Sarita Baril from Colombia: "Many People Wish to Convert, and My Husband Explains the Seven Noahide Laws"

What is Medellin in Colombia to you?

"For me, Medellin is a beautiful city with good and nice people. Most of the population loves Jews, making it easier for us to work here with peace and tranquility. We can bring Jews back to their roots step by step, without fear of anti-Semitism. Observing mitzvot, especially Shabbat, kashrut, and family purity, is welcomed pleasantly and without hesitation from the surrounding."

Is there a specific reason you live here?

"My husband and I were born in Argentina. My husband studied for four years in Brazil, and after we got married, we established our home in Argentina. I worked there as a secretary and kindergarten teacher. Four and a half years ago, we received an offer to move to Colombia and work with the Jewish community in Medellin. Like Argentina, Colombia is in South America. Medellin is the second largest city in Colombia, located in the north of the country. Spanish is spoken in Colombia, and we, of course, speak Spanish. Additionally, we are fluent in Hebrew, a bit of English, and some Italian. The Chief Rabbinate of Uruguay referred this proposal to us through a friend of my husband, and after much thought, we accepted the mission.

"Thank God, we feel this is our mission in the world and also our livelihood. Although we belong to the Lithuanian community, we love every Jewish soul. We believe that all Israel is one body; we are all different from each other, but we all have one father. We are filled with joy and satisfaction when we have the privilege of bringing Jews closer to our Father in Heaven.

"When we arrived here four and a half years ago, the locals did not look at us favorably. They were afraid of us and thought those who keep Torah are forbidden everything. They were sure religious women had no value and carried many more wrong stereotypes. However, slowly they observed that there is nothing like the life of Torah for beauty, pleasantness, and joy.

"Today, the community has about 300 people, most of whom are born Jews, and among them are converts who, after converting and integrating into the community, even married Jews from the community. A year after we arrived in Medellin, a dear couple of Chabadniks arrived and opened a Chabad house specifically for Israeli travelers. We have supported them a lot and to this day are very connected, cooperating on various issues."

What educational institutions do you have? Where do your kids study?

"The community in Medellin has a famous Jewish school 'Colegio Theodoro Hertzl'. It is considered one of the excellent schools in Colombia. However, unfortunately, only ten percent of the students are Jewish children, and the level of Jewish studies is still very low. For this reason, our children – Daniel David, six years old, and Eliza Batya, four years old, study at the community school, and additionally, they learn in 'Online School'. These studies are conducted virtually, with a Charedi teacher from Argentina teaching them via screen. They attend the virtual school three times a week: on Sunday, when there are no classes at the community school, on Monday, and on Thursday. On Mondays and Thursdays, they return from school and kindergarten around three in the afternoon. They play a little, eat, and then sit in front of the computer, each in their room during their hours, and complete important Jewish studies.

"When they study at the community school, our children know they are different from their classmates. They befriend other children but do not visit their homes. Thank God, no one bothers them in observing the mitzvot: they bring food from home, keep the laws of guard of the tongue, and so on. The atmosphere among the classmates is pleasant and good. Because it is a Jewish school, there are no classes on Shabbat, as well as on Sundays according to the law, and when a holiday falls during the week, the school is closed."

What is your weekly schedule like?

"Most of my daily routine takes place at home. In the morning, the two older ones – Daniel and Eliza – go to school, and I stay at home with the two younger ones – Avichai and Clara. When the children return from school around four o'clock – after all the traffic jams on the way, I devote the time to them. The afternoon hours are dedicated to homework, games, and dinner. At seven, I tuck them into bed and say goodnight.

"In the morning, when the little ones allow me, and at night after putting the children to bed, I have a lot of tasks waiting for me: I cook a lot because we host many guests in our home: on Shabbat we always have guests, and sometimes guests come during the week. I help my husband with all community matters, mainly in planning special activities before holidays, organizing parties, preparing activities for the community children, and more. Additionally, I work here as a mikvah attendant and give lessons in my home or the community houses every week. There are lessons for married women, lessons tailored for single young women, and I also have lessons for preschoolers. I usually focus on topics like the weekly Parasha, Jewish history, perspective, traits, good deeds, and of course, the Jewish holidays. Between times, I talk on the phone with women from the community who need help.

"During the day, many Jews from the community come to us to buy kosher meat and wine. Many kosher products are available at the stores here, according to special lists, but Glatt kosher meat and kosher wine cannot be found in local supermarkets. Therefore, we order kosher meat and chicken from Bogotá, the capital city, and also buy kosher wine from the United States. And when the shipments arrive by special transportation or flight, we can sell to the community members. Initially, when we arrived in Medellin, we bought meat and wine in relatively small quantities, only for ourselves, but now thank God there are more families that eat kosher, and we buy in larger quantities and sell at the price we bought – without profit.

"Thank God, now I am after the birth of our youngest daughter – Clara Simcha, who is two months old, but I do not have maternity leave because I did not work outside the home beforehand either. However, my daily schedule has slightly changed, and I adjust the lessons and reception hours to more convenient times according to the baby's schedule. In essence, I have no fixed obligations that I needed to finish even after childbirth. This is not my official job, and all my activities here in the community are voluntary because I want and am happy with this privilege."

Global Challah Baking at the Shabbat project

How does your Shabbat look like?

