a beautiful environment with the mountains of Colorado within view, drive by a Buddhist Stuppa and walk into his studio, which was previously a goat barn!
We spent a beautiful and fascinating afternoon there looking, playing and hearing instruments.
I am particularly enamored of a vihuela he has...he makes beautiful small, medium and large harps; and lyres and dulcimers to teach children.
Part of his philosophy is about the intention the maker has while he's making the instrument and how that affects it and the music you will make with it later. Him and his assistants seem to really have a serene, peaceful and connected way of working.
It is quite beautiful. His instruments have a very sweet and deep sound.
enjoy these photos--you can see more info on his site: www.harpsoflorien.com

Raphael mentioned he would like to sell his business at some point in the not too distant future--he's been active doing healing workshops and wants to have more time to devote to that. Anyone interested?! You can get in touch with him if you want to explore this--

alabanzas

2010-05-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Click on this button if you would like to buy my new album!

This CD is a real labor of love, with some Sephardic pieces and others that I have composed throughout the years. You can buy it digitally or get a real CD both from CDbaby.

Some of these songs are on youtube with videos: Avram Avinu, Vocalise and Avdei Zman.

I hope the depth and power of this inner searching touches you deeply.

Performance at Taos Jewish Center

2010-05-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

The music of Jewish Morocco will be the subject of a lecture and musical performance Thursday (May 13), 7:30 p.m., at the Taos Jewish Center, 1335 Gusdorf, Suite R. Arriving directly from Casablanca, Vanessa Paloma, known internationally as a singer of Sephardic songs, will “take the audience on a journey through Jewish Moroccan music, traditions, visuals and beliefs,” according to an announcement from TJC director Beth Goldman.

Paloma will sing Judeo-Spanish songs of Morocco, “explaining their spiritual and mystical aspects and their role in women’s expressiveness and spirituality. This music reverberates with the haunting melodies of more than 2,000 years of Jewish life in North Africa,” Goldman’s announcement states.

For the whole article in the Taos News click here

Flor de Serena's CD

2010-05-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

In case you don't have it yet! Here it is, easy access and at a great price!

Destruction of Hospital Benchimol in Tangier

2010-04-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Au coeur de la nuit du vendredi 2 au samedi 3 Avril, en pleine fête de Pessah, plusieurs machines de démolition sont intervenues sur le site de l’Hôpital Benchimol pour le raser. Ordre du Wali déclarèrent les ouvriers au gardien désespéré. Tu verras une belle image de l’entrée de la vénérable institution p.78 de mon livre, ornée d’un verset d’un psaume du Roi David. Ce genre d’horaires est étrange pour une démolition, de même qu’est étrange le choix du shabbat de Pessah, alors que les quelques membres actifs de cette communauté très réduite se trouvaient à l’étranger. L’information m’est parvenue par Sonia Cohen Azagury qui se trouvait chez sa fille à New York.

L'hôpital, crée il y a cent dix ans était un des nombreux repères patrimoniaux de Tanger, il rejoint la liste sans fin des édifices historiques de la ville victimes du marteau piqueur. La communauté juive de Tanger est propriétaire légale de l’hôpital. Cela signifie-t-il que le respect du droit n’existe plus au Maroc? Je ne peux l’imaginer, convaincu que c’est une regrettable initiative du seul Wali, à l’insu du gouvernement de Sa Majesté. Ce n’est pas seulement le caractère juif de l’édifice qui élève mon émotion. Toute destruction de témoignage historique représente une perte irréparable, le patrimoine étant la seule valeur qui ne puisse se reconstituer. Cela faisait quelques temps que le bruit me parvenait selon lequel les autorités locales voulaient détruire l’Hôpital. J’entendais que le but (étrange) était de transformer en jardin public son tout petit terrain sans atout particulier qui jouxte l’ancien palais du Sultan Moulay Hafid. Il ne faut pas mépriser les rumeurs, il arrive souvent quelles s’avèrent.

Un autre écho dont je ne voudrais pas attendre qu’il se transforme en une réalité me parvient de Tanger. La Municipalité aurait des visées sur notre cimetière de dar el San’a, situé rue du Portugal, face à Bab America. Le cimetière qui fit l’objet d’une concession négociée à la fin du XVIII siècle entre notre Communauté et le représentant de Sa Majesté Chérifienne s’étend sur le terrain d’un ancien bastion de la muraille portugaise.

Il mesure plus d’un hectare, et comme il convenait à un bastion, sa vue stratégique embrasse le Détroit. Nos rabbins vénérés, nos saints et les membres moins illustres de nos familles y reposent. Je ne peux imaginer sans un frémissement d’horreur l’éventualité du saccage de ce lieu saint ( p.62 de mon livre).

Je ne voudrais pas imaginer non plus celui du Cimetière de Castille à Tétouan (pp.12-14 de mon livre) datant du XV siècle dont la position n’est pas moins admirable.

Ralph Toledano

Voici ce sujet une lettre de Jacobo Israel Garzón
Presidente de las Comunidades Judías de España

à Son Excellence le Wali de Tanger
Wilaya Tanger – Maroc

Copie :

* Ministre de l'Intérieur – Rabat
* Communauté Israélite de Tanger
* Conseil des Communautés Israélites du Maroc

Objet :

Destruction des bâtiments de l`Hôpital Benchimol, actuellement fermé, appartenant à la Communauté Israélite de Tanger, et cela sans son accord.

Son Excellence le Wali de Tanger Wilaya
Tanger - Maroc
Madrid, le 12 Avril 2010

Excellence,
Nous venons d´apprendre que les dernièrs jours de Mars 2010 il a été procédé à la destruction des bâtiments de l`Hôpital Benchimol, actuellement fermé, appartenant à la Communauté Israelite de Tanger, et cela sans son accord.

Cecí constitue à nos yeux un acte très grave à l´encontre du droit à la propriété, de ce qui fût le premier hôpital à Tanger.
Ce double sentiment de non respect au droit à la propriété privée et la disparition d´une Institution qui a vu naître, soigner et mourir des milliers de personnes, juives, musulmanes, chrétiennes et d`autres croyances, la plus part à titre gratuit, atteint les plus hauts sentiments des Communautés Juives d´Espagne, France, Canada, Venezuela, Israel où résident de nombreuses personnes originaires du Maroc et plus spécifiquement de Tanger.

