Sarah Mintz: "I Don't Miss the Telenovelas I Filmed, I Only Want to Make *Kiddush Hashem*"

If you had asked Maritza Rodriguez (42) in her youth what her real dream was, she probably would have said she wanted to be a mechanic. Rodriguez grew up in a Christian family in Colombia as a simple child and a good student with average dreams, who didn't stand out too much. As she grew up, unexpected offers led her to set aside her original dream of becoming an auto mechanic and discover a whole world she never dreamed of being closely involved with. Rodriguez received modeling offers and roles in films and telenovelas. Before long, she became one of the most famous and successful actresses in the television world in Latin America, Colombia, and Mexico. Over the years, she acted in dozens of series and films, amassing hundreds of thousands of fans and followers worldwide.

She met her husband, Yehoshua Mintz, a Jew considered one of the prominent producers in the world of series and telenovelas, on a filming set where she participated. Their connection started as a friendship and turned into a relationship, and after several years, they decided to marry. Maritza had no idea that Yehoshua was Jewish.

At some point, Maritza decided to strengthen her English for her growing career. She studied with a teacher who suggested that she listen to English as much as possible to grasp the language and offered her to attend lectures at a Kabbalah center in her hometown. Rodriguez took the suggestion and began attending classes. Although she gave up on the English lectures, the little she understood piqued her curiosity. Very quickly, she discovered similar lessons in Spanish, her mother tongue, and began attending them consistently.

"Although I grew up in a Catholic Christian home," she describes, "my parents had already talked to me about Hashem and faith, but from a different perspective. Suddenly, I heard talks I had never known before. Gradually, I learned about the essence of the commandments, about Shabbat, Passover, and other holidays, a bit about modesty. I started dressing more modestly in my personal life, though I still dressed the same on set. It developed within me slowly. I really connected and found the meaning of my life in it. Then, I made the decision to convert."

"They Thought I Was Crazy for Giving Up Such a Career"

At this stage, Maritza and Yehoshua had been married for four years and were parents to twins, yet she never knew he was Jewish, a son of a Jewish family that immigrated from Poland and Russia to Mexico. His family was among the founders of the Jewish community and Jewish schools in that community. Yehoshua, for his part, also did not demand that she convert.

What made you take this step? What were you missing? You had everything a person could dream of

"I decided to convert because I felt I wasn't in the right place. I didn't know what converting was, because I didn't know entirely what being Jewish meant, but I felt this is what my soul desired. I started the process gradually, without my husband's knowledge. Over time, I went through three different conversions: Conservative, Reform, and Orthodox. At first, I thought it was all the same and didn't understand the difference, but the truth is, when I initially converted through Conservative and Reform, I didn't understand why I didn't feel anything..."

At some point, the couple decided to move from Miami, where they had lived until then, to Mexico—for the children's education. "It was important to us that they receive a true Jewish education," she explains. "To study Torah, to be connected to tradition, and to grow up as good Jews with devotion to the people of Israel. To our surprise, they didn't agree to accept us because I wasn't Jewish. I was shocked. I was hurt, but I didn't give up. Then they explained to me that I needed to undergo an Orthodox conversion, and they suggested I move to Israel to undergo a true, quality conversion there."

(Photo: shutterstock)

At this stage, Maritza decided to leave everything behind and move to Israel. "I came to the country alone with two toddlers aged two and a half, lived in Efrat for six months, and devoted myself to Jewish studies. I studied day and night at a conversion ulpan, private lessons, internet courses, seminaries, Torah lessons, visited and prayed at the graves of righteous people, and more. My husband stayed in Mexico."

What gave you the strength to make such a move? You left an entire life and family behind

"My secret was faith, plain and simple. I understood that when you have faith—you have everything. I felt how happy I was to do things exactly as Hashem wants, and that gave me strength."

How did you inform your team that you're stopping filming and leaving everything? How did they take it?

"It was pretty drastic because from the moment I understood this was my direction and aspiration—I knew I wanted to go all out with it. They thought I was crazy for giving up such a career, but they parted with me respectfully, threw me a party. Today they see how good I feel and how happy I am where I am. I'm sure it influences them as well."

How was it for your husband?

"My husband wasn't initially in the same place as I was, he went through his process slower than me. Slowly, he began to eat kosher, wear a *tzitzit*, keep Shabbat. I was like 'Red Bull,' giving wings," she laughs. "I was in high spirits. For my husband, it took longer. For me, it was easy because I decided. For my husband, it was tougher; he had many struggles along the way. He had to think about it, decide whether to do it or not, from his own place not related to me, deal with what people say. But he always saw a happy wife who respects him, no matter what, without pushing him. And it did a lot for him. He knew how much I wanted the truth and didn't want to give up on this relationship, that we overcame it. He needed time... just time."

Eventually, the Mintz couple went through the process together, and Sarah underwent an Orthodox conversion ten years ago. "We had our third and Orthodox wedding in Jerusalem, in the Old City facing the Western Wall," she describes with excitement.

Currently, the Mintz family resides in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem after making Aliyah three years ago. Their twins, Akiva and Yehuda, are now nine and are educated in a Torah-oriented education as they had dreamed. "Since the conversion and aliyah, our lives are different, Orthodox lives. I became Sarah. I started telling my story in various communities around the world, to Jews far from Torah and mitzvot to bring them closer. I learned coaching and now work to continue spreading my story and bringing others closer. I also teach and guide women undergoing conversion processes."

(Photo: Christopher Escuade)

How is life in Israel? You basically don't know Hebrew and are almost completely alone, without a supportive family

"True, but it's amazing, simply beautiful here. I discovered that Hashem gave me a good ability to learn Torah. My English is still poor, I learned a little, but got a bit discouraged. I pray a lot to Hashem to open my mind to learn and absorb Hebrew, also praying for my kids who are attending a religious school and learning a lot of Torah."

What are your dreams for the future? Do you want to return to the acting world?

"I want to only make *Kiddush Hashem* all my life! To help my children grow up with fear of Heaven and in the service of Hashem. I also have small dreams, like learning to speak Hebrew, learning more Torah, praying, writing in Hebrew. But I'm happy every day to do Hashem's will, that's the most important for me. Today, looking back, I can say I had everything—but truly had nothing. All I had weren't real lives. For me, these are the real lives today, the simple ones."

Sarah Mintz will soon be a guest on a special personal interview, on Moran Kurs' show "It's Not Taken for Granted"