Hillulot and Pilgrimage

Morocco: Rabbi Amram ben Diwan

A sage born in Jerusalem, he came to Morocco to raise money for yeshivas in Hebron and died in Ouezzane in 1782, on Lag BaOmer. His hillula, on that day, became the largest in Morocco. Pilgrims camp in tents around the tomb, bid on boxes of white candles, and toss the candles into a great fire by the grave.

Morocco: Rabbi Haim Pinto, Essaouira

A respected rabbinical judge, he died in 1845 and is buried in the old Jewish cemetery of Essaouira, a port city where Jews once made up a large share of the population. His hillula, a gathering of several days, is held around his anniversary on 26 Elul, in late summer or early fall. In 2022, more than 2,000 pilgrims came from around the world.

Tunisia: El Ghriba, Djerba

Tradition holds that the Ghriba synagogue was founded by Jews who fled Jerusalem after the Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE. At Lag BaOmer, pilgrims light candles and write wishes on eggs placed in a small grotto at the synagogue. A tall decorated candelabrum, the menara, is draped with scarves and paraded outside with drums and song.

Iraq: Ezekiel at al Kifl

Near the city of Hilla stands the shrine of the prophet Ezekiel. In the 1800s and 1900s, Iraqi Jews came from Baghdad and Hilla each Shavuot. The last large Jewish pilgrimage was in the 1950s. Hebrew inscriptions still line the inner room.

Kurdistan: Nahum at Alqosh

Nearly the whole Jewish community of Mosul came to the tomb of the prophet Nahum at Shavuot, staying up to two weeks. Pilgrims read from a scroll of the Book of Nahum, the men circled the tomb seven times, and families shared fruit left overnight on the tomb as a blessing. The last pilgrimage took place in 1951. A Chaldean Christian caretaker has looked after for the site since.

Iraq: Ezra on the Tigris

In southern Iraq, a shrine on the Tigris River is honored as the tomb of Ezra the Scribe. Hebrew writing remains on the walls.

Iran: Daniel and Esther

In Shush, ancient Susa, Iranian Jews visit the tomb that tradition links to the prophet Daniel. In Hamadan, Jews have long made pilgrimages to the shrine that tradition links to Esther and Mordechai.

Israel: Meron and Netivot

On Lag BaOmer, huge crowds gather at Meron, the traditional tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, with bonfires and first haircuts for three year old boys. In Netivot, about 100,000 people gathered in 2026 for the hillula of the Baba Sali, Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan born sage and healer who died in 1984 and is buried there.

A tradition carried abroad. In the mid twentieth century, nearly all the Jews of Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, and Kurdistan emigrated, many to Israel and France. Many pilgrimages in Iraq and Kurdistan ended in the early 1950s. In Morocco, some tombs saw only a few dozen visitors where hundreds once gathered.

New hillulot in Israel. Immigrants from Morocco brought their devotion with them. Scholar Yoram Bilu has studied how saint veneration took root in Israel's development towns, and the tomb of the Baba Sali in Netivot became one of the country's great pilgrimage sites. Large crowds also bring dangers: in 2021, a crush at Meron on Lag BaOmer killed 45 people.

Heritage travel. In recent years, Morocco has restored many Jewish cemeteries. In 2022, Meknes held its first hillula in 60 years after its old cemetery was restored. At Djerba, the Ghriba festival has continued despite a deadly attack in May 2023, and in 2026 visitors from abroad returned for the menara procession. For many families, these journeys connect children and grandchildren to places their elders called home.

Common misconceptions

• “Visiting a grave is always mournful.” A hillula is a celebration, with music, food, and joy.
• “Jews worship the saints.” Pilgrims honor the sage and ask him to pray for them, but their prayers are directed to God.
• “Hillulot are only about Lag BaOmer.” Each sage has his own anniversary, throughout the year.
• “Jewish and Muslim holy places were always separate.” Many shrines, from Ezekiel's tomb to Moroccan saints' graves, drew both Jews and Muslims.

In the public school classroom

• Compare pilgrimage in many traditions: the Hajj, the Camino de Santiago, Hindu pilgrimages, and Jewish visits to the tombs of sages.
• Map the sites in this explainer and discuss why Jews and Muslims honored some of the same holy places.
• Watch JIMENA's films from Essaouira and Djerba and discuss what a place can teach us about history.
• Teach about these customs. Do not light candles, recite prayers, or stage a mock hillula in class.

In Jewish schools and communities

• Mark the yahrzeit of a sage from your community's tradition with stories, songs, and a festive meal.
• Invite families who have traveled to Morocco, Tunisia, or Israel for a hillula to share photographs.
• Learn about Rabbi Amram ben Diwan, Rabbi Haim Pinto, or the Baba Sali, and the stories told about them.
• Explore the Sephardi & Mizrahi Education Toolkit for ways to weave heritage into the school year.

At home and with family

• Ask relatives: Did our family visit a saint's tomb? Whose? What did you eat, sing, and pray for?
• Look for photographs or candles brought home from a hillula, and label who, where, and when.
• Planning a heritage trip? Ask elders which cemeteries, synagogues, and homes to visit.
• Record an elder's memories for JIMENA's oral history project.

Watch and listen

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From Distinctions, JIMENA's journal

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