The Light of a Jewish Soul: The personal story of Sarah Mintz
At the start of Chanukah, Shavei Israel had a guest of honor who gave us a wonderful talk about her personal life and her connection to Judaism. This unique and beautiful person is the famous Spanish-speaking actress Sara Mintz, former student of the Machon Miriam Conversion Ulpan.
Upon receiving Shavei Israel’s invitation, Sara did not hesitate to agree. With joy and excitement, she told all of us present how she discovered Judaism through her husband, and how she has deep suspicions of her own heritage as a descendant of conversos and the long road she had to travel to make the final decision of converting and being a committed Jewish woman.
Between laughter and celebration, everyone who came to Shavei’s classrooms to listen to this talk came away with so much. They shared various ideas with Sara, she answered each question with her charm as a Colombian actress and with a joy of a self-described person from Barranquilla (barranquillera).
Sara gave us an unforgettable night, full of spirituality, faith and smiles. She also revealed her love for the Jewish people and for Israel. Without a doubt, Sara is an example of perseverance and total dedication to Judaism.
As it was the second night of Hanukkah, Shavei Israel bought dozens of sufganiyot (traditional fried treats for Hanukkah) to offer to all the guests at the event. We have the participation of students from the Machon Miriam Conversion Institute and also the special participation of Rav Nathan Menashe, Rav Yechiel Chilevski and Rav Netanel Hansani who had the honor of lighting the Chanukiah candles and giving us a special Torah class to enhance the celebration.
