i24News
With the end of Passover comes the end of a week of dietary restrictions outlawing leavened bread and grains.
Jews in Israel and around the world on Saturday evening will celebrate the end of the Passover festival commemorating the Exodus of the Jewish people from servitude in Egypt.
With the end of Passover also comes the end of a week of dietary restrictions outlawing foods made from “chametz”, or leavened bread.
For Jews of North African origin – especially those from Morocco – the occasion of once again being allowed to eat the forbidden leavened foods is traditionally celebrated with a “Mimouna”.
During a Mimouna festival, attendees gather with family and loved ones, donning traditional Moroccan garments to eat oriental cakes alongside the traditional fare of Moufletas, a thin pancake made from water, flour, and oil and accompanied by sweet toppings and syrups.
Historically, on the afternoon after the last day of Passover, Muslim neighbors in Morocco would visit the homes of their Jewish neighbors with gifts of flour, honey, milk, and other ingredients to make a post-Passover chametz dish.
During the celebrations, which begin after nightfall, non-Jewish neighbors in many communities will sell chametz back to Jewish families after buying them the previous week as Jews cleaned chametz from their houses.
Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum are expected to take part in the festivities, giving speeches and attending Mimouna celebrations across the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara are expected to join the Maimon family in Or Akiva for a Mimouna celebration attended by many Likud party members.
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev will attend festivities in Ashdod hosted by the Ben Zaken family for a large celebration organizers said would also be attended by 1,000 moufletas, 50 bottles of wine, and 400 bottles of beer.
The World Federation of Moroccan Jews will also hold important Mimouna celebrations on Saturday in the cities of Lod and Holon.
