After two years of hiatus due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hiloula Celebration In Morocco (religious anniversary) set a new record number, by attracting more than 2,000 members of the Moroccan Jewish community, as they flocked last Thursday from around the world to celebrate this event in Essaouira.
The Yom Hiloula is the anniversary of the passing of the rabbinic scholar or teacher “Saint Rabbi Haim Pinto“, he was known throughout the country and beyond for his great Torah knowledge as well as for being the leader of Essaouira, It’s one of the most famous hills in North Africa.
This religious celebration takes place every 26th of September – the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar – Jews from all over the world visit Essaouira to pray and place requests for blessings on the grave of the rabbi.
Several videos and streams of the Yom Hiloula were shared throughout social media by Rabbie David Hanania Pinto, Rabbi Chaim Pinto’s fifth descendant, and other participants in the ceremony while they are happily singing, dancing, and holding pictures of King Mohammed VI, waving Morocco’s flag, as an expression of their attachment to their motherland.
This year, the “Hiloula” celebration coincided with the launch of a new direct air route between Essaouira and Tel Aviv, which encouraged hundreds of Moroccan Jews to visit and boost by that the Moroccan Jews’ tourism mark.