A ce titre et en tant que Président de la Fédération des Communautés Juives d´Espagne, je prie instamment Son Excellence de bien vouloir veiller à ce que les droits de la Communauté Israelite de Tanger soient rétablis et respectés come cela a été la règle depuis des centaines d`années pour les citoyens Marocains de religion juive.

Dans l´attente de recevoir une réponse favorable, veuillez accepter, Excellence, l´assurance de ma plus haute et respectueuse considération et mes meilleures salutations.

Jacobo Israel Garzón
Président

El Paipero

2010-03-07T15:33:00.001-08:00

El Paipero tells the story of Fray Pedro who impregnated 120 women in one afternoon... He was reluctant at first, but finally came through! even for the cook who was the only woman to demand her sexual rights... and she ended up being the only one to have a boy, which was then placed in a little bed on the terrace.
We shot the clip at the Tangier American Legation Museum and at La Tangerina, both in Tangier's medina.
A week later David Hart was born! He still likes hearing the song!

Happy Women's Day and bravo for women's depth, power, physical and spiritual fertility and panache in demanding rights!

Avdei Zeman-Slaves of Time

2010-02-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

This short poem by Yehuda HaLevy is very timely for the world we live in. So many of us always feel trapped by time, instead of surrendering to the unity of the world we live in and realize that on occasion we must live outside of time. Time can be circular, linear, spiral… all according to how we experience it.

The slaves of time are slaves, slaves are they.
But the slave of God, he is the only free one.

When each person asks for their portion
My soul said: God is my portion.

women's music in Morocco

2010-01-19T05:54:00.000-08:00

preparing for women's day March 8, 2M, a Moroccan channel brought together a group of close to 25 women musicians for a special program of Chada al Alhane. The director is Abdeslam El Khaloufi who has prepared close 70 of these programs in recent years. We were taken out to a palace outside of Casablanca to film and by filming time everyone had on beautiful Kaftans and jewlery. I was part of this program with our project Masar wa Nisae--together with Samira Kadiri and Begoña Olavide. Other women came from Rabat, Meknes, Tangier, Tetouan, Oujda and even a Mauritanian singer! She had the beautiful hands.
The program will air March 7.

Clicke HERE for a portion of the women's program from 2008, you can get a taste for what's coming.

the Matrilineage project

2010-01-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

a work in progress with Susannah Knittel directing us using continuum and improvisational techniques. We were exploring the layers of motherlines--mother/daughter/mother
It was a wonderful process of inner discovery and powerful work. Hoping to continue developing it!

performing with Shlomo Bar

2009-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

In early November I performed in a private concert in Casablanca with Shlomo Bar. We are doing a repeat this week at the Essaouira Sofitel & the Agadir Sofitel on Dec 30 & 31 respectively.
Of course, it was very meaningful because he left Morocco as a child and has been a champion for Moroccan culture in Israel during the last 35 years. His song Kfar Todra recounts the process of initiation of young 3 year-old Jewish Berber children to learn the aleph bet--how? by licking the letters made of honey.
Andre Azoulay, the counsellor to His Majesty the King of Morocco was there--he spoke with the audience telling them how he had first heard Shlomo singing this song in the seventies after a high placed Ashkenazi intellectual had insulted him telling him, as a Moroccan Jew he was a descendant of monkeys. Azoulay said, 'yes us, the "descendants of monkeys" alphabetized our three year old children in such a sweet and meaningful way...' this is the power of art and music in raising awareness with difficult political and identity issues...
Shlomo Bar has done a great deal for the image of Moroccans in Israel when the Ashkenazi leadership was marginalizing them.

I sang some of my Judeo-Spanish repertoire from Morocco and then did back-up vocals. We ended with Sheharchoret which is the melody of Morenica a Ladino song.
I'll post some pictures and video from the upcoming performances and voyage to Essaouira and Agadir.

Note Mr. Azoulay in the bottom right hand corner as well as Amir Peretz.

Hanuka women's celebration in Casablanca

2009-12-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

On the 4th night of Hanuka I was invited to perform for a women's gathering at the Chabad Lubavitch center in Casablanca. There were more than 100 women present. I sang women's Judeo-Spanish Hanuka songs-- written by Flory Jagoda, Judy Frankel and the of course, anonymous songs written by women in the eastern mediterranean region. Here are some images from the evening.

Rahel Lastimoza

2009-11-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

In mid October I performed in Tangier at the Moulay Hafid Palace in a private performance. A group of 4 women were dressed in the Berberisca dresses of Sonia Cohen Azagury's collection. She created the final masterpiece by putting together antique pieces to form the whole ensemble with jewelery etc. These dresses were used for the wedding and also as a woman's ritual dress for any grand occasion and celebration.
Rahel Lastimoza tells the story of a young woman who was married to the governor, and a young man came to court her offering her jewelery and words of love. She said no because she was married--and this has become a song sung at wedding celebrations, to reiterate the importance of fidelity. The "forasteros" or "foreign" Jews from the Arabic speaking part of Morocco like the melody so much they would tell the "Judios Españoles" awed awed; again, again at the end of each phrase.
This song has become a popular song sung at Hillulot, pilgrimages to holy men's graves.

This Romance has a rich history and is very loved by Jews all over Morocco.

AVRAM AVINU

2009-09-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

Una grabacion de Avram Avinu con un video de fotografías de Marruecos, Francia, EEUU...

Vanessa Paloma, voz, arpa medieval
Pablo Goldstein, flauta traversa
Bruce Hanifan, percusion

Paulo Coelho's message

2009-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

Man needs to choose, not just accept his destiny.

I agree with him, but I would change it to Humans or People or One... because... what about women?!

Flor de Serena video

2009-08-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

A beautiful video of the sunset at stunning White Sands, New Mexico set to "Si la Mar Fuera de Leche" our rendition from our debut album.

Sol HaTsaddeket

2009-07-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

In the early summer I went with members of Casablanca's Jewish Community on a pilgrimage to Sol HaSadika's tomb in Fez. I am particularly interested in her story because she was a young woman from Tangier and her story of Jewish non-assimilation earned her the position of Tsaddeket in the Moroccan Jewish pantheon. As well as the fact that there is a Romance that tells the whole story of her martyrdom.

