upcoming events
MI GRANJITA: FARM TIME FOR LITTLES IN SPANISH
April 14, April 21, May 5, May 12, May 26; (3:30-5:30pm)
Urban Adamah; $350 per child and guardians, $150 per additional child (aid available)
Join us on the Urban Adamah farm as we welcome spring with planting, tending to the goats and chickens, and enjoying the rich Latin and Jewish culture of our families. All in Spanish! The program is best for children ages 2-6, and we invite parents as well as aunties, uncles, grandparents to join in the fun.
Esta primavera, Urban Adamah y Olamim juntos ofrecemos un programa en Español para familias hispanohablantes con niños de edades 2 a 6. En familia, generamos un espacio para compartir nuestra lengua, cultura, y comunidad a base del juego y conexión con la naturaleza. Tendemos un puente entre comunidades Judias y Latinas y nuestro planeta. Nuestra convivencia incluye participar en las actividades primaverales de la granja y conocer sus hortalizas y animales.
Webinar on Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in Jewish Education
Thursday, May 2 (3:00 - 4:15 pm Pacific Time, and 1:00-2:15 pm Eastern Time)
Co-sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University, and the Journal of Jewish Education.
Authors from a recent themed issue of Journal of Jewish Education, including our Executive Director, Ariela Ronay-Jinich, will discuss their articles on race, ethnicity, and immigration in Jewish education. Please join us!
En este evento especial, los autores de una edición temática reciente del Journal of Jewish Education, incluida nuestra Directora Ejecutiva, Ariela Ronay-Jinich, discutirán sus artículos sobre raza, etnia e inmigración en la educación judía. ¡Por favor únete a nosotros!
past events
¡Cantamos! un viaje musical En Español
Monthly meetings on Sundays, from September 2023 until April 2024.
A musical experience in Spanish! Aviva Jinich, Mexican Jewish singer and children’s educator will share fun songs in Spanish, and music from Latin cultures as we strengthen our multicultural connections to Jewish life and community. This program is in partnership with JCC East Bay and Jewtina y Co.
¡Un viaje musical en español! Aviva Jinich, cantante Mexicana y educadora infantil, compartirá divertidas canciones en español y música de culturas latinas a la vez que fortaleceremos nuestras conexiones multiculturales con la vida judía y la comunidad. Este programa es realizado gracias a la colaboración de JCC East Bay y Jewtina y Co.
Educator Training with Olamim @ Jewish LearningWorks
March 26 and March 28 (10-11:30am) / Zoom (both sessions required), $18 total
Glean insights from Olamim’s research on Bay Area Latin Jewish families, our community engagement methodologies, and reflect on how to apply them at your educational setting. Bring your questions, and a sense of possibilities for your community! This educator training is offered in partnership with Jewish LearningWorks.
¡Únete para explorar los hallazgos mas importantes del estudio que Olamim condujo sobre familias judías y latinas en el Área de la Bahía, aprender sobre su metodología de participación comunitaria y para reflexionar cómo aplicarla en tu propio program y comunidad. ¡Trae todas tus preguntas y apertura para explorar! Esta formación se ofrece en colaboración con Jewish LearningWorks.
JEWISH FAMILIES OF COLOR TOT SHABBAT AND SING-ALONG
Feb 24 (10:30-12pm) / Urban Adamah, Berkeley
$0-54/person
Join Olamim and Camp Tawonga, Jewtina y Co, Urban Adamah, and Isaac Zones for a Tot Shabbat/Family Sing-along on the farm in our outdoor amphitheater. Together, we will celebrate Shabbat, build community among multiracial Jewish families, sing and dance! This is an affinity space for Jewish families that include at least one person of color and is best suited for families with children eight years old and under, older siblings are always welcome!
Tu BiShvat - ¡Los arboles retoñan!
Family Seder with Vivian Pacheco and Isaac Zones
Jan 20 (3:30-5pm) / Dimond Park, Oakland
$18/family
The winter rains now rise in the trees for new Spring growth. Come celebrate the unique Jewish Birthday of the Trees with our beloved redwoods and other local trees excited to wake from their winter slumber. Join our musical Tu Bishvat seder in Spanish and enjoy some tree treats, crafts, and games.
¡Ya retoñan los árboles! Vengan a celebrar el cumpleaños Judío de los árboles con canciones, frutas ricas y juegos.
Ocho Candelas Para MI - ¡Feliz Januca!
