gather with olamim
Playgroups in Spanish
Join us on a community farm or park for our fabulous family programs in Spanish. We build community, and offer a hands-on way to support language and culture with the whole family. Scroll down to view upcoming playgroups.
Community Events
There is so much to celebrate about who we are! We invite the larger Latinx Jewish and multicultural Jewish community for holiday programs, community events, and intergenerational retreats. Read below for upcoming events.
Chavurah FAmily GroupS
Looking for a group of families to call your extended family?
Join or create a Chavurah with our support and extended programs and resources. Email us to learn more!
upcoming events
kantiKas: Ladino Women’s Songs with Rachel Valfer
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. 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!
Ocho Candelas Para MI - ¡Feliz Januca!
Dec 25 (4-6pm) / Location TBD
Light all those ocho candelas with us! Bring or make a Hanukkiyah, sing, celebrate, munch on some sufganiyot, pan dulce, and sip some steaming chocolate caliente.
Nos reunimos para celebrar Januca, prender todas las velitas, cantar y convivir en esta linda fiesta de luz y alegria.
past events
olamim @ Dia de los Muertos FESTIVAL in Oakland
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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