It was a hot day, the cemetery was very still, almost unmoving with only the chirping of birds and the crackling of the candles people had lit making any distinguishable sounds. Right outside is the busy area next to the King's palace where there is a sort of flea market for all sorts of trinkets that seem more suitable for the recycling heap than for use... But inside, a hint of a breeze through the olive trees, a palm tree, women mumbling their prayers and requests in French, Hebrew and Spanish, a group of men singing Psalms by a Rabbi's tomb--and you, lost in the peacefulness of the sea of white tombs.
There is more than one version to her story, not all of them depict a chaste, pious, modest adolescent who denied conversion to Islam thus inviting her early death. But the Romance and the story within the community always shows her as a model to other young women who may be tested in the same difficult manner.

Musiques en Méditerranée ; rencontres et échanges au Moyen-Âge et au delà

2009-06-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

We just spent a weekend in the magical town of St. Guilhem le Desert just outside of Montpellier in the Languedoc region for music and intellectual discussions on Narrative traditions in the middle ages and up to today--as Joel Cohen concluded so beautifully, it is time for us to look at each other seeing our similarities which unify us rather that the details that differentiate us from each other.

http://www.saint-guilhem-le-desert.com/spip.php?article179

Here is the program of the conference:
Cycle de conférences historiques et musicologiques avec : Anne Azéma (Boston Camerata), Benjamin Braude (Boston college), Mohamed Briouel (Conservatoire de musique de Fes), Joël Cohen (Camerata Mediterranea), Alice Colby-Hall (Cornell University), Gisèle Dumas (Université P. Valéry Montpellier 3), Vanessa Paloma (Brandeis University), Christian Poché (Radio-France), Antoni Rossell (Université autonome de Barcelone), Mehmet Sanlikol (Emerson College Boston).

9:30h à 12:00h : La légende chantée et le narratif héroïque Narratifs en musique à l’Abbaye de Gellone (Alice Colby-Hall)

La légende de Saint-Guilhem dans le contexte de la chanson de geste médiévale (Gisèle Dumas)

L’interprète moderne face à la narration médiévale (Anne Azema)

La tradition bardique et le narratif héroïque en Turquie (Mehmet Sanlikol)

Le narratif féminin judéo-espagnol au Maroc (Vanessa Paloma)

14:00h à 17:00h : Les Cantigas du Roi Alfonso el Sabio et leur contexte méditerranéen

Les Cantigas de Santa-Maria, la construction d’un texte et d’une musique à partir d’un projet théologique et politique du roi Alphonse X (Antoni Rossell)

Les Cantigas et l’art des troubadours occitans (Joël Cohen)

Diversité ethnique à la cour du roi Alfonso el Sabio (B. Braude)

La musique arabo-andalouse, et ses rapports avec les pratiques européennes (Christian Poché et Mohamed Briouel)

This is the Abbey perched at the top of the hill that the town is built on--and there is a view from the garden to the ruins of a castle on the neighboring hill where legend tells it William of Orange saved the townspeople by killing the giant that lived in it--he threw him down the cliff.

Mose salio de Misrayim

2009-05-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

This music video was filmed in early summer 2008 at the Jewish Museum of Casablanca in Morocco. Mose salio de Misrayim tells the story of Moses, the burning bush and his return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh.

MEMORY PRESERVED at Santa Fe Art Institute

2009-04-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Memory Preserved:

Sepharad Hidden and Revealed

The Santa Fe Art Institute presents an event remembering the Sephardic and crypto-Jewish traditions of New Mexico through song and literature as a part of its series: “Memory: Shadow & Light – Art as Individual/Collective Memory”. Memory Preserved features music by Vanessa Paloma with Judeo-Spanish songs from the colonial period and word memories of Sepharad by authors Isabelle Medina-Sandoval and Mario X. Martinez. The event will be Thursday, May 14 at 6:00 pm in Tipton Hall, College of Santa Fe.

Ms. Paloma specializes in the traditional performance of Judeo-Spanish songs from the Sephardic Diaspora. This music, tinged with fate and sadness, passion and joy, came to the Americas with Spanish settlers. Ms. Paloma is a Research Scholar of Brandeis University currently living and working in Casablanca and has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, North Africa, and Asia. She is the lead singer of Flor de Serena, a Los Angeles based ensemble doing Judeo-Spanish music.

In Guardians of Hidden Traditions Isabelle Medina-Sandoval tells the saga of her family starting in Spain and migrating to Mexico and eventually New Mexico. Told with historical depth and accuracy, these stories of love and determination introduce us into the lives of women along with their marriages and children, thoughts and dreams, and their preservation of the memory of Jewishness. It is a powerful novel about hidden identity and culture being secretly safeguarded from generation to generation with a mixture of passion and fear. Dr. Medina-Sandoval is a published poet and leader in bilingual education.

In Converso Mario X. Martinez has created a compelling historical novel about nineteenth century town life, drawing from events during the period of Archbishop Lamy. There are powerful Dons, dashing young men, beautiful women, crypto-Jews, conflicts, and the suspicious death of an overly inquisitive priest, all wrapped within memory and family tales in historical New Mexico. In a story Willa Cather would have enjoyed he captures the drama of that time period. After graduate work at Harvard University Martinez returned to his native state where he writes and teaches.

These two historical novels are part of a series by Gaon Books on Western Sephardic Traditions, including the crypto-Jewish experience in the Americas.

Angelina Muniz-Huberman's The Confidantes will be released shortly.

For more complete information see: http://gaonbooks.blogspot.com

VOIX DE FEMMES 2008

2009-04-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

This image is from the Festival Voix de Femmes (Women's Voices) in Tetouan last summer. This concert, together with singers Samira Kadiri and Begoña Olavide was in the garden of the beautiful old artesanal school outside of Bab Ruah in downtown Tetouan.

Cycles

2009-04-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

This month, the Jewish month of Nissan we recite
Birkat haIlanot: Blessing on Blooming Trees
This special mitzvah, which can be fulfilled only once a year, is to recite the beraja ("blessing" or prayer) made upon seeing 2 fruit trees in bloom: Blessed are you G-d our G-d, king of the universe, who left nothing lacking in His world, and created within it good creatures and good trees with which He gives pleasure to people.

It's quite beautiful that we are commanded to stay in touch with nature's cycles and to celebrate the renewal of growth. Considering how important blessings are, and the power of speech in Judaism, it is remarkable that during this month, upon seeing fruit trees in bloom we bless Gd for giving pleasure to people through the creation of creatures and trees!

Enjoy the beauty of the world!

