The Mimouna Association, which works for the promotion of the Moroccan Jewish cultural heritage, offers free Hebrew online lessons in the Moroccan Arab dialect of Darija.
The online courses have been available since June on the Facebook page of the association. They are given via by Youssef Safin, the association’s representative in Marrakech and include lessons on names, pronouns, days of the week, the Hebrew alphabet, the origins of Hebrew, the differences between ancient and modern Hebrew, etc. in Arabic and Hebrew
The courses were developed in the context of emergency health measures which prevented those wishing to learn Hebrew from taking the courses provided by the association in person in the Moroccan capital Rabat.
The lessons have been the subject of interest by followers of the association on the internet, especially in the gulf countries. Users have also expressed the wish to have a book as a downloadable PDF file or in paper format.
The Mimouna association was founded on April 7, 2007. Its objective is to preserve Moroccan Jewish culture, to consolidate peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims and to sensitise Moroccan youth to Jewish heritage .
The idea of creating the association emerged in a workshop at Ifrane’s Al Akhawayn University. The association was founded and is chaired by Mehdi Bodra.
The association chose the name of Mimouna in reference to the Jewish holiday celebrated in the Maghreb on the evening and day after Pesach, often in the company of Muslim friends and neighbours. Since its creation, the association has published a number of brochures and booklets on the history of the Jews in Morocco.
