Lala Soulika: Dying for the Sake of Tzniut

Here is the unknown yet remarkable story of Lala Soulika¹, a young woman of barely 16 years of age who died to protect her dignity and remain untouched.

Born in the Moroccan city of Tangiers in 1817, Soulika Hadjuel was an extremely pious woman. From a young age, she had an outpouring love for Torah and mitzvot. Her tzniut and Jewish pride stood out in everything she did. Her beauty was unparalleled, every man who looked at her fell dumbfounded. And for that very reason, her father advised her not to get out of the house as to not attract looks. 

One day, she had to leave the house to run an errand, and unfortunately, her Arab neighbor laid eyes on her. He told his father that he wanted to take her as a wife. His father was a bit stunned, but seeing his son’s insistence, he went to knock at Soulika’s house and summoned her father.

Soulika’s father opened the door, and seeing an Arab at his doorstep, felt something was off. The Arab walked in and said “My son wants to marry your daughter”. Soulika’s father was shocked, and said “No way!”. To which the Arab responded: “You have one of the following two options: either you give your daughter to my son, or we will harm her”. After which he exited the house. 

Soulika overheard the conversation, and upon her father’s recommendation, fled the house and took refuge in her aunt’s house. The next morning, Moroccan police came to look for her, and the father claimed to not know of her whereabouts. The police decided to arrest Sulika’s mother instead as a punishment.

When Sulika knew of the terrible course of events, she decided to give herself to the police for her mother to be released. When she was brought to a completely anti-semitic and malicious courtroom, her Arab neighbor’s son falsely claimed that she converted to Islam and went back to being Jewish, which was a severe crime according to Islamic law. The Arab “judges” who were of course corrupt, asked her, “Did you do it? Were you together with this man and then left him and went back to your religion?

To which Soulika responded: “You think I went with him?! No man has ever touched me? I was born a Jewess and I shall die a Jewess!” The judges did not believe her and gave her two options: to go back with her Arab neighbor, or get a death penalty. She would be imprisoned until the day of her execution.

In Morocco at the time, a death sentence had to be approved by the King himself, in the city of Fes. She was therefore transferred there.

In the meantime, the King’s son saw Soulika and fell madly in love with her. He had never seen such beauty. He offered to marry her and make her Queen of Morocco. She responded, “I am the daughter of the King of Kings, your proposal does not appeal to me! No goy will ever touch me! I would rather die than marry you!” 

This woman of unparalleled tzniut never showed one inch of her body to any man. Alive or dead, she didn’t want anyone to gaze at her physical beauty. She therefore used these safety pins to tie her skin to her dress so as not to reveal her legs when the horse would run her body across the city.

The King left the prison empty-handed, and was insulted by Soulika’s refusal to accept his hand in marriage. He approached the Chief Rabbi of Fes of the time and threatened him that if he didn’t convince Soulika to marry him, he would implement terrible decrees against Jews. The Rabbi executed the King’s command and went to visit Soulika. He tried endlessly to convince Soulika to marry the King, and mentioned that the Jewish people were in danger because of her actions. He insisted that it was permitted for her to marry the King in order to save her people. 

She responded, “Where is that written? How is that permissible?”

The Rabbi said that she could rely on the actions of Esther HaMalka who sacrificed herself and married Achashverosh in order to save the Jewish people. 

But Soulika, with her high-level intelligence and fear of Heaven, said “Esther HaMalka’s Jewish identity was hidden! As the pasuk says:  כאֵין אֶסְתֵּר, מַגֶּדֶת מוֹלַדְתָּהּ וְאֶת-עַמָּהּ

She did not reveal her identity! But me, everyone knows that I am Jewish! If I marry a non-Jewish king, what kind of message does that convey to Jewish women? I refuse to marry him no matter what! I shall not desecrate the name of Hashem!”

Frustrated at the stubbornness of this young Jewess, the Prince told her she would die of a special death. Instead of being hanged in front of the entire city, he asked for the wildest horse in the country, as well as an experienced horseman. The Prince ordered him to tie Soulika’s hair to the horse’s tail, and then run her across the city to dismember her body. Her parents and family would also be forced to witness the terrible scene. When the Prince asked what her last will on Earth was, she responded: “Please bring me about 50 safety pins”. The Prince thought he had misheard. “What do you want?! Safety pins?!”

This woman of unparalleled tzniut never showed one inch of her body to any man. Alive or dead, she didn’t want anyone to gaze at her physical beauty. She therefore used these safety pins to tie her skin to her dress so as not to reveal her legs when the horse would run her body across the city.

The courage and iron faith of this young woman shook the entire city, Arab and Jews, who witnessed the scene. Prominent Rabbanim were forever marked by this young girl’s unshakable determination to remain truthful to Hashem and Torah. The horseman, an Arab man himself, was so moved by Soulika’s unwavering faith that he himself converted to Judaism following her murder.

Soulika died in 1834 when she was barely 17 years old. She is buried in Fes, and her grave is visited by all, Jews and non-Jews. Even Moroccan Arabs know this story better than the Jews themselves! Visiting her grave is a segula (omen) for many who seek yeshuot (salvations). Women looking for their husbands, or married couples praying to have children. 

Soulika serves as a tragic example of the unique value of a woman’s dedication to the mitzva of tzniut. Although her story is extreme, Soulika should be an inspiration to us women, and a realization that a woman’s tzniut is something that should never be compromised. Her dedication to Torah, the upholding of the value of dignity, and her steadfast commitment to her Jewish identity is something that we should take with us, wherever we go.
There are multiple versions of this story. This article is based on Rav Snir Goëta’s account, which can be found here.

1. Lala means miss in Arabic. ↩︎