Vocalise

2009-03-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

2009-03-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

on LOVE in Northern Moroccan Judeo-Spanish Romances

2009-01-28T10:53:00.001-08:00

614 the HBI Ezine has an articles on:
Love: Jewish Style!

This month, we're beating the Valentine's Day countdown, and taking a good close look at love. We've all heard plenty about romantic love, family love, and, of course, chocolate love. In this issue, we're exploring Jewish love, and we're covering it from several intriguing angles. We leave you with this old Yiddish proverb: "Three things can't be hidden: coughing, poverty, and love."
Aren't you glad we took on love?

an excerpt from the introduction to my article:
Some of these Romances have texts that are more than 600 years old, and I see them as information capsules with metaphors and meaning handed down to us. In my work, I explore potential lessons we can glean from this ancient women's wisdom. I believe that if we understand the power and depth behind what has been seen previously as insignificant little love poems, we can understand how women throughout generations have consolidated their role as alchemists and forces of creation and vitality within Judaism.
and to read the whole thing click here

A link for the wedding story

2009-01-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

voila, here we are... check out the blog with the whole story: http://ronjoseph.blogspot.com

Women's music from Northern Morocco

2008-12-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

This upcoming Wednesday evening I'll be interviewed live on Feminist Magazine, a radio show in Los Angeles from 7-8pm Pacific time. I will be talking about women's Judeo-Spanish music from Northern Morocco and its deeper connections to memory, identity and formation of the self.
Their interest for this interview arose after seeing the program of Moroccan (Arab, Berber and Jewish) women's music at the World Festival for Sacred Music in Los Angeles in September. Part of our conversation will focus on the connections between women's expression and music regardless of ethnic or religious background.
I'm excited about this because thousands of people will be listening throughout California and hopefully the world! I am thrilled that the depth of this message that women sang about for many years is breaking the barrier of geographical and cultural specificity.

My portion will be from 7:30 to 8:00 PST and you are invited to listen
live anywhere in the world by going to www.kpfk.org.
7:30 in Los Angeles
8:30 in New Mexico/Colorado
9:30 in Chicago
10:30 in Boston, New York, Colombia
3:30 am in Morocco (or you can listen from the archive later!)

Here are the indications for all the technological aspects:
STREAMING LIVE, DOWNLOADS & PODCASTS
Listen at 90.7 FM or streaming live at kpfk.org

1.: go to kpfk.org & click on Audio Archives on the top info bar
3.: In Audio Archives go to column called Shows & click on shows.
4: Scroll down to Feminist Magazine
5: The air dates appear next to each show, your interview will appear
dated Dec 17th
6: Click on download or podcast. You can download an MP3 of the
whole program or the podcast version.
The show is available for 90 days from its air date. After that you
can call the KPFK Archives and order a copy of the show.

Maxime Karoutchi at Andalousies Atlantiques 2008

2008-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

On the first night of the Festival Andalousies Atlantiques 2008 (October 30-November 1) Maxime Karoutchi, a popular Moroccan singer of Judeo-Arabic Moroccan styles and popular music from across the Arabic song repertoire performed to an enthusiastic audience. At a peak moment in the performance, he put on a T-shirt with the colors and flag of Morocco. The crowd went crazy.
It was such a moment of recognition of the relationship between general Moroccans and their long and deep Jewish history. His donning of Morocco's flag and his public patriotism while singing songs that the audience was clapping and singing along to, showed the poignant and continued deep emotional bond despite constant media from other parts of the world which present a unidimensional view on the relationship between Jews and the Arab world.

HBI lecture/performance

2008-12-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

The Burning Bush

2008-11-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Mose salio de Misrayim huyendo del Rey Paro

This song from the Paraliturgical tradition of Northern Morocco tells the story of Moses' flight from Egypt, marriage to Zipporah, work as a shepherd and vision at the burning bush. Gd talks to him there and charges him with the mission to return to Egypt and demand the release of the Hebrew slaves--and warns that if Paro does not comply, 10 plagues will be the punishment. It ends with the Hebrew words Hodu L'Ad-nai ki tov, ki l'Olam Hasdo. Thanks be to Gd who is good, and shows mercy to the world. A song in Haketía (Moroccan Judeo-Spanish) which is one of many songs from this area that recount biblical stories in the vernacular.

Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam

2008-11-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

1675 it opened... not the date I said on video... sorry for the mistake!

I was in Amsterdam for a few hours last week and I zipped into town to see la Esnoga. Here is some footage from this moving experience and some info on it from Wikipedia.

Background
The Jews were expelled en masse from Spain in 1492 by the Alhambra decree. Many who fled to Portugal were forced to convert to Catholicism in 1496, while the other Jews were expelled from Portugal in 1497. For hundreds of years, the Inquisition continued to persecute the converts and their descendants on suspicions that in secret they still practiced Judaism.

Some of those who wished to enjoy a freedom of religion found refuge in Amsterdam. During a substantial migration that took place in the 17th century, these Jewish refugees from the Iberian peninsula called themselves Portuguese Jews to avoid being identified with Spain, which was at war with the Dutch Republic at the time.

Construction and building
On December 12, 1670, the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam acquired the site to build a synagogue and construction work began on April 17, 1671 under architect Elias Bouwman. On August 2, 1675, the Esnoga was inaugurated.

The inscription above the entrance is from Psalm 5:8: "In the abundance of Thy lovingkindness will I come into Thy house". The sign also contains "1672", the year the building was supposed to have been ready, and "Aboab", the name of the chief rabbi whose initiative it was to build the synagogue.

The building rests on wooden poles and the foundation vaults can be viewed by boat from the water underneath the synagogue. Around the main edifice a row of low buildings house the winter synagogue, offices and archives, homes of various officials, the rabbinate, a mortuary and famous Etz Hayim library.

During the 1955-1959 renovation, the former Etz Hayim seminary auditorium was redesigned as a winter synagogue with central heating and electric lighting. The benches were taken from a synagogue originally built in 1639 and the Hechal dates from 1744.

The floor is covered with fine sand, in the old Dutch tradition, to absorb dust, moisture and dirt from shoes and to muffle the noise.

