More about Mahmoonah
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At the close of the Passover holiday at sundown on the 8th day (7th day for Reform Jews and Jews in Israel), Moroccan, Turkish, Tunisian, Algerian and Yemenite Sephardic Jews worldwide have a Mahmoonah, a celebration of freedom, community values, togetherness, friendship, and is a demonstration of great hospitality. It is also a celebration of the renewal of Spring, and fertility. On the eve of Mahmoonah, family members, friends, and cousins visit each others' homes, going from house to house. There is a certain order to these visits. On their way home from synagogue services, Mahmoonah celebrants will visit the Rabbi's family, the Hazzan (Cantor), their parents, friends, and then their neighbors, in that order and at each home, singing songs, exchanging greetings and blessings, and sampling a token food at each house. At each stop the head of the household blesses the guests. Traditional embroidered dress is worn by members of the household. A big banquet, buffet, and feast are hosted by each household.
Mahmoonah was once primarily an all-night event characterized by visiting many homes in the community and was observed almost universally by Sephardic Jews. It was a festival of friendship, togetherness, and shared values, amid an environment of tranquility and peace. There was none of the rush and bustle associated with Passover preparations and the seder night. Some believe that Mahmoonah represents a symbolic new beginning of freedom from slavery, and so sweets are set out on a table with a white tablecloth decorated with flowers and wheat sheaves which is the centerpiece of the Mahmoonah Day. In the sense of Mahmoonah being a new beginning, eating these sweets symbolizes a sweet year.
Originally, the central event of Mahmoonah used to be the baking of the first leavened bread after Passover. The yeast of the bread was considered a symbol of Israel, and so great care was taken to ensure it rose properly. While the dough was being prepared, songs were sung in hopes that the rising bread would be a good omen. Some communities kept and poured wine from the cup of Elijah over the yeast. The festive table is the central point of the Mahmoonah celebration and contains and is decorated with many symbolic foods and items, respectively. Symbolic foods of Mahmoonah include milk or buttermilk, white candies, and flour that symbolize purity; eggs, bean pods that symbolize fertility; and dates and preserves that symbolize a sweet year. Other symbolic foods include: butter, honey, fruits, candies, cakes made with yeast, plain yeast, coin-shaped chocolate, and nuts. Fresh raw fish and various other greens are also present.
All the above-mentioned symbolic foods also symbolize good luck. Wine is also present on the table, which is decorated with flowers and stalks of wheat. Sweet Moroccan mint tea is also served. The table of sweets may contain gold-wrapped chocolate coins to symbolize one of the meanings of Mahmoonah: prosperity and riches. Chocolate-covered apricots are another popular candy. A famous dish called "Muffaleta" or "Mufleita" - a thin, round, fragrant pancake-like food that is rolled up similar to a type of French crépe - is served hot and contains butter and honey. Stuffed dates are also popular. Pita bread would be dipped in honey and butter to symbolize the togetherness of the family.
Mahmoonah is celebrated with great vigor in Israel, where families gather at picnics in parks and on beaches to eat, drink, sing and dance. There are some individuals who refrain from eating bread until the daytime Mahmoonah picnic -- even though it is permissible the night before. This is to show the love of matzah and how hard it is to break away from God's commandments. There is also a custom that courting and matchmaking are performed on Mahmoonah, and so after eating, many women and men meet and mingle in the streets in order to meet an ideal mate on Mahmoonah, but are also under the watchful eye of their parents. Already engaged bridegrooms send precious ornaments to their future brides and dine with their future in-laws. There is also another custom that parents of an engaged couple invite them over to eat muffaleta and grilled fish.
