Amram ben Diwan (: died 1782, Ouazzane,

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

) was a venerated 18th-century

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

whose tomb has become the site of an annual pilgrimage. Born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, he moved to

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

in 1743 and was sent to collect donations from the Moroccan Jewish community for the Jews of the Holy Land. He took residence in Ouazzane, where he taught the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

and had many disciples. After 10 years in Morocco, Amram returned to Hebron and, according to legend, entered the

Cave of the Patriarchs The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah () and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (), is a series of caves situated south of Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the ...

disguised as a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

because it was forbidden for

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

at the time. Someone recognized and reported him to the Ottoman pasha, who ordered his arrest. He was compelled to flee and returned to Morocco, where he was welcomed by the Jewish community of

Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...

. Ben Diwan is credited with many healing miracles and had at least one son, Hayyim ben Diwan. He fell ill while touring Morocco with his son and died in Ouazzane in 1782. His burial place in Ouazzane became a pilgrimage site and is regularly visited, particularly by people who invoke God to heal their illness in his merit.

References

Clergy from Jerusalem 18th-century Moroccan rabbis Rabbis in Hebron 18th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire 1782 deaths Year of birth missing Shelichei derabonan (rabbis) {{Morocco-rabbi-stub