The Ethiopian Holiday Sigd

THE ETHIOPIAN HOLIDAY SIGD

Sigdis an Ethiopian Jewish holiday celebrated fifty days after Yom Kippur, on the twenty-ninth of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. Sigd means “bowing in worship” in Amharic, and the holiday symbolizes a renewal of the covenant between God and the Jewish people, and the yearning to return to Jerusalem. According to Ethiopian tradition, this is the day God revealed himself to Moses.

In Ethiopia, Sigd has been observed as a fast day during which the community would dress in white and ascend a mountain peak in remembrance of Mount Sinai. The Kessim community elders would hold the Ethiopian Torah, written in Geez and called Orit, related to the Hebrew word for light, or, and the Aramaic word for Torah, Oraita. Prayers would end with the wish to celebrate next year’s Sigd in Jerusalem. The congregation would then descend from the mountain to the village and break the fast. People would travel great distances to take part in Sigd celebrations. The Ethiopian Jewish community lived in isolation from other Jewish communities for centuries, until the late 20thcentury when Israel airlifted tens of thousands of Ethiopians out of the danger of a decades-long civil war. Over many generations, the Ethiopian Jewish community developed holidays and celebrations, which were not familiar to other Jewish communities. The earliest mention of Sigd in writing is from the 15th century. At this time, there were efforts in Ethiopia to convert Jews away from Judaism, and the holiday celebrates the strengthening of their Jewish identity. Now that a majority of Ethiopian Jews live in Israel, the community marks Sigd by gathering at the Western Wall and at theArmon HanatzivPromenade, which overlooks most of Jerusalem, celebrating the return to their ancestral homeland, and educating Israelis about Ethiopian Jewish history and culture.It is a time to appreciate and thank God for all that has come true from generations of praying for their return to Jerusalem. The State of Israel recognized Sigd as a national holiday in 2008. The month leading up to the twenty-ninth of Cheshvan marks a time to explore the rich Jewish heritage of Ethiopian Jews.