Passover and Mimouna in Morocco: Programmes, Seders and Traditions

Morocco keeps the eight-day Pesach of communities outside Israel. In 2027 the first Seder is on the evening of Wednesday 21 April, and the holiday ends at nightfall on Thursday 29 April. In 2028 Pesach begins on the evening of Monday 10 April.

There are three realistic ways to spend it:

A holiday programme. An operator takes over a resort for the whole festival and runs its kitchens, Seders and services under kosher supervision. This is the only way to have a fully kosher-for-Passover hotel in Morocco.

A Seder with Chabad, and touring around it. The Chabad houses in Casablanca, Marrakech and Agadir host Shabbat and holiday meals by advance registration. Around the Seders you stay in an ordinary hotel and eat from kosher-for-Passover supplies.

A private arrangement. A family Seder in a rented villa is possible only if a certified caterer agrees to prepare kosher-for-Passover food for your dates. Few kosher suppliers operate outside Casablanca and Marrakech, so treat this as something to confirm months ahead, not to assume.

Our kosher travel guide explains how kosher food works the rest of the year.

Listings viewed in October 2026 show these programmes for Pesach 2027:

Marrakech. The Address Club at Le Méridien N’Fis, with kashrut under the Beth Din of Casablanca. Osher Holidays has announced a programme at the Rose Garden Suites & Villas (21–30 April 2027); its Sukkot 2026 programme there was supervised by Top-K (Rabbi Eliezer Wolff of Amsterdam), Glatt Kosher LeMehadrin with chalav Yisrael.

Agadir. Royal Events by White & Blue at The View Agadir, advertised as glatt kosher; the supervising body is not named in the listing.

Tamuda Bay, on the Mediterranean near Tetouan. White & Blue at the St. Regis La Bahia Blanca (Glatt Kosher Lemehadrin), and Sarah Tours across the Banyan Tree Tamouda Bay and the Marina Smir Hotel & Spa (Glatt Kosher Lamehadrin, full board).

For Pesach 2026, Le Méridien N’Fis hosted programmes under the Beth Din of Casablanca, one of which advertised a Chabad-standard option for guests who avoid gebrokts (matzah that has touched liquid). Outside the programme dates, none of these hotels is kosher.

Location shapes the trip. Marrakech programmes combine with the mellah and the High Atlas shrines (Marrakech guide). Tamuda Bay is close to Tetouan’s mellah and cemetery and within reach of Tangier (Tangier and Tetouan guide). Agadir suits the Souss and the Anti-Atlas (southern Morocco guide). You can add heritage touring before the first Seder or after the holiday, when sites and restaurants are back to their normal hours.

Programmes vary widely, and in April 2026 participants in one Marrakech Pesach programme complained publicly about how it was run. Before paying a deposit, ask:

Who supervises? A named authority, such as the Beth Din of Casablanca or a recognised foreign hechsher, and a mashgiach (kosher supervisor) on site throughout. Ask for it in writing.

Who runs it? The operator, not the hotel, is responsible for the kosher kitchen. Find out how long they have run programmes and read reviews from previous years.

What exactly is included? Shmurah matzah, who leads the Seders, daily minyanim, children’s activities, excursions and airport transfers.

When can you arrive? Check-in should leave time to settle before the first Seder, especially if you fly in on Erev Pesach.

Does it suit your group? Ask about the age mix, who the rabbi or scholar-in-residence is, and whether the Seders are held in one large hall or at family tables.

What are the payment terms? Deposit, cancellation and refund rules, and what happens if the programme changes hotel.

We do not run Pesach programmes, but we plan the touring before and after one and can help you compare the options.

If you are travelling without a programme, the Chabad houses are the natural place for a Seder. Chabad of Casablanca (Rabbi Levi and Chana Banon) and Chabad of Marrakech (Rabbi Shimon and Rachel Lahiany) both take registrations for Shabbat and holiday meals through their websites, and Chabad of Agadir offers holiday hospitality.

The practical points:

Register early and confirm your places by message closer to the date. Ask whether a communal Seder is planned that year and where it will be held; in October 2026 Chabad Casablanca’s Shabbat meals were at Hotel Le Palace d’Anfa.

Stay within walking distance. The first two and last two days of Pesach are full festival days, when observant travellers do not drive, and neither Casablanca nor Marrakech has an eruv. Both Chabad houses publish lists of nearby hotels with walking times.

