Moroccan TZADDIKIM and the Force Fields of Charismatic Protection

• In Event: Sephardic & Mizrahi Vernacular Religion and Scholarship

Abstract

For many Moroccan Jews, the power of the charismatic rabbi to impart BARAKA (blessings) on followers is an established core principle. Rabbis like Haim Pinto and Baba Sali have, in death, become subjects of equally widespread and mainstream interest outside the Moroccan community. With ever-increasing interest in Kabbalah worldwide, and theodicy returning to the fore for Jewish communities, these rabbinic networks are as prominent today as they have ever been, and this paper considers some of the key contemporary features of the global reach of rabbinic TZADDIKIM. We will consider two pre-eminent and contrasting examples of the contemporary practice of venerating TZADDIKIM in the 2020s: first, the way that rumors of the blessings of Baba Sali have circulated for the Jewish residents of Netivot in the months following the attacks on 7 October, and the sense that Baba Sali’s protection created a force field for his followers. We will consider the features of his life and teaching that his followers emphasize in his granting of protection and BARAKA such as emphasis on observing Shabbat, and history of travel between desert landscapes (Negev – Tafilalet). Second, we consider the participation of right-wing Argentinian President Javier Milei – dubbed “El Loco” – in the Pinto network of kabbalistic rabbis. We will consider the ways that in both registers, local (Jewish, Israeli, Negev-based) and global (non-Jewish, diaspora-based), the enduring lure of the TZADDIK continues to hold sway that feels urgent and life-saving to their followers. From intensely local practices within a community to globalized networks transmitting economic and cultural capital, the veneration of TZADDIKIM has survived the emigration from North Africa and is amplified by the expanding reach of their mediatization.

Author

• Simon Webster, SOAS University of London