Rescue, Repentance, & Reunion: Sigd’s Call for Jewish Unity ✡️
!חג סיגד שמח
From your friends at
The American Sephardi Federation
In honor of Sigd, the ASF’s Sephardi World Weekly is pleased to offer the following “Letter from the Land of Israel”:
In the Hebrew calendar, the autumn month of Heshvan is often called Mar Heshvan, mar being the Hebrew term for “bitter.” What’s bitter about the month of Heshvan? For almost all of Jewish history, it didn’t have any holidays. The previous month, Tishrei, is the mother of all months when it comes to holidays. Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, Succot and Shimhat Torah all fall in Tishrei. The following month, Kislev, has Hanukkah. But Heshvan? Zilch. From the perspective of holidays, there’s nothing celebratory about it. Hence, bitter.
All that changed in the late 20th century, however, when the Ethiopian Jewish community made Aliyah to the Land of Israel. The Ethiopian Jews arrived with a tradition that includes a holiday, Sigd, that falls every year on the 29th of Heshvan. And it’s not just an Ethiopian-Jewish holiday anymore: Israel’s Knesset legislated the “Sigd Law” in 2008, declaring the 29th of Heshvan to be a national holiday. So what’s Sigd all about?
In his book, From Sinai to Ethiopia: The Halakhic and Conceptual World of Ethiopian Jewry (2016), Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom explores the significance of Sigd. Regarding the date, Shalom notes that the 29th of Heshvan is fifty days after Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei. The relationship between Yom Kippur and Sigd thus parallels the relationship between Pesach and Shabuot, which are also separated by fifty days. But the parallel isn’t only numerical. Shabuot is, in a sense, the completion of Pesach, as the freedom from Egypt finds its purpose in the acceptance of the Torah. Likewise, the process that is begun on Yom Kippur finds its completion on Sigd. How so? According to Shalom, Yom Kippur is geared towards personal repentance, while Sigd is geared towards communal repentance:
The Sigd holiday connects between the individual’s spiritual self-accounting, which takes place on Yom Kippur, [with] the central disaster for the Jewish [P]eople – exile… which took place due to the breakdown of proper interpersonal relations.
From the Ethiopian Jewish perspective, exile occurred because of societal breakdown, and return to the Land of Israel will only be possible when interpersonal relations are rectified:
The basic assumption is that in order to be deserving of pilgrimage to Jerusalem, fasting on Yom Kippur and personal improvement are not enough… On the fiftieth day… we must return to the experience of Yom Kippur, but this time as a collective that has undergone a reparative experience and heightening of moral, individual and social awareness.
In Ethiopia, this act of collective repentance was marked by various degrees of fasting during the day, and a festive, communal meal in the evening. The holiday was marked on a high hill which the community ascended and, from this elevated perspective, prayed in the direction of Jerusalem.
How was Sigd celebrated once the Ethiopian Jewish community began arriving en masse in the Holy Land in the 1980s? I asked Shalom this question, and he related that he had posed the same question to the first chief rabbi of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel, R’ Yosef Hadane. Fascinatingly, R’Hadane reported that the Ethiopian Jewish community wasn’t initially sure if they should continue to mark the holiday at all. One half of the community didn’t see any reason for continuing to observe Sigd now that the Ethiopian Jews were in Israel, while the other half argued that, absent a Temple in Jerusalem, the holiday should continue to be marked by praying in the direction of the Temple Mount instead of simply turning to Jerusalem. The second view carried the day, but here, too, there was a dispute: the Amharic-speaking Ethiopian Jews chose to observe Sigd by looking out onto the Temple Mount from the Armon HaNatziv promenade in the city’s south, while the Tigri-speaking Ethiopian Kessim (Priests) chose to go to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. The custom of observing Sigd from Armon HaNatziv became the norm, and each year various dignitaries, including the Israeli Prime Minister and President, arrive at the lookout and partake in the annual observance. That said, some Ethiopian Jews still travel to the Western Wall on Sigd as part of the day’s ritual observances.
But the present-day significance of Sigd isn’t exhausted by its emphasis on communal repentance, the remembrance of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, or the transformation of Heshvan from a bitter to a sweet month. Sigd is also important for its role in animating the resilience of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
Continue reading below…
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The American Sephardi Federation invites all individuals, communities, and organizations who share our vision & principles to join us in signing the American Sephardi Leadership Statement!
Please also support the ASF with a generous, tax-deductible contribution so we can continue to cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!