Dec 9 (3:30-6pm) / Private home in East Bay
$40-60 per family (to cover cost of food)
Light those candelas with us, and come combine the lights of Havdalah and Hannukah! Bring or make a Hanukkiyah, sing, celebrate, munch on some sufganiyot, pan dulce, and sip some steaming chocolate caliente. Yummy dinner provided as well. Our afternoon will include resident artist Raine Robichaud from the Museum of Children’s Art and several art projects integrating Latin and Jewish themes.
Nos reunimos para celebrar Januca, prender nuestras velitas, cantar y convivir en esta linda fiesta de luz y alegria.
Family Sukkot Festival
Oct 1, 2023 (3-5pm) / JCC East Bay , Berkeley
$18 per family
Come shake the lulav and etrog under the JCC Sukkah, along with many of your favorite local Jewish organizations. Olamim will be offering a booth for families to meet up with other Latin Jewish and Spanish-speaking families, along with special Sukkot crafts with a Latin Jewish flare.
Don’t miss our “nicho” making station (ancestor memorial box), and come grab some cempazuchil (Mexican marigold) to help call our holy Ushpizin/ancestors home this season.
This program is a collaboration between JCC East Bay, and Olamim, Camp Tawonga, Jewish Baby Network, Jewish Gateways, PJ Library East Bay, and Hebrew Free Loan. All are welcome!
MI GRANJITA: FARM TIME FOR LITTLES IN SPANISH (2023)
May 7, May 14, May 21, June 4, June 11, June 18; (10-12pm) / Urban Adamah
$350 per child and guardians, $150 per additional child (aid available)
Join Olamim and Urban Adamah for a farm playgroup for Spanish-speaking families with children ages 2 – 5. Together, we will offer children and families an environment that brings Latinx identity, language, culture, and community-building through play and nature connection. Our time together will include late spring activities on the farm and getting to know Urban Adamah’s goats, chickens, and worms. Families are welcome and encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy together at the end of each session.
Esta primavera, Urban Adamah y Olamim juntos ofrecemos un programa en Español para familias hispanohablantes con niños de edades 2 a 5. En familia, generamos un espacio para compartir nuestra lengua, cultura, y comunidad a base del juego y conexión con la naturaleza. Nuestra convivencia incluye participar en las actividades primaverales de la granja y conocer sus hortalizas y animales. Los invitamos a traer un picnic y disfrutarlo al final de cada sesión.
Tkiya en Español, un viaje musical (2023)
Jan 22, Feb 26, March 12, April 16, May 7 (3:30-5pm) / JCC, Berkeley
Join us for a musical experience in Spanish! Verónica Freidkes, Tkiya Music’s Argentinian singer and children’s educator will share fun songs in Spanish and music from Latin cultures. Through joyful singing, movement, stories, puppets, and more, we will strengthen our multicultural connections to Jewish culture and community.
This new program is a collaboration between Tkiya, JCC East Bay, Olamim, and PJ Library. It is best for families with children ages 0-5 and all are welcome!
¡Únase a nosotros para una experiencia musical en español! Verónica Freidkes, cantante argentina y educadora infantil de Tkiya Music, compartirá divertidas canciones en español y música de culturas latinas. A través de cantos alegres, movimiento, historias, títeres y más, fortaleceremos nuestras conexiones multiculturales con la cultura y la comunidad judía.
“Dia de los niñes” Latin Jewish Family Festival (2023)
April 30 (3-6pm) / Urban Adamah, Berkeley, $45 family
Celebrating Latin Jewish Families, and Inviting All Multi-Ethnic Families
Did you know there may be close to 17,000 Latin Jews in the Bay? Join us for an afternoon of celebrating our Latin Jewish families, and learn about Olamim’s latest research findings on how Bay Area Latin Jewish families navigate our many identities while raising resilient, rooted and joyful children.
Research presentation by Olamim’s founder and executive director, Ariela Ronay-Jinich; VOCES community media work by Dr. Analucia Lopezrevoredo, founder and directora ejecutiva of Jewtina y Co., and guest speaker Dr. Priya Mariana Driscoll of Mills College at Northeastern University.
We’ll have antojitos, pozole, and a wonderful bilingual children’s program for your kids.
If you are raising children with multiple cultural heritages and languages, we warmly invite you to join and celebrate family together.
This program is brought to you by Olamim and Jewtina y Co, research grantees of the Jews of Color Initiative. Partners include Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, Camp Tawonga, Kehilla Community Synagogue and PJ Library Bay Area.