Dice La Nuestra Novia - WFSM 08

2008-10-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

Fuerame a Bañar

2008-10-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Fuérame a Bañar - a mikveh song from Morocco saying that grace cannot be sold, not even an ounce of it!
From our concert Masar Wa Nisae as part of the World Festival for Sacred Music 2008 in Los Angeles at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. Click on it to see the video!

reflejos californianos

2008-10-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

North Moroccan women's music concert in LA

2008-09-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

The photos are at Barnsdall Gallery Park theatre in musical performance of Masar Wa Nisae as part of the World Festival for Sacred music - LA together with the photographs of Rose-Lynn Fisher. She took these too as a document of a beautiful evening of music and visual impact.
This was the concept behind the performance that I included in the program notes. Soon there will be some video material as well.

Masar Wa Nisae – the Woman’s Path
Very often in art women are the subject of artistic inspiration, functioning as catalysts for expressions of pain and idealization. The rich cultural and musical milieu of northern Morocco, with Arab, Berber and Jewish women’s music is a sonorous window into a woman’s thoughts and feelings. She is the inspired one, not merely the silent source of another’s inspiration. With this program we are presenting the woman’s voice through expressions of love gained and lost, during wedding celebrations and in religious song. Also included are songs originally written from a man’s voice describing the beauty and power that the woman has over her beloved. Singing songs about the ideal woman, often brings real women to refashion themselves in the mirage presented as desirable. By including these songs, tonight we aim to find the underlying poignancy in the tendency to idealize.
Women’s artistic presence is demarcated by the public/private dichotomy. It is many times in the quiet intimacy of the private sphere, while cooking or putting children to sleep, where women’s artistic power is most present.
Tonight, in the spirit of balancing the masculine and the feminine in our world and thus bring unity, peace and wholeness we have focused on the vocal path of the woman. She praises God, sings about love, celebrates marriage, and bemoans or resolves the pains of abandonment and illness. It is through this strengthening of the feminine voice that battling dualities can be balanced into the unification that promotes creation and true partnering with the Divine in creation.
Vanessa Paloma –
Ramadan Moubarak Saîd
Shana Tova – por muchos anyos

World Festival for Sacred Music

2008-09-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the work of many people, the concert was a great success. Unfortunately because of soaring fuel prices we were not able to bring Samira Kadiri and Nabil Akbib from Morocco. Fella Oudane, voice & percussion and Fettah Abbou, oud & sintir replaced them adding a different dimension that the original concept and thankfully it worked very beautifully. Images from Rose-Lynn Fisher and a lighting design by Eileen Cooley, together with the amazing production collaboration from the World Festival for Sacred Music staff and its director Judy Mitoma, a visionary who is a catalyst for healing and peace through music.
I hope to post some video and photos soon!

one of the audience members sent this comment:
Thank you for presenting our music and the different cultural influences on our music so beautifully.

enjoy the rest of the Festival events: www.festivalofsacredmusic.org

Early Music Institute

2008-09-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

I recently did a cross-country drive across the US stopping in different places to have concerts, go to conferences, do book signings and of course visit family and friends. I also stopped at Indiana University Bloomington to listen to the archives of traditional music. They have a recording made of 2 women from Tangier singing Romances which is only available at IU. It was recorded by Zarita Nahon and the singer was her sister Simy Nahon de Toledano. Originally recorded at Columbia University under Frank Boas it was later deposited at ATM at IU by Herzog. Amazing for me because this is where I did my graduate work and spent hours and hours just a few steps away from this historical and unique recording that I would be searching years after having left school!
It was wonderful to reconnect with former students from the EMI and of course faculty members that were so influential in my development as a young artist and scholar.
This is the main door that I walked through so many times and the window above is a practice room I spent many hours in!

Seas of Change - women and migration

2008-09-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

In the late summer of 2000 my mother, Gloria Abella Ballen and I were invited by the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity and Mishkan Omanim to the Herzliya Artist's Residence to build SEAS OF CHANGE, a multimedia performance on women and migration. We created a piece with disjointed images on screens, interweavings of interviews and stories told by women who had migrated or their descendants. Songs in Judeo-Spanish, Hebrew and English were the connecting thread between all these elements. We toured the show throughout Israel during the first month of the second Intifada and later performed it in the US in limited venues. We are in the process of reconstituting the show in a newer version and doing a new round of performances. In the meantime enjoy this snippet with interviews!

Tu B'Av and Love

2008-08-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

This Full Moon (the 15th of the month of Av which falls on Shabbat this year) symbolizes the day of perfect matches and love revealing itself in people's lives. I believe love brings us out of our shells and protections in a most powerful and sometimes overwhelming way. May we all be blessed with opening our hearts and accepting the amazing blessings of love that are all around us! There is a saying that gazing at the moon on this day can reveal your match to you if you're still looking! It was the day in ancient Israelite times that the women would go out to the fields dressed all in white, rich and poor and ask the men to dance with them and everyone would know who their true match was.

Booksigning in Santa Fe New Mexico

2008-08-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Moroccan Jewish & Muslim sacred singing

2008-08-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

In early April I went to Ouezzane on my way back to Tangier from Fes. I wanted to stop in Ouezzane to visit (zorear)at the grave of the Holy Rabbi Amran Ben Diwan. On Lag BeOmer (in late May this year) I went back for days on end and there were hundreds of people celebrating, with a bonfire of candles burning on his grave, all the best paytanim (liturgical singers) from Casablanca showed up and it was really quite an amazing experience. Here, it was just me, my driver, and the guards who live there, plus this Rabbi who showed up out of nowhere and began to chant Psalms for my prayers to be answered. As he chanted (since it was Friday at noon) the local muezzin started to sing Allah Hu Akbar in the background. Isn't it amazing to hear the two chants to One God simultaneously? I think we are all praying for similar things. Health, love, sustenance, happiness, peace, joy, success, etc.

luz marroquí

2008-07-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

Una luz en la oscuridad, con personalidad, calor y elegancia. En una mansión en la Kasba de Tanger, una noche de filmación y música, bajando por las escaleras encontré este pequeño momento visual.

The New Meanings of Peace after 9/11 Conference in Tetouan

2008-06-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

At Abdelmalek Essaadi University a group of about 50 people spent three days talking about peace/terrorism/religious conflict and the issues of our times from different points of view. There were Jews, Muslims, Christians and Agnostics present. There were participants from Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Rumania, USA, and Dubai amongst others. As you can imagine some of the debates were very heated as we encountered differences of opinions, politics, cultures and methods of communicating. These photos were taken by Peter Svarzbein and the conference was organized by the research group on culture and globalisation and the Dept. of English studies. Conference director was Prof. Jamal Eddine Benhayoun. More to come in the media... we hope!

