Rachel Silvert (she/her) first taught a friend to chant Torah at age 16, when she was studying abroad in Israel with EIE (now Heller High). She then worked as a Hebrew School teacher on and off through college and her first few years back in Chicagoland. Rachel was sure she’d left “the life” when, in 2017, she was looking for a day job and found herself at Beth Emet as a Kabbalat Mitzvah tutor. Rachel has loved working with our students; learning to chant Torah, Haftarah, and prayers, as well as figuring out how this tradition can fit into, and create meaning, in our modern lives. Recently, Rachel began acting as the Kabbalat Mitzvah Program Coordinator, now getting to connect with and support our Kabbalat Mitzvah families as a whole as their students prepare for this simcha.
Growing up, Rachel’s family belonged to Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield, Illinois. Between attending Abrams Hebrew Academy, Sager Solomon Schechter Day and Middle School (class of 2004), EIE, and of course summers at OSRUI, Rachel’s Jewish education spans Conservative, Modern Orthodox, and Reform traditions. And as she likes to tell her students, Rachel studied for two Bat Mitzvah services – March AND July 2003 (and yes, that means two different Torah parshiot and Haftarah portions) – so she definitely understands how much work this is!
When she’s not teaching Kabbalat Mitzvah students or coordinating with families, Rachel is a Chicago-based actor, singer, storyteller and novice handicrafter (thanks, COVID). She also works as a Standardized Patient at multiple medical schools in the area and, of course, as a server (because why waste a good cliche, after all). She spends her free time drinking too much coffee at the dog park with her puppy Benny (who you may have seen roaming around the synagogue), dreaming about her next travel destination, and pretending she’s not afraid of heights during aerial silks class. Rachel earned her BA in musical theater performance from American University in 2012.
KabbalatMitzvah@BethEmet.org
