מורשת יהדות מרוקו

But her friends

 Dispel her sadness.

 Leading her blithelv

In a whirl of lightheartedness.

 Gailv, thev sing and dance,

 Leaving behind all worry. The young girl feted here

, Crowned with flowers ear to ear,

 Is ready for the ceremony

 Of the Henna.

Which is presented in a bowl

At the peak of the party.

With her hands and feet coated in Henna,

The fiancee prepares for sleep.

She is carried to her bed,

And falls asleep

With golden dreams.

Finally comes

 The long-awaited moment.

 Oh, my friends, what emotion!

 The bride is queen,

The groom is king.

On Wednesday,

At around midday,

The invited guests arrive,

Overflowing with gaiety

At the house of the groom.

The engaged couple, upon their shoulders,

Are carried in a great brouhaha

To the house of Rah'a^\

The Msem'in are already on hand

To play tunes of Ala²⁵.

The boys sing and dance

Almost falling into a trance.

The girls trill Zgharit –

Their favorite melody.

And in the middle of the room,

There is a dais

 Of embroidered velour.

 It is the Talamon

In memory of King Solomon's throne

We lead the couple to the canopy

 To celebrate the Huppah ceremony

 The Rabbi, with solemn voice,

 Blesses them for a life without worries.

 The words Hare Atbarely said,

 When the Zgharit commences anew

 Soaring direct

 To His Throne

 To implore His blessing

For this splendid couple.

Elohim-

How thev are fair!

 And bless them

And their new abode.

But what does the Hatan hold in his hand?

It is a fine crystal glass

That he shatters with a heavy key

If we break the glass in this way,

Believe me, it's not without reason –

The broken glass :

In memory of the destroyed House

The Temple of times past.

The key,

Symbol of the new home

Which the couple will make their own.

After having eaten and drunk,

 After the speeches have been heard,

 After the cakes and the tea,

 Served with joy and gaiety,

 All take leave of the couple, farewell!

 And go, and leave them all alone.

Alone?

Not always;

Because at times,

My word,

They are so young,

Timid, without experience,

Nervous and without patience…

Then a goodly woman

Stays on a while,

And ardently explains to them

What, how and when.

 Gently

She tells them

What is permitted

And what forbidden.

This woman is a fount of science

While I, your narrator, am reduced to silence.

The next day is called the "Sbah"

The couple, still drowsy,

 Radiant and happy,

Host their two families.

 And with them, friends,

 Well-meaning and kind,

They have all come to hear

: "All is well, L'a'rossa a'la hir!

 

Then thev bring the Ketuba

And, in the space below,

The groom augments, in his own hand,

The down׳ value written there.

We hear the Zgharit of delight,

And the drinks flow

As it is right.

That same day, in the afternoon,

Something I have not yet said,

To the home of the newly-weds,

Gaily and happily

Come women of the family,

They sit upon the canape

As they eat the Palebe,

They talk and babble.

Praise or deride :

"This is ugly,

That is sublime!"

They point with their fingers

And chatter jokingly,

But, believe me,

Never spitefully.

And towards the eve,

At the time for tea,

We tell the men"

"Go up!

The newlyweds are there,

Awaiting your good wishes."

Then the men,

 Sbah in hand,

And also, a jasmine bouquet,

Smiling, all excited

Rejoin their wives.

And, until late in the night, celebrate

With music, food and drink.

The Hatan cannot leave his house

And this, my friends,

Is not without reason,

For with the Kallah he must stay,

To love her without measure.

And so, he receives his guests,

His sisters, his brothers, and his friends,

Who come by to visit him

In his new abode.

And now the Shabat Hatan

 Has come

It is the "Sabbath of the Groom.

" Dressed in a Zoha and Caftan

^,His brothers go with him

To the synagogue, where await

His entire circle of friends,

Family, Rabbi and the Hazan

And more than one Paitan.

The bride, regal, in Kssoua Kbira

Takes her place in the Azara

As for the groom, he is led forward

And seated close to the Aron Ha'Torah

The singers raise their voice

 As if in competition,

We hear the first of them,

He sings a song of happiness

: Be-siman tov ve-hatslaha

Tehi-ay le-adataynou

Ve-kol sasson ve-kol simha

Yeshama be-artsenou

Ve-azai tehi-ay Harvaha

 Be-viat me-shihenou

(Good wishes and success

For our community,

And the voice of joy and happiness

Be heard throughout our land,

So that felicity ensues

And our Messiah soon appears.)