“Latin Jewish Families: Navigating Identity , Learning and Community” (2023)
Presentation and Discussion of Olamim’s Latest Study in the Bay Area
February 16 (10-11:15am) / online
Project Shamash, an initiative of Bend the Arc: Jewish Partnership for Justice, invites you to a special presentation of the latest study on Latinx Jewish families in the Bay Area. Research presentation by Olamim’s founder and executive director, Ariela Ronay-Jinich, M.A.Ed; VOCES community media work by Dr. Analucia Lopezrevoredo, founder and directora ejecutiva of Jewtina y Co., and guest speaker Dr. Priya Mariana Driscoll of Mills College at Northeastern University.
We especially call in leaders and stakeholders in Jewish education and communal settings to attend, as this presentation offers critical findings on how we can better serve this significant demographic.
Supported by the Jews of Color Initiative, and in partnership with Bend the Arc, Olamim, Jewtina, Bechol Lashon, PJ Library Bay Area, and Kehilla Community Synagogue.
Tu BiShvat - ¡Los arboles retoñan! (2023)
Feb 5 (3-5pm) / Dimond Park, Oakland
The winter rains now rise in the trees for new Spring growth. Come celebrate the unique Jewish Birthday of the Trees with our beloved redwoods and other local trees excited to wake from their winter slumber. Join our musical Tu Bishvat seder in Spanish and enjoy some tree treats, crafts, and games.
¡Ya retoñan los árboles! Vengan a celebrar el cumpleaños Judío de los árboles con canciones, frutas ricas y juegos.
Ocho Candelas Para MI - ¡Feliz Januca! (2022)
Dec 23 (3-5pm) / Private home in East Bay
Light those candelas with us, and come combine the lights of Hannukah with the joy of Shabbat! Bring or make a Hanukkiyah, sing, celebrate, munch on some sufganiyot, pan dulce, and sip some steaming chocolate caliente. Shabbat dinner provided as well.
Nos reunimos para celebrar Januca, prender todas las velitas, cantar y convivir en esta linda fiesta de luz y alegria.
kantiKas: Ladino Women’s Songs with Rachel Valfer (2022)
Dec 4 (2-4:30pm) / Oakland (private home, ADA accessible)
$20-25 per person at the door (no one turned away)
From North Africa to the Balkans, Kantikas are songs that were passed down orally from generation to generation throughout the Sephardic diaspora, and express different moments from a womans' life cycle, including birth and death, lullabies, cooking songs, incantations for health, blessings at the mikvah, and more. We will learn a few of these, including some Ladino Chanukah songs. Come sing!
In partnership with Sephardi sisters of the Bay and Danielle Bensimon Catering. Participants are invited to bring food and drink from Sephardic culinary traditions.
This workshop is intended for female-identified individuals whose family lineage is from the Sephardic (Iberian), and Spanish-speaking diaspora, including Latinx Jewish womyn.
About Rachel:
Rachel Valfer is a local singer and oud (Arabic lute) player who loves to share her passion. She studied Maqam and Persian dastgah modal systems in Israel and Palestine for six years at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and sings with several ensembles in the Bay Area in in Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, Greek, Turkish, Ladino, and Armenian. Rachel began her study of Ladino music in high school many years ago!
olamim @ Dia de los Muertos FESTIVAL in Oakland (2022)
Oct 23 (12-4pm) / Oakland
The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mesoamerican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink, and celebration. It’s the holiday-cousin of Sukkot!
Join Olamim and the Latinx community at the annual Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival at the Oakland Museum of California. This vibrant, culturally-rich and free, outdoor, family-friendly event. Festival attendees enjoy live music, family-friendly games and activities, traditional Latin American artisans, and the stunning altares created by community members paying homage to los Muertos.
olamim @ WIlderness Torah’s Sukkot In-Gathering (2022)
Oct 13-17 / Sonoma County, California
Wilderness Torah invites the Olamim community to gather in their multigenerational community for the celebration of our Sukkot In-Gathering Festival. Come for a four-night camp-out outside of Sebastopol, in Sonoma County, California. Join us in community as we celebrate our annual harvest festival, where we give thanks for the abundance from the land and gather together to pray for the return of the rains.
Olamim will offer affinity space for Latinx Jewish families and host bilingual (Spanish/English) programming for children.
