Meknes was the seat of the Alaouite court under Moulay Ismail (1672-1727). Its Jewish community produced the Berdugo dynasty — R. Refael Berdugo (Mishpatim Yesharim, 1747-1821) was its most influential posek.
4 teachers
Meknes through the eras
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Acharonim
Meknes under the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail (r. 1672-1727) served as the Moroccan imperial capital; the Mellah grew alongside Ismail's vast palace complex. R. Refael Berdugo (1747-1821) emerged as the foundational late-acharonic posek of Moroccan halacha here; his Mishpatim Yesharim responsa shaped Moroccan rulings for generations. The Berdugo dynasty — R. Yaakov Berdugo, R. Mordechai Berdugo, R. Yehoshua Berdugo — anchored the Meknes rabbinate across the 18th and 19th centuries. The Mashash family also rose to prominence here.
Modern Era
Meknes under the French protectorate hosted a Jewish community of about 15,000 by 1947. R. Yosef Mashash (1892-1974) and his nephew R. Shalom Mashash (1909-2003) — later Chief Rabbi of Casablanca and then of Jerusalem — were the foremost Meknesi halachic voices of the 20th century. Mass aliyah from the 1950s reduced the community to a few hundred today; the historic synagogues of the Mellah are preserved as heritage sites.