The Jewish community in Casablanca, Morocco mourns the passing of Rabbi Menachem Dahan, an important community leader who served as Shochat for decades
The funeral was held at the new Jewish cemetery in Casablanca. He was eulogized by Rebbe Rabbi Josiah Pinto. “We loved him greatly and from the depths of our souls,” said the rabbi in his opening remarks and added “in the two and a half years since we are here, there was not a week that did not come to the slaughterhouse to ensure the kashrut for the community,” and described his passing as a great personal loss and a loss for the growing Jewish community in Casablanca.
He emphasized his devotion to the community even at great personal risk “he took the responsibility on his shoulders even during the pandemic, even when there was risk involved he did everything to make sure that there is kosher meat for the Jewish community.”
In recent years Rabbi Pinto worked to re-establish the kashrut and kosher slaughter system in Casablanca, he relied much on Rabbi Menachem Dahan who continued his holy work, with his rich experience and many years of tradition.
The rabbi recalled that “Three weeks ago, the last time he came into the slaughterhouse, my brother Rabbi Menachem Pinto told me that during his work, the Shechita knife that accompanied Rabbi Menachem for decades broke. it hurt him greatly, he saw it as an omen that this is his last Shechita, and indeed it was.”
He wept while describing it as an end to “a long life journey in which he served the community for decades of devotion and virtue.”