Then the second singer begins,

A song sung with all his soul :

Dar shamayim

Na'arats bekedusha

Asher bara sasson ve-simha

 Hatan ve-kallah ve-ditsa...

(The One who in heaven resides,

Worshipped in His sanctity,

Who has created joy and happiness

For Groom and Bride and lightheartedness…)

After this comes forward a third,

 To show in turn his worth.

Gazar El shohen sne

 Bat ploni leploni

Arbaim yom milifnay

Yom assot Hachem

 Reou kama gdola

 Mitsvat Hatan veKallah

(E-l, revealed in the burning bush,

For the union was decreed

For the daughter of them and the son of those

Forty days before the Creation.

Oh, see how great is the Mitzvah

Of Hatan and Kallah.)

And when the Torah leaves the Ark,

 All of us reach out our arms

 In fervent murmurs, we express

 Our wishes for much happiness.

Almost all the invited guests

Are called to the Torah and blessed,

Instead of seven, as before,

There are ten, fifteen, a score,

To such a point that, surfeited,

Someone calls out, "That's enough ־ Halas!"

And there is complete silence

Before the most important part.

The Rabbi makes some fine remarks,

He praises the couple, and glorifies them.

And the Hatan, without airs,

Intones the blessings of the prayer :

Barekhu et Adonai ha-mevorakh!

All the room is under the spell

 Moved, the bride dries a tear as well,

 She throws candies and sweets on her Hatan

, Caught by the children with greedy elan

The prayer ended,

All are conveyed

To the parents of the groom

Where an abundant feast

Awaits.

What a banquet it is, my friends!

Wait! Stay in your seat!

Here come pigeons, stuffed and sweet!

Eat on! Don't stop ־

This is only a prelude ־

Not even yet the meal itself.

Toward night,

Before the Sabbath has "departed,"

 The Hatan is at his door.

 He is handsome and finely dressed

 As he calls out to his friends,

 "Come on in! Let's celebrate!

 Let no one tire,

And let all do

As they desire."

And this is how, dear friends,

Together, like brothers,

We spend an unforgettable week

Seated around the table,

 Eating and drinking,

 Singing and dancing,

 Adding on ceremonies,

 And vet, it is not complete!

 

Come! Closer still!

I will now narrate

The event of the next Wednesday,

But you have surely guessed,

It is the Lilt tkssir Ihout.

Mabrouk, mabrouk!

In the morning, our valiant Hatan,

Goes to the Souk.

He is not alone, thanks be to God,

For his friends are with him too.

He passes by the potter

While one of his friends, the canniest,

Furtively buys

A Keskass – a sieve –

Giving it to the flower seller.

"Look after it well," he says,

"It mustn't break!"

When the florist greets the Hatan,

He holds out a floral bouquet:

"Buy these flowers for your wife

Don't ever leave her in dismay!"

Our young husband takes

The flowers… and the sieve,

And no one sees him quietly leave.

Thus, armed with the stolen sieve

 He returns to his house

 To give the flowers to his spouse,

 And to cosset her.

On his route –

Hear how pleasant is this feat –

His friends approach him in the street

 And by force press

 Into his pockets many gifts of coins.

Then they go to his abode

 Where Mahia in glasses glows,

The young wife, her head covered

 In a blue or green Sbniah

Welcomes them with an Asslama.

 Several times this phrase is said,

The table is already set.

The cries of the Zgharit sound

And Ghrama is collected around.

And when night falls

We present the young couple

 With a large fish,

Placed in the sieve.

Their task

Is to scale it

And to clean it,

And, joyfully, they comply

Under the vigilant eye

Of the two mothers.

The fish symbolizes

Fertility.

If in Him

We are confident

God in his goodness

Will give children to them.

The theft of the sieve

 Lets it be understood

That our young groom

 Would go so far as to steal

To provide for his brood.

And so this is how, my friends,

Surrounded by good omens

Two families, happy and content,

In joy and love

A fortnight spent.

As it is said in the Scriptures :

In order that happiness endures,

Man leaves his mother and father

A wife to take.

Riches and strength

He will give to her,

And thus,

In his domain,

Joy will reign.

 

English translation by Janice Rosen