French Jewish Traditions and Recipes
  • Home
    • About the author
    • Contact me
    • Survey Form
  • Traditions
    • Shabbat >
      • My family traditions
    • Rosh Hashana >
      • My family Traditions
      • Seder of Rosh Hashana
    • Yom Kippur >
      • My family Traditions
    • Sukkot
    • Hanukkah >
      • My family Traditions
    • Purim >
      • My family Traditions
      • Photo Gallery
    • Pesach (Passover) >
      • My family Traditions
      • The Seder Plate
    • Shavuot >
      • Traditions
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers >
      • Chu-Chu-Kah (Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah)
      • Eggplant and Almond Salad (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Pomegranate Salad (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Fava Bean and Cumin Salad (Shabbat, Purim)
      • Bok'tof (Purim)
      • Artichoke and Fennel Salad (Passover)
      • Meat Bestels (Hanukkah)
      • Battered Vegetables with Olive Tapenade Dip (Hanukkah)
      • Frank Puff Pastries (Shabbat, Hanukkah)
      • Marinated Dried Peppers (Passover)
      • Ma-gee-nah (Passover Meat and Vegetable Terrine)
    • Entrées >
      • Algerian Couscous (Shabbat)
      • Spinach Cholent (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Almond and Honey Chicken (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Beef Burgundy (Shabbat, Hanukkah)
      • Homhe - Chicken and Chick Pea Gratin (Kippur)
      • Potato Gratin (Shavuot)
      • Butter and Raisin Couscous (Shavuot)
      • Chestnut Turkey Roast (Hanukkah, Sukkot) >
        • Mashed Celery and Potato
      • Choucroute -Alsacian Sauerkraut (Hanukkah, Sukkot)
      • Potato Lamb Roast (Passover)
      • Meatball and Sweet Pea Stew (Shabbat, Passover)
      • Sweet Potato Cholent (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Hen with Golden Eggs (Simha Torah)
    • Desserts >
      • Algerian Doughnuts (Chanukah)
      • Stuffed Dates (Purim)
      • Kirsch Mousse (Purim)
      • Nathalie's Apple Strudel (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Spice Cake (Rosh Hashanah)
      • Almond Cigars (Purim, Kippur)
      • Purim Cookies
      • Haman's Mustache (Purim)
      • Sferies (Passover)
      • Cheesecream Tart (Shavuot)
      • Passover Chocolate Cake
  • History and Memories
    • Origins >
      • My family origins
      • History of the Jews of Livorno
    • Before 1870 >
      • My family stories
      • women clothing
    • 1870 - 1920, my family stories >
      • Judaism in Algeria
    • 1900 - 1950, my grand-parent's generation >
      • The Fitoussi Family
      • The Hadjadj Family
      • The Elbaz family
    • 1930-1962 My parent's generation
    • 1962 Leaving Algeria
    • After 1962, a new life in France
    • The newer generations
  • Genealogy
    • Family Trees
    • By Last Name >
      • A
      • B
      • C
      • D
      • E
      • F
      • G
      • H
      • L
      • P
      • Z
  • Maps
    • Algeria >
      • Kabylia
    • France
  • E-books

Judaism in Algeria

 

Picture
Synagogue of Oran
Judaism in Algeria was orthodox, and people in general were very religious, but much more relaxed than in Europe. First of all, there weren’t any levels of  religiousness, like in Europe where some Jews, usually in the villages were very observant, while the Jews in the cities were much more assimilated. Because of their Dhimmis statute, Jews usually couldn't hope to climb the social ladder in Algeria,  and no Jew would ever have considered converting to Islam in order to do so. If  they became rich, they just became rich Jews. 
Second of all, Judaism as it was  practiced wasn’t felt like a burden, but more like a way of life. Jews tended  to live in the same neighborhoods, and did everything together. Boys went to Talmud Torah (Hebrew School) at a very young age, and studied  prayers and Torah. When they reached adulthood, they all knew the Jewish liturgy  by heart. Women didn’t go to Hebrew school, nor were they asked to attend  Services. It was not really discouraged; it was just not usually done, except  for important holidays. Few women had the time or the interest to attend a  Shabbat service, but when the men walked home, a wonderful Shabbat meal was  ready, and this is what Algerian women felt their role of   transmitting their Jewish heritage to be. This may seem outrageously sexist nowadays, but women in Algeria and in most Sephardic countries were not interested in having the same rights as men, because they  thought that each gender had a different role to play in transmitting their faith  to their children. They developed their own recipes which were often different from one city to another. This explains why Algerian-Jewish cuisine is so rich and  diverse. Each holiday became a joyous occasion, with fabulous dishes to look  forward to.


Also, Algerian Judaism wasn’t as strict in its  ruling as its European counterparts: it was considered for example, that since poultry weren’t mammals, they couldn’t produce milk, and that therefore the rule  against not eating an animal in their mother’s milk didn’t apply. It wasn’t  until Algerian Jews fled to France in 1962 that they started to obey the rule. It doesn’t mean that people weren’t observant, just that the rules were a little more relaxed.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.