TischPDX’s work is about watching our alumni take their learning, leadership, and vision into the world and create something entirely their own.
We’re excited to spotlight EJLI alum Tammy Metasabiya Habteyes, founder of Orit Jewish Learning, an educational initiative dedicated to bringing Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) traditions, holidays, and religious life into contemporary Jewish learning spaces.
For Tammy, Orit emerged from a desire to see Ethiopian Jewish tradition presented as a complete and living part of Jewish life rather than as a footnote or curiosity. Through study, storytelling, art, music, and communal learning, Orit centers Beta Israel traditions with integrity and context, offering resources created from within the community itself.
As Orit continues to grow, Tammy has received enthusiastic feedback from other Ethiopian Jews who are excited to see their traditions reflected and represented. While building a new initiative has come with challenges—from websites and social media to developing educational frameworks and guidelines—Tammy remains grounded in the importance of spiritual connection, accessibility, beauty, and community.
Reflecting on her experience in TischPDX’s Emerging Jewish Leadership Incubator, Tammy shared that the program’s evaluation work helped validate the importance of spiritual connection and provided valuable lessons around language, accessibility, and showing up authentically as an Ethiopian Jew.
“Showing up as an Ethiopian Jew is an act of resistance,” she said, “and doing it with curiosity, having grace.”
Read our full conversation with Tammy below, and consider how you might share or incorporate Orit’s resources into your own communities and educational spaces.
Interview below:
Eleyna Fugman: Can you tell us a little bit more about Orit?
Tammy Habteyes: Yes, Orit Jewish Learning is an independent educational initiative dedicated to bringing Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) traditions, holidays, and religious life into contemporary Jewish learning spaces.
Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) tradition is a longstanding and continuous part of the Jewish world, yet it is often absent from mainstream Jewish education or presented only in fragments, disconnected from regional context and history.
Orit Jewish Learning exists to address this gap.
All resources center Beta Israel religious life, holidays, and interpretive traditions as living Judaism, taught with context and integrity from within the community. Rather than treating Ethiopian Jewish tradition as an add-on or curiosity, Orit honors it as a complete and coherent part of the global Jewish story. Orit showcases Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) tradition as it has been lived and passed down across generations through study, storytelling, and communal learning.
Eleyna: How did you get the idea or inspiration to start Orit?
Tammy: When I read the book From Sinai to Ethiopia it was the first time I had seen the throughline. There were things about the culture which were women specific, which made me look at myself as a Jewish woman. It rooted my Judaism in a history that is mine and not fragmented or otherized. I would love for Orit to be that for someone else.
Eleyna: How is it going?
Tammy: So far, I have gotten positive feedback from other Ethiopian Jews, and they want to be part of it. I think is is what I am proud of so far.
Eleyna: What has been challenging?
Tammy: All of it.
There has been a lot of learning for me—about website development, social media, creating guidelines, not getting in the weeds and trying not to compare it to other Judaisms.
Eleyna: Anything you learned or gained from the TischPDX cohort that has helped you?
Tammy: The Jews of Color in the Pacific Northwest survey was validating in understanding how important spiritual connection is and the connection I built there with the Jews of Color Initiative.
I learned about language, access points, accessibility as part of TischPDX and I am working on bringing beauty into this work, showing up as an Ethiopian Jew is an act of resistance and doing it with curiosity, having grace.
Eleyna: Anything else you could use help or support with?
Tammy: I am always looking for feedback, questions and collaborators, especially from folks who can see themselves using these resources in their work. Please share the website!