Ethiopian Israelis celebrate Sigd with prayers for unity and healing

Sigd comes from the Aramaic word sged which means to prostrate oneself, as in prayer.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel’s Ethiopian community gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday of Sigd with a prayer gathering at the Western Wall and other events around the capital.

Celebrated in Ethiopia for centuries, the holiday symbolizes the community’s longing for Jerusalem and connection to their Jewish heritage. It is now recognized as an official holiday in Israel and takes place 50 days after Yom Kippur.

“The prayer today at the Western Wall was a special and more meaningful prayer because it also dealt with the needs of the hour for the success of the Israeli government, the security forces, the return of the abductees and the physical and mental healing of the wounded,” said Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Moshe Solomon, who was born in in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

The holiday is marked with prayers, fasting, and public readings of the Torah on mountaintops, signifying the community’s aspirations to return to Zion.

Since their mass immigration to Israel, Ethiopian Jews have continued this practice, often gathering in Jerusalem to mark the day.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s Ethiopian community stands at 171,600, of whom 54% were born in Ethiopia as of 2023. This includes 1,812 Ethiopian Jews who immigrated that year.

Higher education enrollment is steadily increasing, with 4,144 Ethiopian students attending universities and colleges in the 2023/24 academic year, a 29.7% rise since 2016.

This progress outpaces the general student population’s growth in higher education during the same period.

Sigd comes from the Aramaic word sged which means to prostrate oneself, as in prayer.