Oren Thaler – Hebrew Teacher

In High School last week we acknowledged the Sigd.

The Sigd is a festival that has been celebrated by the Ethiopian Jewish community for centuries. The Jewish community in Ethiopia – also called Beita Israel is the oldest Jewish community in the world. It is estimated that its existence dates back 3000 years.

The Kes (community leader) reading from the Torah text in the Sigd celebration

Ascending to the mountain top for the Sigd celebration in Ethiopia

The Sigd is the festival that marks the End of the High Holidays, 50 days after Yom Kippur. In Ethiopia, thousands would ascend a mountain top and read from the Torah, reaffirming the covenant with God and the longing for Jerusalem.

Since the great exodus of the Ethiopian Jewish community and its arrival to Israel, the Sigd has assumed an additional meaning, in recounting the great sacrifice and bravery during the journey to Israel.

A village of Beita-Israel community in Ethiopia

In 2008, Sigd became an official festival in the Jewish calendar and at Emanuel School we want to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of Judaism and the contribution of the different communities to Jewish culture.