Tagel and Itamar Greenblum
Durban, South Africa
Itamar is the Assistant Rabbi and Tagel is a teacher in the community.
They have been on shlichut now for nearly a year.
Children:
Achinoam – 4
Raya Leah – 2.5
Tell us about the community you’re in:
The community numbers about 2,000 people, and there are two synagogues. We teach Jewish subjects in the community’s Jewish school. In addition, we deliver weekly classes and run community activities around the Jewish holidays.
What did you receive from the Straus-Amiel Rabbinical Emissary Training Progam and the Claudia Cohen Women Educator Institute?
First, we gained a very broad knowledge and understanding of Diaspora Jews all around the world. We were also given very important tools that help us in our mission on a daily basis, including how to communicate with community members, leadership abilities, halakhic knowledge and more. Furthermore, the OTS training programs helped place us in shlichut and provided a huge amount of technical and logistic assistance as we prepared for departure.
What message would you like to impart regarding shlichut?
The experience of shlichut, of being on a mission, is very satisfying. Strengthening Jews who do not have a strong infrastructure of Jewish activity and organizations around them, since they are not in a Jewish state, is very important. Obviously someone needs to reach out and support them.
