Shrine of Rabbi Yahia Lakhdar, near Ben Ahmed

Few historical sources describe his life, and the period he lived near Ben Ahmed is uncertain. A 1986 report quoted by Yabiladi describes him as an emissary sent from Hebron (Al Khalil) to the Moroccan Jewish communities towards the end of the 17th century. According to tradition, recorded by the Hevrat Pinto foundation, he was the brother of Rabbi Eliyahu HaCohen, revered in Casablanca as “master of the city”, and was known for miracles of healing.

Among Moroccan Jews he is a tzaddik, a righteous person whose grave is visited for prayer and blessing. Pilgrims come especially to ask for healing; Yabiladi mentions people with skin conditions and women hoping for children.

The shrine centres on a group of stones rather than a single tomb. Tradition holds that during an attack the rabbi hid beneath a stone and was saved by reciting a prayer. Another story tells that when French workers building a road to Souk Jemaa planned to run it through the stones, a worker was turned to stone, and the rabbi let it be known that the road should change course.

The shrine committee, chaired by Gad Banon, later walled the stones, built a small room beside them and enlarged the synagogue, after Banon dreamed that the rabbi asked him to build on his grave. The surrounding area belongs to the Mzab tribal territory, where Jewish visitors from the Moroccan diaspora still return each year to the sites known as the Hajraat, “the rocks”.

The hilloula, the annual celebration at a tzaddik’s grave, takes place in spring around Lag BaOmer, the festive 33rd day of the counting between Passover and Shavuot (18 Iyar; 25 May in 2027). Known locally as Moussem al-Hajrat, the festival of the stones, it runs over about seven days. Yabiladi describes singing, prayer, an auction and ritual sacrifices; Bladi describes pilgrims bidding for lit candles around the sanctuary, with the proceeds kept for future celebrations.

In 2013 more than 1,000 Jews of Moroccan origin from Europe, Israel and the United States attended the hilloulot here and at the nearby shrine of Rabbi Abraham Awriwer. Muslims also visit the shrine. The Hevrat Pinto foundation notes that Jews traditionally gather at his grave at Mimouna, the celebration at the end of Passover, as well as at Lag BaOmer.

Sidi Eddahbi is a small village near Ben Ahmed, about 100 km from Casablanca according to the hilloula organisers. Outside the pilgrimage week there is no published visiting arrangement, so access has to be agreed with the committee or guardian in advance. We arrange this when we plan the trip, and the visit combines well with the Awriwer shrine near Settat on a day from Casablanca. Our hilloula guide explains how to plan around the pilgrimage.