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The absorption of Ethiopian Jewry into Israeli society hasn’t been easy. The flight and rescue of Ethiopian Jewry was one of the most remarkable events of the 20th century, and great efforts have been invested in absorbing Ethiopian Jews into the country. Nevertheless, Ethiopian Jews face many difficulties integrating into Israel thanks to cultural gaps and prejudices, and in some cases, racial prejudice.
Compounding these challenges, the authenticity of the Ethiopian Jewish tradition isn’t fully recognized by the Israeli rabbinate. It’s a strange situation. While Ethiopians are recognized as Jews, the rabbinate has always assumed that Ethiopian Jews will cast aside their Ethiopian Jewish traditions, many of which differ radically from mainstream rabbinic practice, and assimilate themselves to existing rabbinic traditions, for instance, the Sephardi way as taught by R’Ovadia Yosef. Israel’s President and Prime Minister celebrate Sigd together with the Ethiopian Jewish community, but, significantly, Israel’s chief rabbis don’t. In practice, while many Ethiopian Israeli youth have become alienated from their Ethiopian Jewish traditions, they haven’t adopted other Jewish traditions in their place. And lacking a strong sense of Jewish identity, young Ethiopian Israelis are increasingly filling the vacuum by seeing themselves first and foremost as black.
Shalom received his ordination from the Israeli rabbinate, but he nevertheless insists that the key to giving Ethiopian Jews the power to view themselves as full participants in the grand sweep of Jewish history and full citizens of the Jewish state lies in recognizing the authenticity of the Ethiopian Jewish tradition. So long as the authenticity of that tradition is doubted, however, Ethiopian Jews will inevitably drift into viewing themselves less as Jews and more through the limiting lens of skin color. What’s more, once the self-perception of Ethiopian Israelis becomes primarily a function of skin color, demagogues and ideologues of various stripes will capitalize upon Ethiopian Israelis’ difficulties in order to advance politics of division within the Jewish state. The Aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry was inspired by the traditional belief that, “All Jews are responsible for one another.” Once the politics of division gains the upper hand, however, the name of the game becomes, “The oppressors versus the oppressed.” And in that upside-down game, victimization confers prestige.
It is within this larger context that, according to Shalom, we can appreciate the contemporary significance of Sigd. This traditional Ethiopian holiday is so important because it reaffirms the Jewish dimension of the Ethiopian Israeli identity for Ethiopian Jews themselves. By seeing themselves primarily as Jews, irrespective of how they are perceived by others, Ethiopian Israelis can find the inner strength to triumph over the challenges they face in integrating into the Jewish state. Of course, what’s true for Ethiopian Jews in miniature is also true for the Jewish People as a whole. A strong identity, or inner compass, creates the inner strength to see oneself as a capable agent, and not as a passive victim. In this sense, the particularly Ethiopian message of Sigd resonates today with Jews around the world.
Hag Sigd Sameach!
The American Sephardi Federation
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Ethiopian-Israeli Star Gili Yalo Rocks NYC’s 10th Annual Sigd Celebration
(Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman)
The American Sephardi Federation and Chassida Shmella: Ethiopian Israeli-Jewish Community of North America presented the 10th Annual Sigd Celebration on 3 November. The event featured a Kessouch reading in Ge’ez ምህልላ, Q&A on Ethiopian Judaism, Ethiopian music and shoulder dancing, Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, and traditional cuisine.
Sigd’s headliner was Gili Yalo, one of the most intriguing new artists in Israel’s music scene. Singing in Amharic, Hebrew, and English, Yalo blends traditional and contemporary Ethiopian music with Soul, Funk, Psychedelic, and Jazz to make a compelling, distinctive sound all his own.
Click here to watch the Sigd concert, courtesy of talented Moroccan filmmaker Zakaria Saraj.
Additional Sigd Resources:
In 2020, the ASF Institute of Jewish Experience hosted SIGD: A Global Introspection Event. Qes Efraim Lawi, the first ordained qes born in Israel, read from the Orit and shared the significance and beauty of the day. Professor Shalva Weil shared reflections on Qes Hadane Z”L. Renowned photographer Joan Roth described her impressions of Sigd in word and photos. Ambassador Belaynesh Zevadia shared personal stories from past Sigd celebrations. Professor Ephraim Isaac provided insight into the meaning of the holiday. Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom concluded the event with a call to introspection in honor of this universal holiday. And… greetings from around the world!
