Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Bringing Judaism to the World: Meet Rabbi Elya Silfen, Founder of a Free Online Jewish Learning Program
As director and founder of Chabad Academy, a free international online Jewish learning program affiliated with the Bais Chabad Torah Center in West Bloomfield, Rabbi Elya Silfen has made it his life goal to help others connect with and learn about Judaism.
However, his own encounter with Judaism was one that happened by chance. "I grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as a totally secular kid," Silfen, 35 of West Bloomfield, explains. "There wasn't much of a Jewish education over there."
Yet once Chabad came to town, Silfen says he was "totally hooked."
On Friday nights, he began attending Shabbat services while still in high school. "It was cool to hang around cool Jews," Silfen describes. "That sparked my interest."
A Life-Changing Experience in Israel
As senior year of high school approached, Silfen's parents told him he could take a gap year before starting college. When someone asked him if he wanted to spend that year in Jerusalem, Silfen, who had never been to Israel, was immediately intrigued.
For his time, he would earn college credits and experience a full-fledged travel program. Yet there was one caveat: Silfen would be attending a yeshiva.
However, joining the yeshiva worked in his favor. As the youngest of his roommates, Silfen met young Jews from all over the world, including Australia and South Africa.
"I wanted to emulate them," Silfen recalls. "They were 24 and I was 18."
In learning about Judaism, Silfen discovered a whole different side to the religion that he hadn't known previously. He studied mysticism and what it meant to have purpose in life.
Before, "it was always about candles, eating matzah and attending boring services on Yom Kippur," Silfen says. "This was just a flip on its head. It was very relevant and very practical."
As the year wrapped up, Silfen wanted to continue his Jewish studies. For the next seven years, he pursued a rabbinical degree, working in investment management at Morgan Stanley for several years before deciding he wanted to become a full-fledged rabbi.
"This was always my passion," Silfen says of rabbinical studies.
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