The Feast of the Mosque • 50 days after Yom Kippur
Every year the Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates the holiday of the Sigurd fifty days after Yom Kippur. The mosque is considered a day of fasting, purity and renewal, at the center of which is the ceremony of renewing the covenant between the people and God, which includes the reading of passages from the "Hametzaf Kadesh" (Holy Books), blessings and prayers for redemption. In 2008, the Knesset passed a law establishing the mosque today Holiday Official of the State of Israel and now a choice.
The education system in Haifa mentions the mosque
As part of the celebrations of the mosque in the educational system in Haifa, a tour of a virtual Ethiopian village was held. In addition, quizzes were held, films were shown and classes dedicated to the traditions of the Ethiopian community took place.
The high schools in the city have been celebrating the holiday since yesterday (Sunday 15/11/20), as part of distance learning education classes. In the first class, students will teach a lesson about the traditions of the Ethiopian community, the students will watch a film dedicated to the emigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel and will participate in a quiz "Kahot" created by female students from the Ethiopian community.
A virtual Ethiopian village
In City School C, the student representatives together with the members of the educational staff established a "virtual Ethiopian village" using the tinklink application. In the village, the students will be able to tour the various sites and get to know the culture, food, music and traditional clothes of the community, the historical background and inspiring stories of Aliyah.
Urban High School held theater, communication and education classes on the topic of the holiday, as well as panels dedicated to identity and belonging, the uniqueness of the community and its integration into the State of Israel. At the end of the classes, Nani Brook, the theater teacher and moderator of the student council of Urban High, taught a traditional Ethiopian dance.
In the elementary schools, the holiday is celebrated with classroom learning, traditional stories and videos from the Aliya to Israel. The students of the schools watched via the virtual space the main ceremony which was broadcast from the Knesset square.
In the kindergartens where the children of the community study, the children will receive an embroidery kit and the children's book "Troy's Holiday Dress" by the author Tova Medhani-Gabaio, which includes a variety of activities in the spirit of Ethiopian creativity.
City council member and holder of the education portfolio in the Haifa Municipality, Sigal Zioni, blessed the community's veterans on the occasion of the holiday and wished that all their prayers and requests would be answered.
Sigal Etzioni:
The Sigd events are a great opportunity for all of us to get to know the tradition, culture and uniqueness of this wonderful community.
Religion and faith, solemnity, holiness and multiculturalism
The District Director, at the Ministry of Education in the Haifa District, Dr. Sa'ar Harel:
50 days after Yom Kippur, Jews from the Ethiopian community celebrate the holiday of the Siegd, and we celebrate together with them the renewal of the covenant of the Ethiopian Jews with them and with their Torah. The meetings with the expatriates of the community, the various culminating events in the schools in honor of the holiday of the mosque in the educational institutions, are intended to strengthen the connection of the members of the community to their heritage, to allow a place of respect for the cultural assets that the immigrants bring with them, to root out prejudices and to bring about mutual appreciation and tolerance in Israeli society.
The education system in the Haifa district encourages the cultivation of multiculturalism and pluralism. The educational activities to mark the holiday of the Tsiggad allow Ethiopian expatriates the opportunity to "make their voices heard" and receive a unique voice among their friends. The observance and celebrations of the holiday invite for us, educators, an opportunity to bring up for discussion and discourse concepts such as - religion and faith, solemnity, holiness, multiculturalism, absorption, melting pot and more.
The holiday of the mosque at Rambam Hospital
Traditional foods for the holiday
Rambam celebrated the community mosque holiday from Ethiopia while introducing community foods that were served to all the hospital employees, with the kitchen workers dressed in traditional holiday clothes. Rambam asked to note that everyone enjoyed the delicacies very much and were happy to take part in the festivities.
The whole subject of Ethiopian culture and food is not well known in Israel. Few Ethiopian restaurants, usually in places where their population concentration is high. Does anyone know anything about the holiday of the mosque? And what about the Kurdish Saharna?