ASF Institute of Jewish Experience Holidays Series: An Ethiopian Jewish Holiday of Communal Repentance: Sigd
Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom for YNet on the 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Sigd, But Should. Translated into English by the ASF IJE.
Want to learn even more? Sign-up today for the ASF Institute of Jewish Experience and Ono Academic College’s online course Bete Israel: An Authentic Judaism. Study Ethiopian Jewry in the context of Jewish history and Israeli society, integrating issues such as racism, Jewish pluralism and inclusiveness, and the challenges of creating political and social change. Scholars, artists, and religious leaders present a survey of this unique Jewish community.
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Photo credit: Members of Israel’s Ethiopian-Jewish community celebrate Sigd in Jerusalem. (Photo courtesy of Flash90/Yonatan Sindel/World Israel News).
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The NY Jewish Week, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, Natan Fund, Jewish Book Council, and ASF Institute of Jewish Experience present:
An Evening with “One Hundred Saturdays”
An event featuring Sephardic songs from Daphna Mor (vocal) and Adam Good (on the oud), artwork from Maira Kalman, and a wide-ranging conversation between celebrated author Michael Frank and award-winning journalist Sandee Brawarsky, with the participation of Stella Levi!
Wednesday, 30 November at 7:00 PM EST
Sign-up Now!
(Tickets: $14.36 – $22.85)
In-person at B’nai Jeshrun Congregation and online
257 West 88th Street,
New York, NY
A luminous work, One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World is the encounter of two brilliant storytellers: Stella Levi, who was born and grew up in the old Sephardic Jewish quarter of the island of Rhodes and is now almost 100 years of age, and Michael Frank, who listens to, captures, and retells the story of her survival and embrace of life.
Michael Frank will be in conversation with award-winning New York journalist Sandee Brawarsky.
About the author:
Michael Frank is the author of What Is Missing, a novel, and The Mighty Franks, a memoir, which was awarded the 2018 JQ Wingate Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by The Telegraph and The New Statesman. One Hundred Saturdays is a Jewish Book Council Natan Notable Book. The recipient of a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, Michael lives with his family in New York City and Camogli, Italy.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience, the Center for Jewish History, Bar-Ilan University, Dahan Center, and the Ben-Zvi Institute present:
From Middle Eastern North African Jewish Refugees to Israeli Cultural Renaissance
International Conference featuring speakers from Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States
Sunday, 4 December 10:30AM – 6:00PM EDT
($8 G/A or Donation)
Sign-up Now!
The Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Program Details:
Sunday, December 04, 2022, 4 Kislev, 5783
- 10:30-11:00: Arrival and Registration
- 11:00-12:00: Opening Session
Chair: Dr. Shimon Ohayon, Director, the Dahan Center, Bar-Ilan University
Greetings:
- Mr. Yaakov Hagoel, Chairperson of the World Zionist Organization
- Mr. Eyal Gabbai, Chairperson, Yad Izhak Ben Zvi
- Mr. David Dangoor, President, American Sephardi Federation
Keynote Adress:
Prof. Noam Norman Stillman, University of Oklahoma
Prelude to Exodus: the Jews of Arab lands in the face of the challenges and transformations of the modern era
- 12:00-12:15: Coffee break
- 12:15-14:00: Second session
Chair: Mr. Moshe Zaafrani, Manager of cultural-educational projects, Yad Ben Zvi
Mr. Gilad Erdan, Ambassador to the United Nations – Struggle and Recognition: Jews from Arab lands and Iran
Mr. Ben-Dror Yemini, Reporter – The Jewish Nakba: a Comparative Study
Dr. Stanley Yurman, Rutgers University & Director of JJAC – Justice for Jews from Arab countries: the case for rights and redress
Ms. Dana Avrish, Researcher, Artist & Creator – Rediscovering the Jewish roots in Islamic countries
- 14:00-14:45: Lunch Break
- 14:45-16:15: Third Session
Chair: Dr. Drora Arussy, Senior Director, ASF Institute of Jewish Experience
Dr. Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah, University of Groningen – Communal Dissolution and the Baghdadi Diaspora: Reframing Iraqi-Jewish Migration as Multidirectional
Mr. Edwin Shuker, Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews – The Ethnic cleansing of the Jews of Iraq in the second half of the 20th century
Dr. Jesse Weinberg, University of Oklahoma – The End of Eden: Antisemitism in Iraq, 1917-1951
- 16:15–16:30 Coffee break
- 16:30-17:30 Fourth Session
Ms. Sarina Roffé, Sephardic Heritage Project – Syrian Jewish Paths to Freedom
Mr. Ruben Shimonov, ASF’s National Director of Sephardi House – Conversation with Sephardi House Fellows
Student Presentations – The Story of Our Family Roots
- 17:30-18:00: Musical Program
Naama Perel Zadok
Concluding Remarks:
Dr. Shimon Ohayon and Dr. Drora Arussy
Supported by Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, World Zionist Organization, and World Jewish Congress – North America.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Exclusive Authors Series with Alan Verskin
Join us for this episode of Exclusive Authors Series with Alan Verskin discussing his new book, A Vision of Yemen.
