Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Today is the holiday of Sigd. Three young women from the Ethiopian community wrote me their thoughts regarding this holiday as follows:
Habtam Abebe: "Most Israelis think this is our holiday, that it belongs solely to those of us from Ethiopia, but not to them. But here is an opportunity for all of you to connect with people who set out on an unimaginable adventure, who simply set off for the Land of Israel on foot, burying family members along the way. Yet our longing for this land is something that all Jews throughout the world and in all generations have shared. Just a few weeks ago we read in parashat Lech Lecha about the first time someone left the familiar surroundings of home and went by foot to the Land of Israel. And so there were those of us in this generation who simply continued the legacy of Avraham Avinu."
Hodaya Mekonen: "SIgd is derived from segidah, which is the Hebrew word for bowing. When was the last time we stopped and devoted an entire day to thinking about our connection to God and to the Land of Israel? When did we last think about the longing of all the generations for Jerusalem? When did we last bow and submit to something sacred?"
Mazal Jambar: "Exactly fifty days after Yom Kippur, Sigd arrives. Ethiopian Jews gather for a day of prayer and soul-searching. This is a reminder to all of us that fifty days have elapsed since that holy day. Do you remember all the promises and resolutions you made? What happened to them? It's not for no reason that we launder and put on white clothes today, a reminder that our souls too have become a little unclean since Yom Kippur and we need to be cleansed."
