The Sigd holiday falls 50 days after Yom Kippur, on the 29th of Cheshvan on the Hebrew calendar, which is thought to be the date when God first revealed himself to Moses.

In Ethiopia, on the day of the holiday, the community fasts before ascending a high mountain. At the top, the Qesoch (Jewish leaders/rabbis) do a public reading of the giving of the Torah. At the end of the ceremony, they blow trumpets and declare their desire to celebrate next year in Jerusalem. Following this, the community descends to the village singing and dancing.

In Israel, in 2008, Sigd was established by law as an official national holiday. The Sigd ceremony is held at Armon Ha’Natziv, a promenade that overlooks the Old City of Jerusalem.

Today, celebrating Sigd is as relevant as ever as it’s an opportunity to integrate the unique traditions of the holiday preserved by Ethiopian Jews and create a multicultural and diverse Israeli society that reflects and is accepting of all its people. Additionally, as the root of the Sigd holiday is about longing for Jerusalem, world Jewry can relate to this idea as they are living outside of Israel. And that’s why Jews need to keep celebrating Sigd even in Jerusalem, once the dream of reaching it is a reality—because there are still other Jews who long to be in Jerusalem who have not yet fulfilled the dream.

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