Sigd in Israel

The word “Sigd” has the same Amharic root as the word for prostration, with its connotations of worship and belief in God. Sigd comes from the word Sigda, which means “to pray to God or to prostrate oneself”. Sigd falls 50 days after Yom Kippur. With echoes also of Shavuot, Sigd similarly commemorates the acceptance of the Torah on Mt.

Sigd has been celebrated continuously for centuries, but until recently, it was observed exclusively among Ethiopian Jews. However, in 2008, Sigd became an official Israeli national holiday, and it is now celebrated in the Jewish state as both a religious holiday and an exploration of Ethiopian Jewish culture.