Jewish Maghrib Jukebox

Friday, November 7, 2008

Hacham Tioute - Oct 31

I didn’t sleep well last night and had trouble getting out of bed this morning. In the afternoon I headed to Tioute. Tioute is about the same distance from Taroudant as Arazan. It is a series of small villages centered on a palmary. At the top of one of the mountains sits a beautiful kasbah (castle). At the foot of the mountain that leads up to the Kasbah is the tomb of the Hacham of Tioute. Upon arriving in Tioute I asked a couple of men who looked like they were in the know for directions. The whole way there I was trying to figure out how I would explain to them what I was looking for. But they knew. Baruch haba, one said. The Hacham? He asked. Yes, is it close to here? I asked. Both he and I said 2 kilometers from here at the same time. This is a commonly quoted distance. He asked if I needed help finding it, I said no but thank you. I walked the 2 or so kilometers and found the Kasbah. One the side of the mountain is a painted staircase that leads up to the Kasbah. Half way up there is a short turn off and there lies the Hacham of Tioute. Although close to Taroudant you are removed from any sort of hustle and bustle. You are alone with the mountains and there I sat at the tomb of the Hacham. It was quiet and cold. The tomb had been partly destroyed and shards of pottery surrounded the tomb. There was a bench to sit on. I sat there for a while: just me, the Rabbi, and the mountains.

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