The Jewish community at the University of Maryland came together for a unique opportunity to celebrate the Ethiopian Jewish holiday, Sigd.
Sigd commemorates the yearning for Jerusalem, the Torah and the lost temple. This day of renewal begins with fasting and somber prayer all day. The holiday ends with a vibrant celebration filled with lots of food, dancing and music.
This event was hosted last Wednesday by Maya Eyov, Maryland Hillel’s new Israel fellow.
The evening began with students schmoozing over delicious kosher Ethiopian food with traditional Ethiopian music filling the room.
Mawa gave a presentation explaining the holiday of Sigd, which is celebrated on the 29th of Cheshvan, exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur. Sigd means bowing down, stemming from the Hebrew word “Segida,” symbolizing the submission to God. The word also stems from the Aramaic “sged,” which means prostration.
Mawa lived in a Jewish village in the north of Ethiopia until she was three, when her family moved to Israel. The journey to make aliyah from Ethiopia was quite difficult for her family due to the war in Ethiopia. Her father had to go to Sudan, then Israel and eventually came back for the rest of the family. The Ethiopian Jewish community is very isolated from the rest of society, partially to preserve tradition, but also because of constant persecution from neighboring Christians.
There were many detailed trifolds explaining the history of Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, meaning house of Israel. These posters offered context on how Beta Israel made the difficult journey from Ethiopia to Israel, their roles in Israeli society and their cultural traditions.
When asked about the origins of the Beta Israel community, Mawa said that there are two theories. One thought is that they are the descendants of King Solomon and Queen Sheba. Another theory is that Beta Israel is descended from the Yemeni Jewish community, and migrated to Ethiopia as merchants.
Hava Tizazu, an Ethiopian-Israeli artist teaching a course on Black cultural activism in Israel at this university, chimed in from the audience.
“It’s important to know that Ethiopian Jews are constantly questioned about identities and origins as opposed to Ashkenazi Jews,” Tizazu said.
Tizazu spoke on her background in theater and playwriting as a form of activism, bringing awareness to the experiences of the Ethiopian community in Israel.
The evening ended with joyous Ethiopian traditional dancing. The evening filled with learning, noshing and dancing was a special time to learn about and connect with the beautiful diversity of Jewish peoplehood.
