Bzou is a large Berber village in the Azilal region, in the High *Atlas Mountains. It is situated north of *Demnat, on the way to *Kasba Tadla and *Beni Mellal, and is famous for is fine wool fabrics (jallābiya bziwija), its orchards and olive oil.

The Jewish community of Bzou dates back at least to the eighteenth-century. In the twentieth-century, it consisted of about 200 people who lived together with Muslims in the same neighborhoods, which created a close intimacy between both rural communities. Jews worked in small trade and as artisans, such as tinsmiths, saddlers, cobblers, and peddlers in the numerous villages of the region. Some also partnered with Muslim farmers and raised sheep or grew cereal. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, one Jew remained in Bzou, from where he drives his truck across the High Atlas Mountains to sell various products.

The Bzou community revered many holy men; the most famous one is Mul Tazrut, also known as Mul z-Zubya. Other famous holy men in the area include Rabbi Israel Yishaq Ha-Levi, a.k.a. Mul l-Barj or Mwalin l-Barj, who is buried near *Ntifa (Foum Jemâa) in the village of Ait Mahiya, and not in Bzou. According to oral tradition, he came to Morocco from Palestine (Israel). Nearby lies the grave of Rabbi Yosef Abajayo, a rabbi-emissary (shadar) from Palestine who came to collect charity and died there in 1914. His *hillula continues to attract followers. Almost all Jews from Bzou left for Israel in 1963-64 (166 people).

Bibliography

Ben-Ami, Issachar. Saint Veneration among the Jews in Morocco (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1998).

Goldberg, Harvey E. “The Mellahs of Southern Morocco:  Report of a Survey,” The Maghreb Review, 8, 3-4 (1983): 61-69.

Flamand, Pierre. Diaspora en terre d’Islam. I: Les communautés israélites du sud marocain (Casablanca: Imprimeries réunies, 1959).