Sigd (; or ; also romanized Sig'd,Shai Afsai, "Past in the Present: An inside look at Sigd — the holiday of Ethiopian Jewry — and the struggle to secure its survival," Ami Magazine, December 5, 2012, p. 80. Siged or Seg'd), also known as Mehella (, 'Supplication') or Amata Saww (, 'Grouping Day'), is one of the unique holidays of the Beta Israel,the Ethiopian Jewish community. and is celebrated on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Marcheshvan, 50 days after Yom Kippur.
The holiday centers on the renewal of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, communal repentance and introspection, and the yearning for Jerusalem and Zion.
In 2008, the Knesset enacted the Sigd National Holiday Law, recognizing Sigd as an official Israeli state holiday and establishing 29 Marcheshvan as its date. The law also provides for a central state ceremony and educational activities concerning the holiday.
Date Previously, Sigd was celebrated on the 29th of Kislev, and after a calendar reform in the mid-19th century it was moved to its present day, 50 days after Yom Kippur.The reform was made by the monk Aba Wudja see Quirin, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews, p. 156.
Etymology The word Sigd itself is Ge'ez for "prostration" and is related to sgēd "to prostrate oneself (in worship)".Shai Afsai, "Past in the Present: An inside look at Sigd — the holiday of Ethiopian Jewry — and the struggle to secure its survival," Ami Magazine, December 5, 2012, p. 80. The Semitic root sgd is the same as in mesgid, one of the two Beta Israel Ge'ez terms for "synagogue" (etymologically related to masjid "mosque", literally "place of prostration"), and from the same Semitic root we also have the Hebrew verb לסגוד lisgod, "to worship".
Significance There are multiple oral traditions about the origin of Sigd. One tradition traces it to the 6th century, in the time of King Gebre Mesqel of Axum, son of King Kaleb, when the war between Jews and Christians ended and both communities separated from each other.Ben-Dor, The Sigd of Beta Israel, p. 141; on the separation see Quirin, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews, p. 23 and Kaplan, The Beta Israel, p. 39. Another traces it to the 15th century as a result of persecution by Christian emperors. One other tradition states that the Jews in Persia, following the destruction of the First Temple would climb a mountain, face Jerusalem, and pray to be allowed back. The first mention of Sigd is from the 15th century.Ben-Dor, p. 141.
Sigd symbolizes the acceptance of the Torah. The kahənat (priests) have also maintained a tradition of the holiday arising as a result of persecution by Christian kings, during which the kahənat retreated into the wilderness to appeal to God for His mercy. Additionally, they sought to unify the Beta Israel and prevent them from abandoning the Haymanot (laws and traditions) under persecution. So they looked toward the Book of Nehemiah, taking inspiration from Ezra's presentment of the "book of the law of Moses" before the assembly of Israel after it had been lost during the Babylonian exile.Shai Afsai, "What is Sigd?", Times of Israel, November 12, 2014.
Historicity While it is widely thought that Sigd is a holiday particular to Ethiopian Jews, Rabbi Sharon Shalom posits that it was once known to all Jews but was preserved only by the Ethiopian Jewish community, based on Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:4:
Event Traditionally in commemoration of the appeals made by the Kessim and consequent mass gathering, the Beta Israel would make pilgrimages to Midraro, Hoharoa, or Wusta Tsegai (possibly marking locations of relief from Christian persecution) every year to reaffirm themselves as a religious community.Ashkenazi, Michael, and Alex Weingrod. Ethiopian Jews and Israel. Transaction Publishers, 1987. Ascending up the mountain ritually commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Shkalim, Esther. A Mosaic of Israel's Traditions. Devora Publishing Company, 2006. pg. 128.
Today, during the celebration, members of the community fast, recite Psalms, and gather in Jerusalem where Kessim read from the Orit (the Octateuch). The ritual is followed by the breaking of the fast, dancing, and general revelry.
Official national holiday in Israel In February 2008 MK Uri Ariel submitted legislation to the Knesset in order to establish Sigd as an Israeli national holiday,Israel National News Ethiopian Jewish Sigd Festival to Become National Holiday. February 1, 2008. and in July 2008 the Knesset "decided to officially add the Ethiopian Sigd holiday to the list of State holidays."Yedioth Ahronoth Ethiopian Sigd Made Official State Holiday. July 2, 2008. According to an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, however, "While the qessotch [Kessim] and Beta Israel rabbis are pleased that the Sigd became an official Israeli state holiday in 2008, they would also like the holiday to become an integral part of the yearly Jewish holiday cycle and be embraced by more Jews, at least in Israel, rather than remain a holiday primarily celebrated by the Jewish community from Ethiopia."Shai Afsai, “Is world Jewry ready for another holiday?” Jerusalem Post, November 9, 2014. Afsai’s "The Sigd: From Ethiopia to Israel," from which this piece is drawn, appears in the Fall 2014 issue of CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog celebrated Sigd with the Ethiopian Jewish community on the Armon Hanatziv Promenade in November 2021. In his speech, he hailed Sigd as “a holiday of victory” and praised the Ethiopian Jewish community for its proactive efforts to immigrate to Israel. In 2025, Avera Mengistu, recently returned from Hamas captivity of a decade, celebrated Sigd in Jerusalem, making national news.
Observance outside of Israel
In 2025, a Sigd celebration took place at City Hall in New York City, the first Sigd event in the United States sponsored by a municipal government. The event was sponsored by the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, and the nonprofit Bechol Lashon, which highlights racial and ethnic diversity within Jewry. Organizers noted the city's sizable population of Ethiopian Jews, living alongside the city's larger Jewish community.
See also Public holidays in Ethiopia
References
Further reading Jon G. Abbink, "Segd Celebration in Ethiopia and Israel: Continuity and Change of a Falasha Religious Holiday", Anthropos, Vol. 78, 1983, pp. 789–810. Shai Afsai, "Past in the Present: An inside look at Sigd — the holiday of Ethiopian Jewry — and the struggle to secure its survival," Ami Magazine, December 5, 2012, pp. 78–85; "The Sigd: From Ethiopia to Israel," CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Fall 2014. Shoshana Ben-Dor, "The Sigd of Beta Israel: Testimony To A Community In Transition" in Michael Ashkenazi and Alex Weingrod (Editors), Ethiopian Jews and Israel, Transaction Publishers, 1987, , pp. 140-159. Rebeccah Robertson. 2026. Ethiopian Israeli Connection, Distinctiveness, and Continuity at Israeli Sigd Celebrations. Dallas International University: Doctoral dissertation. Kay Kaufman Shelemay, "Seged, a Falasha Pilgrimage Festival", Musica Judaica, Vol. lII, 1, pp. 42–62. Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, Michigan State University Press, 1986, . Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology, Yale University Press, 1951. James Arthur Quirin, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of the Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992, .
External links "The Jewish Agency for Israel page", a brief description of the holiday from the Department of Zionist Education Shai Afsai, "The Sigd Festival comes home to Jerusalem", Jerusalem Post, December 12, 2012 "Photos of Sigd", by Danny Yanai