Sounds of Morocco

2008-06-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Photos from an afternoon shoot in Tangier's Nahon Synagogue for a documentary on Moroccan music. It's a joint production between Italian and Moroccan television. Directed by Giuliana Gamba. Marcel Botbol and I represented Jewish music from Northern Morocco in this gem of a place tucked in the medina.

Masar WaNisae

2008-05-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

The Arabic News report on the concert in Rabat with Samira Kadiri, Begoña Olavide and myself. Three women, three cultures, one voice, one path... this is the concept behind this project.

en las noticias españolas

2008-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

el concierto que hicimos en Rabat y Casablanca esta semana estuvo en la tele Española y la Marroqui. Lo único... me pusieron a mi como si fuera Begoña Olavide en la entrevista... Los pequeños errores en la prensa.

Tanger en sueños

2008-05-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Los sueños permeados de la neblina del estrecho de Gibraltar sobre las casas me recuerdan mis propios pensamientos estirados sobre la faz de mi mente.

Performing Tangier-Gnawa & Randy Weston

2008-05-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Performing Tangier: Borders, Beats and Beyond was this weekend: icpsresearch.blogspot.com if you want to take a look. Pretty interesting and complex conference and a wonderful evening of Randy Weston with Gnawa musicians. My paper "¡Ay Esterica! Lover, mother, bride, saint or adulteress? Gender, language, ritual and power in the Romances of Tangier's Jews" was very nicely received

Hillula de Rebbi Meir (Ba'al HaNess)

2008-05-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

en Tanger celebramos la Hillula de Rebbi Meir Ba'al haNess esta noche como según oigo se celebra todos los años. Se subastan platos, botellas de whisky y velas.
Por muchos años!

Two concerts at the Italian Palace (Moulay Hafid) in Tangier

2008-05-15T03:13:00.000-07:00

There have been two concerts this spring in the Italian Palace in Tangier. Both by groups formed by three musicians who are researching and performing early music from Christian and Arab traditions in the middle ages.
In early May Ensemble Mudejar performed this Sephardic piece. Last February this group from Paris played as a part of the International Salon du Livre in Tangier. They also interpreted a famous Sephardic piece. It is always fascinating to see and hear interpretations of Sephardic music coming from musicians from different traditions--it truly shows how melody and music is a skeleton to be filled out with the particular soul and vision of the interpreter.

tres voces tres culturas

2008-05-05T03:34:00.000-07:00

Rough translation of Reuters article in Arabic on the Hillula in Tetouan

2008-05-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

Last March I was interviewed by Zakia Abdennebi for Reuters at the Hillula of R. Bengualid, this is the article she wrote which appeared only in the Arabic press. The link in on the side bar.
Tetouan (Morocco) (Reuters) - at a time when dozens of Jews pray mostly from the city of Tetouan in northern Morocco humble in the grave to pray at the temple was the center of the city child, Eli, who is aged over two years pick the leaves and put Ghosn Rayhan Budd in the hands of a Muslim woman inside the synagogue.

An anonymous lady said to Reuters "our fathers and grandfathers lived with the Jews did not have any animosities or backgrounds but unfortunately the problem of the Middle East poisoned relations between us."

Gathered about 150 Jews from a number of Moroccan cities of Morocco as well as from France and the United States, Spain and especially from the city of Ceuta early in the week in Tetouan located at a distance of 294 kilometres north of Rabat to commemorate the death of Rabbi Yitzhak Bengualed who was credited with establishing the first Jewish school in Morocco In the year 1860.

The slow return of Moroccan Jews to commemorate this anniversary, after long resulted in the migration of large numbers of them abroad.

Momo said Mois a Jew from Tetouan and one of the organizers of the celebration to commemorate this occasion said it "has nothing to do with politics. That, because of migration of most Jews of the city since the sixties. And now we seek to reunite Tetouan Jews across the world to return to celebrate. We have started since in 2005."

Most Jews emigrated Tetouan like other Moroccan Jews either to Israel after its founding or the European countries especially Spain and the United States, Canada and other countries.

After praying in the Temple Jews attended an evening during which listened to the music of Andalusian music of Morocco, which helped the Jews in the enrichment and preservation after the expulsion of Christians, Arabs and Jews from Andalusia.

They also visited the tomb of Rabbi Bengualed and the Jewish cemetery and some Jewish sites in the city that included monuments.

Vanessa Paloma, a researcher in the affairs of the Jews of Morocco and a grantee of the Moroccan-American Commission for Culture and Education and a member of the Moroccan Jewish community in Los Angeles for Reuters, "I think that politics in the Middle East is used as a means of destruction. We have a deeply shared history."

She added, "we must try to understand each other. To turn off the television screens and start talking to each other."

There are Jews in Morocco for about two thousand years. According to official statistics the number is dwindling from 280 thousand before Arbaenja last century to about 4000 now mostly in Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital.

According to the Wikipedia site and Jewish sites on the Internet the number of members of the Moroccan Jewish community abroad, about one million people, of whom 600 thousand in Israel and 400 thousand in European countries and in Canada and the United States.

It quoted Israeli newspapers recently that the organization "Yad Vashem" Israeli affairs Jewish Holocaust in Europe (Holocaust) will be announced soon be granted the Moroccan monarch Mohammed V, grandfather Moroccan monarch Mohammed VI of the current title of "Aziz Jewish people" because of his opposition at the beginning of last century Alarbaenja laws Government "Vichy" anti-Jewish.

A number of Moroccan Jews and their attachment to a special tradition of the country music and traditional foods and clothing. They say that despite the impact of policy in the Middle East on their relationship with Arabs and Muslims, they are still retain much of friendships and good relations with their fellow citizens of Moroccan Muslims as a number of them occupy important posts in the State Andre Azoulay, a Jewish Moroccan who holds the post of advisor of King Mohammed VI.

Juliet a Moroccan and a Jewish professor, at University of Bar-Ilan, Israel Section of Comparative Literature and Arts specializing in French thinker and writer Marcel Proust and produced several books and studies, said many "may be pessimistic for the future of relations between Israelis and other Islamic countries with regard to Morocco but we are very optimistic."

She adds "Morocco did so much for openness and Israelis like Morocco much."

