Sigd – Page 2 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Sigd and Shabbat Shalom

November 17, 2017Sharon A

Sigd, a holiday which is set on

the 29th of Hebrew month of Heshvan,

falls out on Shabbat this year.

A national holiday in Israel since 2008,

thousands of Ethiopian-Israelis celebrate

by coming to Jerusalem, Israel,

to the tayelet in Armon Hanetziv.

Kessim, religious elders, sit under umbrellas,

perhaps remembering the days in Ethiopia

when they went to the highest mountain to fast,

praying to one day return to Yerushalayim, to Zion.

Women can be seen praying,

and perhaps remembering life in Ethiopia,

and their arduous journey to Sudan and challenges in Israel.

Each year,

more and more of the young people

young women as well as men,

are serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Sigd was observed on Thursday this year,

so as not to have the celebrations interfere with Shabbat.

The reason the main celebration is on the tayelet

is that its elevation provides this, one of the best views

of the Old City and the Temple Mount.

שבת שלום

29 November Celebrated in Jerusalem

November 30, 2016November 30, 2016Sharon A

November 29, 1947

Important enough to be the name of a Jerusalem street.

כט November street sign in Jerusalem for 29 November

It was the day the UN passed Resolution 181

to re-establish a Jewish State in our ancestral homeland.

“The UN Vote: Then and Now”

was the theme of a November 29th conference

AACI Israel forever foundation Danny Ayalon

featuring former Ambassador Danny Ayalon as the keynote speaker.

Workshops were held in the afternoon on topics

which included delegitimization, antisemitism,

Anti-Zionism, BDS, Hate Bias, and Jewish rights.

The morning panel on Public Diplomacy on Shaping Social Action

was moderated by former Jerusalem Post editor Steve Linde.

November 29 UN vote then and now

Barry Shaw, Olga Deutsch, Avital Leibovich, Asher Fredman,

and Ashley Perry (left to right) spoke about current advocacy.

Zipporah Porath witness to November 29 in 1947

Zipporah Porath gave her eyewitness account

of the excitement that filled the Jerusalem streets many years ago

when the UN made possibly its first and last pro-Israel proclamation.

The World Zionist Organization marked 70 years since the historic vote

29 November celebration Jerusalem

with music and Israeli dancing.

Zionist leaders were again on the balcony watching the proceedings.

29 November celebraton

That is Yaakov Hagoel and Avraham Dudevani on the left, Natan Sharansky in the middle,

and Theodore Herzl on the right side of this photo.

29 November at Jewish Agency buidling

Lights and visuals were projected on to the building.

Could Theodore Herzl imagine such a scene?

actor as Theodore Herzl at Jewish Agency

He certainly never imagined David Ben-Gurion taking a selfie

while standing there next to him.

The date of November 30, 1947, marked

the beginning of the mass exodus of Jews from Arab countries,

the Jewish Nakba Day.

Most came to Eretz Yisrael,

and after many hardships, began new lives.

This year Sigd was celebrated on November 30.

After thousands of years of going to mountain tops

Sigd on Tayelet

and yearning to return to Jerusalem,

the Ethiopian holiday has become an official Israeli one.

November 30 at night is also Rosh Chodesh Kislev,

so besides Israeli and Ethiopian dancing,

Hanukkah donuts

the streets are beginning to be lined with suffganiot,

The Hanukkah donuts season has begun.

Sigd Celebrated in Jerusalem

November 13, 2015rjstreets

Sigd, the Ethiopian holiday which falls on 29 Heshvan,

50 days after Yom Kippur, was celebrated on the Tayelet.

A spot with the best views of the Old City, but

with heightened security in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.

Also, somewhat smaller crowds were out on the Haas Promenade.

Buses brought Ethiopian Israelis from all over Israel

to celebrate the annual event, a national holiday since 2008.

I love to see the young men in uniform,

and the girls too.

But, Sigd is not just eating, dancing, and socializing.

Sigd began centuries ago in Ethiopia,

with leaders gathering on a mountaintop and praying to return to Zion.

Today they have returned.

Kessim, religious leaders dressed in white,

were seated at this long dais and more

were in the audience, under their colorful umbrellas.

Prayers and speeches by government officials are part of the day.

After President Reuven Rivlin spoke,

he went down the line and shook hands with the dignitaries.

Only a small part of the crowd of thousands, mostly the elders,

were seated, with politicians and dignitaries in front.

However, one woman caught my attention.

What was she thinking?

Did she remember Sigd from Ethiopia?

What had she gone through to get here?

She stood during the speeches looking towards the Old City,

towards the Temple Mount in the distance.

Sigd has become one of my favorite events.

Interesting, both last year and in 2012, I also wrote that

we were in the midst of “difficult times.”

I must find out what this is hair-like thing is,

I noticed several of them this year.

Sigd, where ancient blends with the modern,

and the very modern customs and practices.

The program ended in the early afternoon.

Shabbat also starts very early

with just a few hours to prepare before it is dark.

Wishing a Shabbat Shalom to all from Jerusalem,

where sometimes dreams do come true.