Bus 78, packed with young Ethiopian Jews, fills with excited chatter as countless Jerusalemites make their way to Tayelet Haas Promenade’s annual Sigd festivities.
Ethiopian Jews celebrate Sigd, one of the biggest holidays in Ethiopian Jewish culture 50 days after Yom Kippur, commemorating the renewal of the covenant between God and the Jewish people and the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses by God.
According to their tradition, Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel (literally “house of Israel”), descend from emigrants from the Land of Israel during the times of King Solomon.
Beta Israel developed their own traditions in isolation
Living in isolation and forming their own stream of Judaism, the community had little contact with or knowledge of the rest of the Jewish world until the late 19th century.
As a result of their early divergence from the main Jewish world, the Beta Israel developed its own traditions and holidays, including Sigd.
On Sigd, declared a national holiday in Israel in 2008, some members of the Ethiopian Jewish community fast and recite tehillim. Countless members of the community from all across Israel gather in Jerusalem where Kessim (the priestly class) read from their sacred text, the Orita.
As well as celebrating the religious importance, the events of the day included an appearance from recently released hostage, Avera Mengistu, and a manifestation raising awareness for Haymanut Kasau, a young Ethiopian girl who disappeared in early 2024.
Attendees to Sigd explain its significance
Yonatan from Toronto, attending Sigd with his Israeli cousins, told The Jerusalem Post that the purpose of Sigd is to replicate the experience of ascension, or finding, literally, the highest peak in the area.
He also noted that Sigd is a time to honor the memory of the thousands of Ethiopian Jews who died on the way to Israel.
Many others echoed that same appreciation for how the event brought their community together.
Natanel, a young man from Holon, said that “his favorite tradition about Sigd was just being together as a group” and that the event was instrumental in “getting [the community] to remember where they came from.”
Others emphasized the religious significance of the event and its impact on many Ethiopian Jews’ connection to God. Selam, a yearly attendee, said that while celebrating she can “feel the presence of God,” explaining the holiday as a way to renew ones’ connection to God.
The significance of the holiday leads many Ethiopian Jews to urge others to recognize the importance and value of Sigd to the Jewish people on a global scale.
As Yonatan put it, “Diaspora Jews should do a lot, lot more to celebrate Sigd."