The massive security presence was seen in the city of Tetouan on the residences of the Jews and Mazar although the number of men who considered the normal procedures accompany any delegation's visit to the city, whether they are tourists or ordinary Jews arriving on a visit to their mother. And denied that there be any terrorist threats.

The Moroccan authorities had announced in February last February for the dismantling of "terrorist cell" and described it as serious. The television showed pictures of weapons Moroccan authorities said they fled to Morocco for the assassination of important political figures in the country as well as Moroccan Jews.

As suicide bombers targeted a Jewish cemetery in the bombings in Casablanca in 2003 which left 45 dead including 13 suicide.

A year after a person tried to kill a Moroccan Jews in Casablanca shot him but he survived.

Juliet left the city Ouezzane in northern Morocco in 1962, heading to Israel, "noted the intense security presence .. I did not expect Israel to also know that Saab and northern Morocco where extremism."

The authorities arrested more than a year ago 26 people mostly from the city of Tetouan said they were recruited fighters to Iraq.

He said Moroccan Jews live in Israel and the son of a dynasty, Rabbi Bengualed "seven years ago we began these celebrations reservation where he started a few individuals come slowly. We want to become an annual tradition celebration."

He denied that these celebrations ceased in the past for political reasons, but "due to differentiate Tetouan included Jews living in distant places of the world Venezuela, Colombia and the United States."

And said security reinforcements as normal "as long as there are terrorist threats in Morocco."

Ruyemi Meyer is a Jewish rabbi from Casablanca, "We have always had our good relations with the Arabs. We have lived here and we will continue to live here and we always trust in our country."

He said a teacher Marcelo Michel that the Moroccan Jewish celebration in Tetouan, "the now based slowly Moroccan authorities has helped us greatly enhancing security."

There are about 36 SYNAGOGUES in Morocco and a significant number of shrines and Jewish shrines in different regions of Morocco month in Lausanne, Essaouira and Marrakesh, Taroudant and Sefrou, Oujda, Tetouan.

Peres says wheeze of a Jewish Suwayrah south-west Morocco "I hope that peace would prevail ... When I was small I did not differentiate between Jews and Arabs because we are a normal coexistence in the town of Suwayrah."

Zakia of Abdel-Nabi

Sharpening a knife on the streets of Tangier

2008-05-02T03:58:00.000-07:00

Isn't this fabulous?

3 voices 3 cultures

2008-04-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

As part of the Rencontres de Tanger Begoña Olavide, Samira Kadiri, violinist Nabil Akbib and myself gave a concert at the French Consulate in Tangier. We have plans to perform this program throughout Morocco this spring and summer. All three of us work on the Romancero from our specific musical and cultural backgrounds and are developing together an intertwining on traditions, languages and musical aesthetics. Expect some video soon!

YouTube video of a concert last Passover in Porto, Portugal

2008-04-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYSvWsr75DM

Last Chol HaMoed Passover I sang at Porto's beautiful synagogue, Mekor Haim. This is a portion of the concert. Jorge Neves from Alfandega Filmes filmed and edited so we could enjoy! It is one of the most wonderful spaces to sing in and the audience was very enthusiastic. The only drawback was that it was absolutely freezing that night, and there is no heating! But the large sanctuary in Art Deco design is stunning and a real testament to Barros Basto's work. That week I fell in love with Porto. What a beautiful city with a rich Jewish past and the potential to become a center for the return of the Anousim from the Iberian Peninsula.

Blessing the fruit trees in Casablanca

2008-04-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today, the first morning of Hol HaMoed Pesaj many people in Casablanca gathered to say the blessing over the fruit trees and then we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and the sun in the garden. There were different waves of people, and as you see it was low on women! In Tangier many people have the tradition to say Birkat HaIlanot the day after the end of Pesaj (Mimouna)... and in Israel I remember we would say it before Pesaj.
The Ba'al HaBait told me his father had the same tradition, it's been a tradition in the family for 90 years to have this gathering on the first day of Hol HaMoed. When they built the house they planted the fruit trees before starting to build so that they would be able to have this gathering for the community.
Rabbi Yosef Israel told me that in Tetouan when he was growing up it was a tradition to go to someone's house that overlooked the whole city of Tetouan and spend the first day of Hol HaMoed in the garden and gathering as a community.
In Portugal the community in Belmonte goes out for a picnic during the days of Hol HaMoed as well. Hag HaAviv--Passover is also called the Spring Holiday--beginning to enjoy the trees, the sun and the outdoors.

OMER counting from NeoHasid.org

2008-04-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

A reminder of our climbing the ladder up to Shamayim for 49 days as we count step by step.

OJOS de Haman

2008-04-14T02:43:00.000-07:00

A little Jametz imagery right as we are all cleaning up the final bread crumbs in our homes (!!) and purifying out the remains of ego and evil inclination that yeast represents... These wonderful breads were baked by a friend in Tangier for Purim. They are symbols of Haman's eyes when he was hung. The egg is his eyeball bulging out when they hung him, after he had planned to hang Mordechai instead.

Tsaddik in Alcazarquivir

2008-04-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Yehuda Yabali, the Tsaddik from Alcazarquivir (Ksar el Kbir) is buried about 100 meters from the Jewish Cemetery. There is this small domed tomb where people light candles. During the Hillula the whole chamber is aflame with the flames coming out of the windows. They say that some people can see the face of the Tsaddik in the flames. Some see it and others don't see it at all, it depends on the person.

