The ancient gift of Sigd

(JNS) — I’ve often wondered what we can learn from the stories of ancient Jewish communities that have for years been besieged by cultural prejudice. How did they survive for centuries, in some cases, for millennia? What can we learn from their resilience?

And, most importantly, how did they maintain a sense of community in the face of antisemitism? What customs and traditions helped them build that strength in times of difficulty?

This November, one such community, the Beta Israel, will gather at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade above Jerusalem to celebrate its own historic festival: the pilgrimage of Sigd. Thousands of Israelis, mainly from the Beta Israel community, are expected to attend the festival. The half-mile-long promenade, which commands a view of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, or Kotel, is an ideal location to celebrate the renewal of the covenant between Jewish people and God. But the Ethiopian-Jewish celebration also touches on a theme that resonates across the Diaspora right now: the value of community and unity in the face of rising antisemitism.

Sigd, which is celebrated on 29 Cheshvan (this year, Nov. 19-20) in Ethiopia and Israel, occurs exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur. It was imported to Israel in the early 1970s, when thousands of Beta Israel Jews were airlifted out of Ethiopia and that country’s civil war and granted aliyah, the chance to be new immigrants in the State of Israel. Their rescue not only gave them a new chance at life as Jews but also infused the new nation with different cultural traditions and new perspectives toward Judaism’s history.

Sigd means “worship,” or “prostration.” Its customs are believed to be based in part on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah (in the Ketuvim, or “Writings”), which describe the Israelites’ return to Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE after the destruction of the First Temple. According to the book of Nehemiah, after hearing Ezra the scribe read the Torah to them, they “bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord with their faces to the ground” in an act of contrition.

The festival of Sigd is an homage to that story. But its celebration carries another message—and that is the unshakable power of community in the face of change or adversity.

Some historians believe that the festival got its start in the 15th century C.E., a time when the Beta Israel community was under sustained attack by the Ethiopian Christian empire. Once a powerful kingdom in Ethiopia, the Beta Israel (then called the Kingdom of Simien) were now facing forced conversion to Christianity. Those who refused to convert were stripped of their land and homes.

Thus, Sigd—like many Western Jewish customs—may have started out as a “day of prayer entreating God to protect the community” from persecution. In Ethiopia, it began as a multi-day pilgrimage to the top of a nearby mountain. The adults, both men and women, would make the pilgrimage dressed in white with the kessim, or spiritual leaders, leading the way. At their destination, the kessim would read aloud passages and psalms from the Orit (the community’s Torah, which is written in ancient Ge’ez).

Together, the community would confess their sins. The service would conclude with the hope that next year’s Sigd would be celebrated in Jerusalem. After descending the mountain, the community would come together to share a meal and dabo, the Ethiopian equivalent of challah, on holidays and Shabbat.

In 2008, some 30 years after the holiday was introduced in Israel and amid continued pressure from the Beta Israel community, Sigd was established as a national holiday. Today, it is celebrated across the nation in schools and at home, recognized not just for its religious customs but for its ability to bring communities of all backgrounds together.

Sigd’s greatest gift, it appears, was its ability to inspire hope and purpose. More than 600 years after it is believed to have been first celebrated, it is still observed in Ethiopia. Some 8,000 Beta Israel descendants are still living in Ethiopia, where they await aliyah for the hopeful opportunity to reunite with their families in Israel.

The Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent two-year war with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian proxies, put a halt, at least temporarily, to the airlifts from Ethiopia. Here, Sigd’s reminder of the value of tradition, community and resilience is most potent. Most of those waiting for an airlift live in dire poverty, supported by humanitarian aid.

In recent years, there has been an effort to introduce the Sigd festival to North American communities. So far, a limited number of synagogues, schools and nonprofit organizations have hosted events. But interest is growing.

Could an ancient custom that was built on fostering faith in community and resilience against antisemitism find a home in America’s synagogues and neighborhoods? It’s worth a try.

Jan Lee is an award-winning editorial writer and former news editor. Her articles and op-eds have been published in a variety of Jewish and travel publications.