Batya and Uriel Zaretsky
Warsaw, Poland
The Zaretskys have been serving as the Rabbi and Rebbetzion of the Warsaw Jewish community for two years. Batya additionally teaches music in the kindergarten and Jewish community school.
Children:
Renana – 4.5
Hadas – 2
Tell us about the community you’re in:
The community is small and diverse. Creativity and sensitivity are required to integrate into the community and find our unique place, as well as to establish the necessary partnerships and collaborations. Also needed is a true acceptance and embrace of Jews from many different backgrounds; we strive to reach out to everyone.
What did you receive from the Straus-Amiel Rabbinical Emissary Training Progam and the Claudia Cohen Women Educator Institute?
The institutes’ significant preparation instilled in us the consciousness of shlichut and the sensitivity required to integrate into the community. In addition, our studies provided us with a connection and feeling of belonging to a larger community of shlichim – there’s always someone to turn to on every subject, and continuous learning and mutual enrichment.
What message would you like to impart regarding shlichut?
As with matchmaking, it is important to make sure there is a good fit between the emissaries and the community. The mission, like life, does not sparkle every moment. There are more gray moments of routine and there are challenges and difficulties. Despite this, there is nothing like living for a period of time in a community in which we take an active part in establishing meaningful connections and projects. It is a great privilege and an experience that teaches us a lot. We receive no less than we contribute.
