Tomb of Rabbi Eliyahu HaCohen, Casablanca

Historians have paid little attention to his origins, and no dates for his life appear in the sources we rely on. According to tradition he came from the Holy Land, and he is said to have been the brother of Rabbi Yahia Lakhdar, whose shrine near Ben Ahmed in the Chaouia plain, about 100 km from Casablanca, draws pilgrims every spring.

His grave was first at El-Bhira, in the heart of the old medina, where according to one community account he lay beside Rabbi Yishaq Qoriat, Rabbi Mas’ud Ohana and Lalla Sa’ada. For generations, Casablanca Jews went to his tomb at the end of every Shabbat to light candles and share the Melaveh Malkah, the meal that closes the Sabbath, in his honour.

Around 1963 the authorities needed the land for a road, and the grave had to be moved to the city’s newer Jewish cemetery at Ben M’Sik. Community tradition tells that the workmen who began to dig around the grave found they could not move their hands or feet until the Jews of Casablanca prayed for them. The city’s rabbis then approved the transfer, on the promise that it would be carried out with respect and that a fitting mausoleum would be built for pilgrims.

The mausoleum stands today. It is among the saints’ tombs restored under the Houses of Life programme, which repaired Jewish cemeteries and shrines across Morocco.

A hilloula, the anniversary of a tzaddik’s death marked with prayer, candles and a festive meal, is held at the tomb each year. Its date is not recorded in our sources, so we confirm it with the Casablanca community when planning. Pilgrims kiss the tombstone, light candles and chant prayers. Our hilloula guide covers Morocco’s main pilgrimages.

The tomb is inside Ben M’Sik Jewish Cemetery in the east of the city. Access is through the cemetery guardian or the community, so we arrange it in advance, often together with a family-grave search in the same cemetery. Dress modestly, cover your head, and bring candles if you wish to light one; tip the guardian. Plan a weekday, since Jewish custom avoids cemetery visits on Shabbat.

Some older listings place his tomb in the Old Jewish Cemetery beside the medina, but the detailed accounts of the 1960s reburial put it at Ben M’Sik. Our Casablanca Jewish heritage guide shows how to combine it with the city’s other sites.