UTube video of my concerts Hannuka in Casablanca

2008-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

¿Por qué no cantáis la bella? also known as Una Hija Tiene el Rey is a song from TETOUAN which has become one of my favorites in my repertoire. The narrator asks why the princess doesn't sing. She doesn't and won't until her beloved is brought back from war, safely and not in shackles. And if he isn't brought back, she herself will go out to save him, arming an army, a navy and being the captain herself. She will throw herself into the storm so people will see cheer her seeing everything that she does for her beloved.
Maurice Elbaz of FTG Music created this video with footage from my concerts at the Jewish Old Age Home in Casablanca and at the Alliance Israelite Universelle preschool last Hannukah.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzDGLCCn6j8

Rehabilitate the name of Captain Barros Basto

2008-04-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

Last year I was in Portugal for Pesaj celebrating, singing and teaching with returning communities of Crypto-Jews in Lisbon, Porto and Belmonte. There is an amazing and inspiring renaissance of Jewish life and awareness in Portugal.
In the 1920s and 30s there was a visionary man, Captain Barros Basto that returned to Judaism himself, he came to Morocco--to Tetouan to complete his halachic return and then went back to Porto where he spearheaded the return of Anusim. He started a school and got funding from Jews from the Spanish & Portuguese Jewish communities in London, New York and others to build a stunning Art Deco synagogue called Mekor Haim.
Unfortunately his name was smeared and there was something similar to the Drefyuss Affair. He was stripped of his rank and the whole project was abandoned. All the Anousim that had come forth were chided by others reminding them of the dangers of revealing their true identity. After this WWII started and that drove people further into hiding.
It seems that we are finally over that and people are courageously coming out in hundreds if not thousands from years of hidden Judaism. Mekor Haim Synagogue in Porto has a petition to rehabilitate Barros Basto's name for the history books. Please click on the link and sign.
http://www.comunidade-israelita-porto.org/

2008-04-02T06:51:00.001-07:00

Mystic Siren Diwan in Rabat

2008-04-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

Using a story from my book Mystic Siren we had a women's gathering in Rabat during International Women's Week. After I was finished reading the story out loud, Susannah Knittel led a Council exercise. It was a true moment of great synergy and all of us present felt something greater than any one component. One of the women present wrote me later saying "it was awesome." Thanks to Ruth Petzold, the English Language Officer of the American Embassy who hosted.
Our conclusion was we all need to connect to our deepest essence more often, and connect to others more often. A deep peace and remembering of what is truly important was awakened through the story and the discussion.

Council and actors in Tetouan

2008-04-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Movement Artist Susannah Knittel came to Morocco in early March and we did a series of exploratory workshops for a project we have in mind on women across national, religious and cultural boundaries... She offered a wonderful workshop using her improvisation techniques at Dar Thakafa in Tetouan thanks to the collaboration of Samira Kadiri, Khalid Amine and the International Centre for Performance Studies. These were the participants--students, professionals, directors, dancers, puppeteers... We hope to build something from this first encounter which was so satisfying.

Hilula in Tetouan

2008-04-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

About 200 people form Casablanca, Tangier, Tetouan, Gibraltar, Ceuta, Madrid, New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Israel gathered a week before Purim for a shabbaton and the Hilula of Rabbi Yitzhak Bengualid.
Photographer Peter Svarzbein and I were there as part of the community and also documenting the powerful moments of intersection between this world and the next.
We spent shabbat in the Synagogue in "El Ensanche" the new city. This was the first shabbat in years, because Tetouan's community doesn't have a minyan anymore. It was very moving to have tefilot (services) and to gather for meals as a community in this city where the community numbers have dwindled to the point there is no more active communal life.
The day of the Hilula we went to R. Bengualid's synagogue in the mellah and later to his gravesite.

Identity - sameness and difference & headscarves

2008-03-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

on the train... conversations on identity, belonging and connecting to those around us. She was telling me about how some perceive women with headscarves as close-minded, but this is not necessarily the case.
My desire is for all of us to have a clear sense of self but with a permeable porousness to allow and celebrate the differences in others we encounter. A piece of material doesn't label every detail of a person's self.

Xauen aka Chefchauen

2008-02-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

It is said to have a very mystical history and that there were the most synagogues per capita. The Director of the General Archive and Library of Tetouan, Mr. Taimi, told me that the Jews from Chauen (Xauen/Chefchauen) came from Fez. The lifted the town's economy and then were expelled by the other residents... after their economy fell they wanted the Jews to come back. He said this is the story he knows, but I should check with Mr. Ali Raissouni, the historian of Xauen who lives behind the Mosque by the Kasbah. I met with him this last week, and hope to visit him in the next couple of weeks to ask him more about the Jews of Xauen.
Xauen, nestled high in the mountains of Northern Morocco is a beautiful town that is enjoying from a renewed interest. I would say Xauen has the most tourism of Northern Morocco. The town is full of blue painted houses. Legend has it that the Jews were the ones that brought the blue, and after they left the Muslims decided to keep the blue instead of reverting to green, the color of Islam.
Notice in the first picture how this house's courtyard is organized with the rooms on higher levels and a well on the upper right hand side. I was singing at the entrance to their house and two children came out, very excited to hear it and playing with me and imitating the song. This house was like walking into a dream.

Pri Etz Hadar

2008-01-23T07:08:00.000-08:00

On Tu Bishvat (the 15th of the month of Shevat) we celebrate the new year for the trees. According to Jewish mysticism, it is during this day and with a special seder ceremony where we can rectify the blemish that Adam and Eve created against the tree--when they did not wait the required time and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil before they were supposed to. On Tu Bishvat in Tangier we celebrated with the ceremony from the book Pri Etz Hadar (the fruit of the beautiful tree), full of teachings from the Torah, Mishna and Zohar, as well as kavvanot (intentions) on different permutations of Gd's name while blessing and eating the fruits and nuts.

Tu Bishvat

2008-01-22T16:49:00.001-08:00

Botbol brothers with Zakia at the Jewish "residencia" in Tangier

2008-01-22T16:10:00.001-08:00

Michel and Haim Botbol invited everyone over for a musical afternoon with buñuelos at the Jewish residence in Tangier last Sunday afternoon. Their disciple, Zakia, came and played on some pieces with them.
I sang a couple of songs; one of the highlights of the afternoon was when they played old french tunes and everyone sang with a smile on their face. Another was seeing the staff sing along and dance to the traditional music!

Conference on Identity and cross-cultural encounters at Abdelmalek Esaadi University in Tetouan (Martil)

2008-01-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

I was invited by Professor Abderrazzak Essrhir, the Chairman of the English Department of the Faculty of Letters of Abdelmalek Esaadi University to give a talk on ISSUES OF THE FORMATION OF IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF CROSS-CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS.
My proposal is that monolithic identities are mental constructs that serve an important role in definition of the self, but can become so rigid so as to not serve us well anymore. I propose a new relationship to identity where we start from our essence and move towards outward identities, instead of the opposite which is what many of us do nowadays.
In this manner we can break ideas of "other-ness" and "other-ing" people that are outwardly different from our personal experience. In this manner we can connect from the shared experience of being humans and/or simply the shared experience of existence. There was an interesting exchange with the students and a question and answer portion. I also sang a vocalise with Tibetan bowl accompaniment.