"Shabbat is the most important day of the week for all of us. I start preparing for Shabbat as early as Wednesday with grocery shopping. On Thursday, I prepare the fish and bake the challahs, and on Friday I cook everything else. We do not have the option to buy ready-made salads and kosher takeout food here. At the Chabad house, they do sell challahs and rolls for Shabbat, but I prefer to bake them at home. Usually, I invite one of the community women to my home on Thursday and honor her with the mitzvah of separating challah from the dough. As for cleaning for Shabbat – thank God, I have a helper. She is not Jewish and comes to help me with house cleaning, especially ironing, which is a task I really do not like. Here in Medellin, house helpers charge a low fee, and I can employ her many hours without paying much. But I am not willing to let her do everything in my house: she does not cook for me and does not take care of my children.

"Shabbat itself is a wonderful day dedicated entirely to family. We sing, discuss Torah words at the Shabbat table, play with the children, and all this together with the guests. Jewish community members come to us, one or two families each Shabbat, and join the Shabbat meals at our home. Usually, they do not sleep over, but they know that if they want, they can stay. We have enough spare beds for guests. The family Shabbat meals are a new experience for the guests, and they listen with us to our small children as they recount the weekly Parasha and are very excited with them.

"The Shabbat meals sometimes extend and lengthen, and we do not want to force the children to sit at the table throughout the meal. They are relatively young, and when they do not enjoy themselves and get bored, they start to disrupt, so after they talk about the Parasha, they are free to go play as they wish."

What is the weather like for you now?

"The weather in Medellin is really pleasant; spring prevails here throughout the year. There is almost no change of seasons in this area. Generally, it rains at night, but it is neither too cold nor too hot."

What is the political situation for you?

"Right now, the political situation is quite calm. The Prime Minister belongs to the right side and his left-wing opponents are very strong against him. But thank God, we are not interested in the topic at all, and it is not related to us as Jews. Generally, no Jews involved in government policy are known to me."

Do you feel anti-Semitism?

"Thank God, we do not feel anti-Semitism here. There are many people who wish to convert, and my husband explains to them the seven mitzvot of the sons of Noah."

How do you prepare for the upcoming holiday?

"We are now preparing for Tu Bishvat. We celebrate all holidays at the community synagogue. It has a large hall for parties and conferences, and during the holidays the place serves us for many activities with community members. On Tu Bishvat, we have a beautiful feast for all the Jews of the community, with a huge variety of interesting fruits available in Colombia. Some of the fruits are really unusual, but they are very tasty and select. Here's a short list of some of the new fruits I discovered here in Medellin: Guanaba, Papaya – yes, the sweet orange papaya imported to Israel, but not dried, rather fresh, Mangostino, Mamoncillo, Guayaba – this is guava that is also sold in Israel, Platano, Mango biche, Maracuyá, Lulo, Tomate de árbol – a tomato, but really not like the Israeli red tomato; it's a different fruit altogether, and so on. After eating the fruits together, my husband gives a lesson to the community’s Jews, while I conduct activities for the children with games on the subject of blessings over food. In general, on every holiday we hold a party for the community, with some kind of activity and lessons."

Have you visited Israel, and when? What were your impressions?

"I do not visit the Holy Land often, unfortunately, but I was fortunate to visit Israel four times, once on vacation, and three more times for my nieces' weddings. I have a sister who is a mother of nine wonderful children living in Bnei Brak, and we almost fail to meet. Just last year, when we came for a vacation visit with my husband and all the children, she met my children for the first time. She does not have WhatsApp or even email, so she had not seen them even in pictures before. During that visit, we rented an apartment in Bnei Brak and stayed there for three weeks.

"It was a special vacation. We felt excellent in Israel. There's nothing like the Land of Israel. We all feel at home there. Our children walked down the street and yelled excitedly: 'Mom, look! He has a kippah! And he has a hat and beard! And Mom, look, there’s another Jew!' They were excited at every step in the Jewish street. When we went shopping, their joy knew no bounds when they saw all the strictly kosher candies; it was unbelievable to them. I gave each child a full minute to choose and buy anything they wanted, and they were excited to buy whatever caught their eye. The other customers in the store laughed and looked at us in wonder and amazement... If only they knew how to appreciate the kosher abundance, they would be as excited as we were.

"Our Daniel attended a Talmud Torah in Bnei Brak for two days, and although he did not fully understand Hebrew, he was very happy to be in a classroom where everyone is Jewish, and everyone has a kippah and tzitzit."

Something you can't get where you are and would love to have sent to you from Israel?

"Thank God, we have everything we need here, but if there is a way to send us a shipment from Israel, we ask for jelly, marshmallow, and Bamba. And another thing that can't be sent from Israel, which we only dream of having in Medellin – kosher Jewish dairy products, fresh and tasty."

A story that could happen only with you

"This is a sad story that happened to us shortly after we arrived in Medellin. We were praying on Shabbat at the community synagogue, and when we left and started walking home, a member of the community approached and innocently asked if we wanted to get into his car, and he would give us a ride home... He genuinely did not know that driving is forbidden on Shabbat, because sadly, before us, there was a Reform rabbi in the community. A similar incident occurred to my husband recently, when he was preparing one of the community's children for his Bar Mitzvah, and the boy naturally asked if he could read the Torah in Spanish, as the previous 'rabbi' did at another boy’s Bar Mitzvah... Hashem protect us.

"Slowly, community Jews learn additional mitzvot and new details about Torah and Judaism, and every such merit fills our lives with real and infinite joy. Jews here see that being an observant Jew is wonderful and it is happiness. As Rabbi Zamir Cohen said: 'I wish they would change the name from 'observant' to 'loyal'.' I hope we all feel the true joy in observing the mitzvot, and soon we merit the complete redemption."