Shrine of Rabbi David Ben Baroukh HaCohen, near Taroudant

Rabbi David Ben Baroukh HaCohen Azugh was an 18th-century kabbalist (a master of Jewish mysticism) remembered as a miracle-worker. Sources disagree on when he died: Diarna gives 1760, while Yabiladi and other accounts give around 1785. He married the sister of Rabbi Khalifa Ben Malka, the leading rabbinic figure of 18th-century Agadir.

He belonged to the Cohen Azugh family, kohanim (of priestly descent) whose members in Taroudant and the surrounding region were venerated as saints by the Jews of the Souss. The family traditionally traces its line to Phinehas, grandson of Aaron. Diarna notes that the name Azugh may come from a Berber word meaning “great”.

His origins are told in several ways, all of them tradition. One account brings his ancestors from Babylon by way of Egypt and Sudan; another says he came from Oufrane, in the Anti-Atlas; a third that he came from Jerusalem to raise money for Jewish schools. The versions agree that he lived first at Mentaga before moving to the village where he is buried.

Stories about him are part of the pilgrimage. Tradition holds that he was born with a mark on his forehead and kept it covered, that a sheikh’s son who threw a stone at him was blinded when he uncovered it, and that when he sold beeswax in Marrakech the scales would not register its weight until a merchant recognised him.

Two points often cause confusion. The first is the nickname Baba Doudou. Yabiladi gives it to him, while the University of Haifa’s survey of Jewish communities in Morocco attaches it to a later namesake, Rabbi David HaCohen Azugh, who died in 1953 and is buried in Marrakech.

The second is the place name. Sources call it Aghzou or Azrou n’Bahamou near Ouled Berhil, Tinzert, Bizou, or Souk Tlat de Mnabha on the road to the Tizi n’Test pass. They appear to describe the same area east of Taroudant. Morocco World News places the mausoleum in the Tinzert area near Taroudant, about 80 km east of Agadir.

The hilloula, the yearly pilgrimage on a tzaddik’s (holy man’s) anniversary, is held around the eighth and last day of Hanukkah, known as Zot Hanukkah (2 or 3 Tevet, depending on the year). It usually falls in December and sometimes in early January. Yabiladi describes pilgrims arriving over about two weeks in December.

Reported attendance runs from several hundred to more than 2,000, with visitors from Morocco, France, England, the United States and elsewhere. The complex has lodging for pilgrims, reported in 2023 as 300 rooms, and the days include prayer, shared meals and singing. At the tomb pilgrims light candles, touch the memorial stone and pray. Large candles and other items are auctioned, and the proceeds support the caretakers.

The Azugh family maintains the shrine and organises the hilloula, and the family is active in the Casablanca synagogue named after him. The regional and provincial governors attended in December 2018. A Taroudant hilloula with the governors present was also reported on 1 January 2025, presumably this one, since the timing matches the end of Hanukkah. Our hilloula guide explains how these pilgrimages work.

Outside the hilloula, access is through the caretakers or the Azugh family and community, and it needs to be arranged in advance. We do this when we plan the trip. Dress modestly, cover your head at the tomb, and leave a tip or donation for the caretakers. Kohanim who avoid graves should ask about the layout before going in.

If you want to attend the hilloula itself, talk to us early so we can plan the dates, transfers and kosher meals through certified caterers.

Taroudant, a walled town east of Agadir, is the natural base, and Agadir’s airport is the nearest air gateway. Combine the shrine with the mellah of Taroudant and, in Agadir, the tomb of his brother-in-law, Rabbi Khalifa Ben Malka.