In Ourika Valley, one hour from Marrakech by taxi, there lives the last Berber Jew in the valley; Hananiyah Elfassie.

There was a time when pilgrims would visit him during Passover, but this year, it will take nothing short of a miracle for a Passover visitor to make their way

This doesn’t bother Elfassie, because miracles are just a part of his life.

“They came from all over [once],” the bearded Elfassie said. “They [came] from America, France, Spain and, of course, Israel. They prayed, burned candles and asked the Tzaddik for miracles.”

For those who don’t know, the Tzaddik was Rabbi Shlomo ben Hensh, who died over 500 years ago and is currently seen as a saint. It is Elfassie who guards his tomb, something he has done for the past quarter-century.

Not many come to get a blessing at the tomb anymore, partly due to the Palestinian infifada in September 200, partly due to September 11.

For Elfassie, that does not bother him. He sees the temple everyday and knows that it has survived crises for five centuries.

These days, most Moroccan Berbers are Muslim, however many of their ancestors, including Elfassie’s, were Jewish before being conquered by Arabs 1,300 years ago.

Life has changed a great deal for Elfassie. He had 300 Jewish families, two synagogues, Jewish schools, rabbis and plenty more in the region. In those days, he used to work the olive trees in the valley and trade crafts with local Muslims.

With the creation of Israel in 1947, most of the Moroccan Jews in the area moved to Israel, with only Elfassie, his mother and his wife staying.

His mother, Sa’ada, was born in the region and guarded the tzaddik until 1978 when she died, which passed the responsibility onto Elfassie and his wife, Yamna.

Now, after the death of his wife two years ago, he is alone guarding the tomb, his wife’s grave and his mother’s grave.

For the visitors who do come, he is proud to tell them of the Rabbis story, as well as all the Jewish knowledge he has collected over his years.

Currently, the grave he guards is a marble tomb that was donated by Moroccan Jewish devotees in 1976.

For a time, Elfassie and his wife left the area to go to Israel, but after two months they both had a dream of a snake turning into a stick and blocking the door to the tomb. They knew that it meant Tzaddik did not want his tomb to be forgotten.

Nowadays, Elfassie only goes out of the area to attend synagogue on High Holy Days, or to buy Kosher meat.

As he grows older, Elfassie begins to worry about who will guard the place after he is gone to preserve the memory of Tzaddik, the last vestige of Berber-Jewish history in the area.

It is a good thing Elfassie believes in miracles, because it may take one.