Fiesta in the Sukkah (2022)
Oct 10 (12-3pm) / Oakland
Sukkot is a time to gather, celebrate the fall harvest, connect to the cycles of life, and reconnect with our ancestry. We invite you into our family Sukkah with a fall potluck feast, songs and sweet convivencia. Shake the lulav, and help us ask for the coming rains!
Los invitamos a nuestra Sukkah a celebrar la llegada del otoño, a dar gracias por la abudancia de los campos, y a reconectar con nuestra comunidad y nuestros ancestros. Los invitamos a compartir una rica comida, canciones y mas. ¡Vengan a agitar el lulav y a pedir las lluvias que tanto necesitamos!
Rosh Hashanah/Jewish New Year Celebration (2022)
Sept 25 (10:30-12pm) / Oakland location
Time to greet a new year with songs and stories, the Shofar blast, baking round Challah, and other fun activities to renew our cycle of community.
Los invitamos a celebrar la llegada de un año nuevo con cuentos y canciones, el toque del Shofar, horneo de Challah/pan redondo, y otras lindas actividades
Olamim @ Tawonga’s Families of Color Family Camp (2022)
Aug 25-28 / Camp Tawonga, California
For the second year, Camp Tawonga (LINK) and the Jews of Color Initiative (LINK) are thrilled to offer an affinity space just for families with at least one person of color in their household and/or who identify as multiracial. This weekend will celebrate multiethnic Jewish community and culture by centering JOC+ and offering dynamic workshops, discussions and other programming led by JOC+* guest educators on topics of interest and relevance to you.
Olamim will offer affinity space for Latinx Jewish families and host “Cuentos y Canciones,” a bilingual stories and songs circle, and a parent workshop titled “Multicultural identity and Parenthood: A discussion with Bay Area Latinx Jewish family voices”
MI GRANJITA: FARM TIME FOR LITTLES IN SPANISH (2021, 2022)
Weekly on Sundays, Spring 2021 & 2022
Join Olamim and Urban Adamah for a farm playgroup for Spanish-speaking families with children ages 2 – 5. Together, we will offer children and families an environment that brings Latinx identity, language, culture, and community-building through play and nature connection. Our time together will include late spring activities on the farm and getting to know Urban Adamah’s goats, chickens, and worms. Families are welcome and encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy together at the end of each session.
Esta primavera, Urban Adamah y Olamim juntos ofrecemos un programa en Español para familias hispanohablantes con niños de edades 2 a 5. En familia, generamos un espacio para compartir nuestra lengua, cultura, y comunidad a base del juego y conexión con la naturaleza. Nuestra convivencia incluye participar en las actividades primaverales de la granja y conocer sus hortalizas y animales. Los invitamos a traer un picnic y disfrutarlo al final de cada sesión.
Chag haAsif, Gathering our Ancestral Sparks: A Creative Workshop for JOC + Friends (2021)
Sept 19, 2021
This Sukkot, we invite you to explore the traditional practice of “Ushpizin,” welcoming holy guests or ancestors, in a multicultural, creative workshop. Together, we will celebrate the diversity of our cultures and lineages, building community and honoring the memories of our ancestors.
Join Kumu Kaleo and Elise Ching, Chi Gong and transformative arts teachers (from Hawai’i) and Ariela Ronay-Jinich, community educator and founder of Olamim (Mexican, Jewish) as they share a unique way to connect to Sukkot through spiritual movement, journaling, and art-making rooted in your own cultural and family heritage. Together, we will create a "nicho", a decorated box altar from the Mexican tradition, to honor an ancestor of your choice. A bounty of inspiring art supplies will be available.
Anyada Buena! A Gut Yor! Shana Tova! Happy New Year (2021)
Sept 6, 2021
English/Spanish ceremony hosted by BackYard Mishkan and Olamim, led by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and Ariela Ronay Jinich. All ages are welcome.
Welcome 5782 with a Creation Pageant, Klezmer dancing, shofar blowing, songs & stories. Offer blessings for babies born this year & prayers for the well-being of creation. Recite a pledge of accountable stewardship of planet earth & all our relations.
¡Ven a celebrar la llegada del año 5782! Programación en Español, Inglés, y Hebreo. ¡Todas las edades son bienvenidas! Ven a bailar, tocar el shofar, y hacer un desfile celebrando a toda la creación. Tendremos cantos y cuentos, bendiciones para los bebés nuevos y para nuestro mundo entero.
“One of my greatest wishes for my children is that they will grow up being proud of who they are and where they come from. Mi Granjita created a special space where I could see that unfold for my daughter.“
— Mónica Henestroza