Old Traditions in a New Land
Ethiopian Jews celebrate Sigd, “a festival in which Ethiopian Jews gather on high ground to mimic an episode that was recorded in the Book of Nehemiah — the recommitment of the Israelites to Torah in the fifth century BCE, upon their return to Jerusalem after the First Exile.”
“The essence of being Israeli isn’t to leave behind your traditions, but to make your traditions part of Israel’s,” [Tzipi] Livni said.
