Sarah and Mark Fishman
Montreal, Canada
Rabbi Mark and Sarah Fishman have been serving as the Rabbi and Rebbetzin of Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal, Canada for ten and a half years. Sarah, a psychologist by profession, also runs a clinic.
Children:
Shira – 12
Shmuel – 8
Devorah – 6
Batsheva – 3
Tell us about the community you’re in:
The community was founded in 1964 and today numbers over 700 families; it is considered the fastest growing community in North America. When we arrived, Mark served as the deputy rabbi and after 3 years, when the rabbi retired, Mark replaced him in the position.
Our role includes teaching classes, empowering a Jewish identity, working with the youth and organizing informal educational activities in the community.
What did you receive from the Straus-Amiel Educational Emissary Training Progam and the Claudia Cohen Women Educator Institute?
Beyond the rabbinical ordination that Mark received at Ohr Torah Stone, we gained from the emissary training programs an understanding of the nature of working with Diaspora Jewry, and moreover, tools to understand what the needs of the community are, even before we met them.
What message would you like to impart regarding shlichut?
Words do not suffice to describe the amazing experience of performing avodat kodesh (holy work) for Am Yisrael and people of Israel and Hashem, as the spiritual leader of a community.
