The following document comes from the archives of Mohamed-Salah Mzali, former prime minister of Lamine Bey, and was communicated by Professor Elyès Jouini, author of Mohamed-Salah Mzali L’intellectuel et l’homme d’Etat, Tunis, Cérès éditions, IRMC, 2023. It is a rare document, containing the text of the prayer for the Bey in phonetic transcription, in Arabic and in French.
This prayer, which bears some resemblance to the prayer for the French Republic used in the synagogues of France, had completely vanished from memory and, until now, had never been found in any public or private archive.
In Tunisia, this prayer for Sidna was recited by the Chief Rabbi of Tunisia before the Sovereign surrounded by his Court, during the visit of the Council of the Community on the day of the Eid festivities, and also at the installation of a new chief rabbi or of a new community council. It was also read in all synagogues at the end of the Sabbath service and displayed in a number of synagogues.
When does this document date from? It was found in the archives of Mohamed-Salah Mzali, former prime minister of Lamine Bey, by Professor Elias Jouini, who has just published an annotated new edition of Mzali’s memoirs, Au Fil de ma vie (Tunis, Cérés éditions, Beit al Hikma, and IRMC publishers, 2023). On a first reading, since the blessing is addressed to Bey Mohamed Lamine, who reigned from 1943 to 1957, the document would date from that period, and we can immediately rule out the years 1955 to 1957, during which Mzali was no longer in office. A further clue is provided by the address of the community council printed on the letterhead: rue Ed-Daouladil. From the end of 1947 this was no longer the seat of the council, as the building was threatening to collapse and the seat had been provisionally transferred to rue Arago. The document can therefore be considered to have been typed between 1943 and 1947.
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