Tammy Metasabiya Habteyes is an Ethiopian Jewish educator and facilitator, born in Israel and raised between Israel and the United States. Her family comes from the Amhara and Gurage tribes (or ethnic groups) of Ethiopia and has preserved Beta Israel traditions across generations, including through their migration to Israel. Moving between these two countries, she saw how often Beta Israel traditions were reduced to fragments or left out entirely. At best it was encountered briefly through Sigd or stories of the major Aliyah operations, then dropped.
She founded Orit Jewish Learning to make sure these traditions are taught as they are actually lived and practiced, with context and integrity from within the community itself. At its core, Orit is building toward a multimedia archive of Beta Israel teachings and resources that make sure this tradition is accessible for generations of Jewish learners to come, l’dor v’dor.
Compassionate curiosity is at the heart of how she teaches. Tammy is genuinely interested in where people are starting from, not just where she hopes they'll land. She builds learning spaces where real questions get real answers, and where no one is afraid to say the wrong thing. She's heard it all, and still decides to stick around.
Tammy brings a background in broadcast journalism, Jewish community organizing, and advocacy into her work. Before founding Orit, she served as Public Affairs Director at KBOO Radio, Program Director at TischPDX, where she led a regional survey on the experiences of Jews of Color in the Pacific Northwest and is an alum of the Tiyuv Evaluator Fellowship, a Jews of Color-led program that trains evaluators in culturally responsive, justice-centered practice.
When she's not in the classroom to holding a virtual zoom session, she's listening to Ethio-jazz or Israeli punk music, and likely baking challah while arguing about who has the best injera in the city.
Orit welcomes educators, community organizations, and independent learners. Ready to bring this learning to your community? Let’s chat.
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Orit Jewish Learning is an independent educational initiative that brings Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) traditions, holidays, and religious life into contemporary Jewish learning spaces.
Through programs, classroom partnerships, and speaking engagements, Orit works with educators, students, and adult learners to explore Ethiopian Jewish history and ritual practice, drawing on academic research, oral tradition, and lived experience to guide structured and thoughtful study.
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Tammy Metasabiya Habteyes brings extensive experience as a visiting educator and curriculum designer, with a focus on Ethiopian Jewish tradition and communal Jewish learning.Her work includes leading annual Sigd educational programs, developing curriculum for large-scale Jewish learning initiatives, and facilitating learning with both youth and adult audiences across a range of communal settings. For inquiries and speaking opportunities in your community or classroom
Contact Tammy at: T.habteyes@gmail.com
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Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) tradition is an ancient and continuous part of the Jewish world, yet it is often absent from mainstream Jewish education or presented only in fragments or folkloric afterthoughts disconnected from regional context, living practice, and oral history.
Orit Jewish Learning exists to address this gap. The work centers Beta Israel traditions, holidays, and religious life as living Judaism, taught with context and integrity from within the Beta Israel community. Rather than treating Ethiopian Jewish tradition as an add-on or curiosity, Orit Jewish Learning honors it as a complete and coherent part of the global Jewish tradition.
Orit Jewish Learning offers educational resources and programs focused on Ethiopian Jewish holidays including Sigd, Shabbat practice, sacred texts from the Orit and historical storytelling. These programs combine text study with oral tradition, storytelling, and ritual practice, reflecting how Ethiopian Jewish knowledge has been transmitted and lived across generations.