* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
“Shalom, Sivan. My name is Mazal and my parents came on aliyah to Israel from Ethiopia. Today, on the 29th of Cheshvan, my community observes the Sigd holiday. I believe that the Sigd is precisely what we need in Israel today:
Fifty days after Yom Kippur, the Ethiopian Jews assemble for a day of prayer and self-reflection in anticipation of redemption. Without this holiday, we would not remember that 50 days have passed since the holy day of Yom Kippur, on which we took upon ourselves to improve and mend our ways.
In Ethiopia, our parents would clean and put on their white clothing, and humbly march toward a high mounta…