Plan the rest of the week. On the intermediate days (Chol HaMoed) you can tour, but every meal must be kosher for Passover. The kosher groceries in Casablanca and Marrakech may stock Passover products, but confirm before relying on them, and bring or order the rest in advance.

Moroccan Jewish families brought their own customs to the Seder, and many keep them wherever they now live. One Moroccan family’s account, published in 2012, describes the father lifting the Seder plate and swinging it over everyone’s head three times while the family sings, diners reclining on piles of cushions, and haroset made from dates, figs, raisins and crushed nuts. The same family ate homemade matzah, avoided dairy for the whole festival, and after the meal filled a large glass of wine for Elijah before going to the door with candles to “walk Elijah in”.

Customs differed from city to city and family to family, so ask your hosts about theirs.

Mimouna is the celebration Moroccan Jews hold on the night Pesach ends, when leavened food returns to the table. In Morocco, which follows the eight-day calendar, that is the evening after the last day of Pesach: Thursday 29 April in 2027.

The name. Its origin is uncertain. Explanations include the Hebrew emunah (faith), a link to Maimon, the father of Maimonides, and the Arabic mimoun, luck or good fortune.

The table. Families lay out a table meant to bring luck and plenty for the year ahead. Descriptions mention a bowl of flour with gold coins and fresh fava beans set in it, a live fish in a bowl, milk, greenery and sheaves of wheat, and plates of sweets.

The food. The centrepiece is mufleta, a thin, pancake-like bread cooked in a pan and eaten warm with butter and honey. Because mufleta is the first bread after Pesach, it is the dish everyone waits for. Other traditional foods include couscous with milk, white nougat, fruit preserves, cookies with walnuts or pistachios, and dates stuffed with marzipan.

Open doors. Mimouna is a night of visiting. Families keep open house, friends and neighbours go from door to door, and guests are expected to taste something at every house. The greeting, in Moroccan Arabic, is tirbachu wa’tis’adu, “may you succeed and be joyous”. In Morocco, Muslim neighbours traditionally brought the flour for the first mufleta, along with milk and honey, since Jewish homes had none after Pesach. The celebration often continues the next day with picnics.

Mimouna has also become a symbol of Jewish-Muslim relations in Morocco. In 2007 Moroccan Muslim students founded the Mimouna Association to promote and preserve Moroccan Jewish heritage. In Israel it has grown into a large public celebration.

With a small community today, there is no public Mimouna in Morocco we can point you to in advance. If you will be in the country that night, ask your programme or your Chabad host whether one is planned.

Sukkot. Kosher Sukkot programmes also run in Morocco. In 2026 they were advertised at the Rose Garden Suites & Villas and the Mövenpick in Marrakech, and at the Fairmont and Hilton resorts in Taghazout Bay near Agadir. Sukkot 2027 begins on the evening of Friday 15 October; Pesach 2027 programmes were already listed in October 2026, so expect Sukkot listings well in advance too.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah 2027 begins on the evening of Friday 1 October and Yom Kippur on the evening of Sunday 10 October. Visitors can pray with the community at active synagogues such as Temple Beth-El in Casablanca, the Beth El synagogue in Marrakech, and Shaar Raphael in Tangier, where members of the Tangier diaspora come back for the High Holidays. Seats and entry are arranged in advance through the community or Chabad, and synagogues have security at the door, so carry your passport.

Hanukkah. The last day of Hanukkah brings the hilloula of Rabbi David Ben Baroukh near Taroudant, one of the main pilgrimages of the Souss. Our hilloula guide has the full calendar.

Holiday dates set the shape of the whole trip. The Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca and many Jewish sites close on festival days, observant travellers do not drive, and kosher restaurants may close or change their hours, so check. The days just before Pesach and after it ends are the best time for heritage touring.

A shape that works well for a two-week trip: land in Casablanca five or six days before the first Seder and visit Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Meknes while everything is open; reach your programme hotel, or your hotel near Chabad, by the morning of Erev Pesach; spend the festival there, with short outings on Chol HaMoed if you wish; celebrate Mimouna on the last night; then continue to Essaouira, the High Atlas or the south once the holiday is over.

Book early. Programme places, Chabad Seders and the hotels within walking distance of Chabad are limited. When we build a holiday itinerary, we fix the festival days first, then add the touring, the drivers and the kosher food plan around them. You can start with our sample Jewish heritage tour or tell us your dates.