Today, exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur, the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) community celebrates Sigd. Sigd means “prostration” or “worship”, and the Sigd holiday marks the renewal of the covenant with G-d, commemorating the Revelation at Mount Sinai. In Ethiopia, the community would gather and ascend to the peak of a high mountain led by the Kessim and community elders. There, they would pray for the welfare of Jerusalem and confess their sins. When the ceremony ended, they would descend the mountain in song and dance.
Today, with the aliya of Beta Israel to Israel, Sigd is celebrated in Jerusalem. Members of the community gather at the Armon Hanatziv promenade, facing the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, and from there they walk toward the Western Wall.
Photos: Sigd prayers today at the Western Wall Plaza
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