Sigd is an Amharic word meaning “prostration” or “worship” and is the commonly used name for a holiday celebrated by the Ethiopian Jewish Beta Israel community on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Marḥeshvan. This date is exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur, usually falling out in late October or November, and according to Ethiopian Jewish tradition is also the date that God first revealed himself to Moses.^[1] Jewish Virtual Library, “Ethiopian Jewry: Sigd Holiday“ 

Sigd is a unique holiday. Originally only celebrated by the Ethiopian Jewish Beta Esrael community, it has gotten more traction recently. One could describe the key concept of Sigd as being the acceptance of the Torah — not the giving, but the receiving of it. Sigd is a holiday of the continuation of the covenant. No matter the persecution that the Beta Esrael suffered (and hoo boy, did they suffer), Sigd announced that they would preserve their Judaism through it all.

In the morning of Sigd, the community goes out to a mountain with the sacred Orit (the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth) and recites prayers, after which several texts from the Orit and elsewhere in the Gəʿəz Bible are read. The four readings here include:

1. the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-20),
2. the rededication ceremony described in Neḥemiah 9 and considered to be the source for the majority the holiday’s observances,
3. the blessings and curses of the mountains (Deuteronomy 27),
4. and Psalms 122.^[2] Nota bene: in the Masoretic text used by most of the world’s Jews, this psalm is numbered Psalm 122. The Ethiopian Gəʿəz text for Psalms uses a different enumeration system, in which it is Psalm 121. In context this psalm is generally not read as part of the Biblical reading service, but rather as a part of the prayers preceding it, specifically, surrounding the text of Menabērtē Bēytē Dawid. The first verses are read, then the full text of Menabērtē Bēytē Dawid (which includes the verse ‘Jerusalem, built up like a city knit together’ within it) is inserted, followed by the rest of the psalm read at the end. 

This is largely based on the work of Shoshana ben-Dor (former director of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry), and translated into English by Isaac Mayer.

This is part two of a series of Sigd readings in English, Hebrew, and Ge’ez transliteration that the editor will be posting here.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included his translation of “Vayivarekh David” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13) in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). To the best of my ability, I have set his English translation side-by-side with the Hebrew verses comprising this centos. I have removed capitalization for divine pronouns. –Aharon N. Varady

Source(s)

Ezra/Neḥemiah (considered one book in the traditional Tanakh count), Chronicles, and Daniel are surprisingly important to Jewish tradition given their absence in the liturgical calendar of readings. The great tannaitic sage Rabbi Yosei said, “Ezra would have been worthy for the Torah to be given by him to the Jewish people, had Moses not already done so” (Sanhedrin 21b). Daniel is considered to be the earliest source for the custom to pray three times a day (Dan. 6:11), and his supplications (Dan. 9:5) form the basis of the traditional confession liturgy. And we traditionally read substantial portions from Chronicles (1 Chron. 16:8-36 and 1 Chron. 29:10-13) and Neḥemiah (Neh. 9:6-11) every morning during P’sukei. Why shouldn’t such fascinating and unique books have a melody of their own?

The following system is meant to rectify this absence. Inspired by the basic melodic structures of Ashkenazi cantillation, this system uses its own modalities and flourishes to reflect the unique and fascinating nature of these books – angst-ridden yet hopeful, regretful yet optimistic, and relevant. Perhaps one could use this system for the morning readings, perhaps in personal study, or perhaps one could organize a group to read these texts together. Perhaps these three books have no tradition, but may this system become its own tradition as the years go by.

Cantillation System:

Example:

Musical Notation

https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ezra_Nehemiah_Chronicles_Daniel-Cantillation-System-Isaac-Gantwerk-Mayer-2018.pdf

This is a cycle of readings from the historical writings assigned to holidays in the Jewish calendar. They could be read according to the system I designed or any personal preference — in Syrian practice, for instance, readings from these books are read with the same cantillation system as used for Ruth.

This is the schedule for the reading of the historical writings in the TaNaKh corresponding to Festivals and Commemorative Days, according to the practice of Isaac Gantwerk Mayer.