Rabat - Fête religieuse Israélite P. Cousin et Cie, Rabat

Text on the back -Carte Postale:Correspondance - Adresse I.P.M. 40 bis, rue du Pré-St-Gervais, Paris;Back Printed Text Translation - Postcard:Correspondence - Address I.P.M. 40 bis, Pré-St-Gervais Street, Paris;Production period - before 1917;Front Handwritten Text - See Silvain I p. 409 (Burial of Shemot);Front Period - beginning of the 20th century;Category - Jewish customs;Description - This horizontal postcard depicts a photograph of a Jewish religious ceremony which was usual in Morocco: 'the burial of shemot' (or burial of sacred writings). This tradition consisted of burying manuscripts with holy aspects like mezuzot (a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah which is affixed to the door-frame of Jewish homes), Sifrei Torah or Torah Scrolls ( a handwritten copy of the Torah, the holiest book in Judaism, which is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services), prayer books containing the name of God, etc. All these holy vessels which were damaged, out of order, or could not be served anymore, were buried to avoid their desecration. In Morocco, Jewish people collected these unusable utensils into bags after Passover (Jewish Holiday) and they carried them to the cemetery in order to proceed to the;Back Handwritten Text - Rabat le 5 Nov. 1917