Studies on the Written and Oral Literature of Morocco's Jews

From Persée

Haim Zafrani (1922 to 2004), born in Essaouira, was one of the great scholars of Moroccan Jewish culture. In this short 1974 article in French, published in the Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, he surveys research on the literature that Morocco's Jews produced over four centuries.

Two literatures

Written and oral

Zafrani's work brought attention to two parallel traditions. The written literature, mostly in Hebrew, included rabbinic scholarship, legal writings, and religious poetry. The oral literature, mostly in Judeo Arabic, included songs, proverbs, folktales, and translations of sacred texts passed down in families and communities.

Why it matters

Recording a culture

Zafrani spent his career collecting, studying, and publishing these works, showing how Moroccan Jewish culture drew on Jewish tradition and on the Arab and Amazigh world around it. His research remains a foundation for anyone studying the Jews of Morocco.

Read the article at Persée (in French) →

This summary was written by JIMENA and is based on “Etudes et recherches sur la littérature écrite et orale des juifs du Maroc des quatre derniers siècles” by Haim Zafrani, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée 18 (1974), with additional background on the author. The original article belongs to its author and publisher.