Jews who lived in coastal areas of Morocco would customarily go to the seashore early in the morning on the first day after Passover and dip their bare feet into the water and wash their hands to symbolize the Hebrews' journey through the Yam Soof, which is the Hebrew phrase for the "Sea of Reeds" [which is possibly the "Red Sea", an arm of the "Red Sea", or another body of water in the Sinai Peninsula area (Gulf of Suez, or the large delta at the mouth of the Nile River in Northern Egypt)], which took place on the final day of the first Passover. People who lived inland would go to rivers, wells, springs, or swimming holes to re-enact the miraculous journey through the "Sea of Reeds". These people would pour water over their hands and feet and even on the threshold of their houses to symbolize the Hebrews' journey through the "Sea of Reeds". Once this ritual was done, people would then go to an outdoor setting where they would set up tents and picnics complete with music, laughter, singing and dancing. In Turkey, Jewish men throw coins and candy (both of these items are symbols of the wealth and food that the Jewish people brought with them when they left Egypt), and grass [a symbol of the "Sea of Reeds”] to children who eagerly await them and the coins and candy symbolize the wealth that the Israelites or Hebrews brought out of Egypt. At the same time, this ritual represents a wish that the coming year should be "green" and productive.
The origin and meaning of Mahmoonah is not definite. Mahmoonah means either "wealth", or "good fortune" in Arabic, or the word Mahmoonah may mean "Maimon" in reference to the father of Maimonides. Maimonides was born Moses Ben Maimon (Hebrew meaning: "Moses, son of Maimon" or Maymun) in Córdoba, Spain, who lived from 1135 to 1204. He was a famous Jewish rabbinical scholar, philosopher, and physician who first lived in Spain then in Cairo, Egypt. Mahmoonah was said to have originated in Fez, Morocco, in honor of Maimonides' father who lived and died there. Mahmoonah honors the death date of Maimonides' father. Since Maimonides' father died on the final day of Passover and in Jewish tradition death is seen as a reunion of man with his Creator, a celebration is held on the anniversary of the death. To avoid having both the Passover celebration and the anniversary celebration of the death of Maimonides' father on the same day, the anniversary celebration of Maimonides' father's death was moved up to the day after the final day of Passover.
Mahmoonah might also mean "emunah", which means "faith" in Hebrew, faith in the sense that redemption for the Jewish people will come in the month of Nisan, as it came to pass in the month of Nisan during the exodus from Egypt. Another possibility is that Mahmoonah derives from the word "mammon" in Aramaic or Hebrew, which means "prosperity" or "riches". This definition originates from the belief that both one's personal productivity, prosperity and wealth as well as the national productivity, prosperity and wealth of one's country will be determined on Mahmoonah Day. At the evening synagogue service, people greet each other, wishing each other "tarbah" (Tarbah means "success" in Hebrew), as well as reciting to each other the special Mahmoonah blessing: "Alallah Mahmoonah, Ambarka mas'uda", and drink "Mahya", a honey-based drink. Laughter and jokes with much music and rejoicing characterize the Mahmoonah evening well into the night!
Persian (or Iranian) Jews have a post-Passover celebration called "Shabeh Sal". This is similar to the Mahmoonah in terms of having a festival complete with sweets except that it takes place in the home of the eldest member of the family. Visitors to the eldest member's home bring sweets to add to the festivity. To symbolize the conclusion of Passover, family members in the eldest member's household prepare foods made with dairy products because kosher for Passover milk and milk products are not available in Iran. Following this event, Iranian Jews have a tea drinking ceremony in which tea is served with dates rather than sugar because kosher for Passover sugar is also not available in Iran. The following day, Persian Jews go out to picnic in a grassy area, shaded from the sun. Persian Jews adopted this picnicking custom called "Roozeh Sal" that pre-dates Islam in Persia.
Text compiled by Linda Gavatin
Come to the Program:
Who: You
What: Join us for a fun evening of family and friends
Where: At BSKI
When: Friday April 21, 2006 after services
(Services start at 6:00 p.m.)
Why: Because it will be a lot of fun
Cost: Children: 5 and under free
Children: 6 to 10 $6.00
Adults: $12.00
RSVP: BSKI Office no later than April 18, 2006 (Office will be closed April 19 & 20 for Pesach) 314-725-6230 or click here