Tuesday, 6 December at 12:00PM EDT
(Complimentary RSVP)
Sign-up Now!
About the book:
In 1869, Hayyim Habshush, a Yemeni Jew, accompanied the European orientalist Joseph Halévy on his archaeological tour of Yemen. Twenty years later, Habshush wrote A Vision of Yemen, a memoir of their travels, that provides a vivid account of daily life, religion, and politics. More than a simple travelogue, it is a work of trickster-tales, thick anthropological descriptions, and reflections on Jewish–Muslim relations. At its heart lies the fractious and intimate relationship between the Yemeni coppersmith and the “enlightened” European scholar and the collision between the cultures each represents. The book thus offers a powerful indigenous response to European Orientalism.
This edition is the first English translation of Habshush’s writings from the original Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew and includes an accessible historical introduction to the work. The translation maintains Habshush’s gripping style and rich portrayal of the diverse communities and cultures of Yemen, offering a potent mixture of artful storytelling and cultural criticism, suffused with humor and empathy. Habshush writes about the daily lives of men and women, rich and poor, Jewish and Muslim, during a turbulent period of war and both Ottoman and European imperialist encroachment. With this translation, Alan Verskin recovers the lost voice of a man passionately committed to his land and people.
About the authors:
Alan Verskin is Associate Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island.
Click here for more about the book.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The American Sephardi Federation and the Moise Safra Center present:
Sephardi: Cooking the History with Hélène Jawhara-Piñer
Join Chef Hélène Jawhara-Piñer for an extraordinary cooking class as she recreates recipes from her award-winning and best-selling cookbook.
Thursday, 8 December at 10:00AM EDT
(Tickets: $50 – $95)
Sign-up Now!
The Moise Safra Center
130 E 82nd St. (7th Floor Culinary Studio)
New York, NY 10028
In this extraordinary cooking class, chef and scholar Hélène Jawhara-Piñer has selected some of her favorite recipes from her latest cookbook, Sephardi: Cooking the History. Recipes of the Jews of Spain and the Diaspora, from the 13th Century to Today, to serve up in our culinary studio. Steeped in the history of the Sephardic Jews and their diaspora, these recipes are expertly collected from such diverse sources as medieval cookbooks, Inquisition trials, medical treatises, poems, and literature. Original sources ranging from the thirteenth century onwards and written in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Occitan, Italian, and Hebrew, bear witness to the culinary diversity of the Sephardim, who brought their cuisine with them and kept it alive wherever they went.
Jawhara-Piñer provides enlightening commentary for each recipe, revealing underlying societal issues from anti-Semitism to social order. Hélène Jawhara Piñer holds a doctoral degree in Medieval History and the History of Food. In 2018, she was awarded the Broome & Allen Fellowship of the American Sephardi Federation, dedicated to recognizing outstanding academic accomplishments and services to the Sephardic community, as well as encouraging continued excellence in the field of Sephardi studies.
Each creation and bite of the dishes are guaranteed to transport you to the most deeply moving and intriguing aspects of Jewish history. Jawhara-Piñer reminds us that eating is a way to commemorate the past.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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ASF Broome & Allen & ADL Collaborative for Change Fellow Isaac de Castro presents:
Entre Diasporas: Telling the Latin-American Jewish story. Contando la historia judía latinoamericana
Tell your story. Cuenta tu historia.
We’re looking for first-generation Latino Jews in the United States who immigrated because of political and social turmoil. Jews of Sephardic descent from Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela that now reside in the Miami area will be given priority, but others are welcome to apply as well.
Fill out this form to be considered as an interviewee for this project. After you’ve submitted, we will be in touch promptly to set up a preliminary phone call.
Click here for more information.