Rabbi Dr. Hillel E. Silverman, a Hartford native who served as spiritual leader of Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Conn. for 20 years before retiring and becoming rabbi emeritus in 2001,  died April 10 in Los Angeles, California. He was 99. 

Rabbi Hillel E. Silverman’s prominent career in the rabbinate spanned over 70 years.

He served as the founding rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas for 10 years. He then went on to serve as the senior rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles for 16 years. After 20 years as a spiritual leader of Temple Sholom, Greenwich, Connecticut, he “retired” in 2001 as Rabbi Emeritus. From 2001 – 2002, he served as Distinguished Visiting Rabbi and Scholar-in-Residence of Congregation Beth El, La Jolla, California. Rabbi Silverman finished his career serving as the senior rabbi at B’nai Shalom in Vista, California and a visiting scholar at Valley Beth Shalom in Los Angeles. A month prior to his passing, he was honored at Valley Beth Shalom in celebration of his 99^th birthday, the birth of his great-grandson, and the upcoming wedding of his grandchild.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut on Feb. 24, 1924, he was the son of Rabbi and Mrs. Morris Silverman. His father was spiritual leader of The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford for 50 years and achieved national prominence as editor and compiler of numerous prayer books used throughout the world. His mother was a well-known author. Rabbi Silverman was married to Roberta Silverman for over 40 years. 

Rabbi Silverman graduated from Yale University in 1945 with highest honors, where he was a member of the debating team and basketball squad, and active in inter-collegiate football and baseball. 

In 1949, he was ordained as rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; in 1952, he was awarded his doctorate by JTS in the field of Bible; in 1974, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Judaism. 

Upon ordination from the Seminary in 1949, Rabbi Silverman served on the administrative staff of the Seminary, specializing in teenage education and as the director of Camp Ramah. In 1951, he entered the United States Navy as Chaplain. In Naples, Italy he served as Jewish Chaplain for the Mediterranean area. 

From 1954-1964, Dr. Silverman was spiritual leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas. During his ministry there, a magnificent new edifice was erected and an outstanding multi-faceted educational and youth program created. 

From 1964-1980, Dr. Silverman was senior rabbi at the prestigious Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. With his leadership, membership doubled to 1400 families, and a new multi-million dollar religious school was erected. 

He served as rabbi of Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Connecticut from 1981-2001. The membership tripled, the Religious School increased to 450 children, and a magnificent synagogue and educational facility were erected during his tenure. 

Rabbi Silverman spent several years in San Diego as the interim rabbi at Temple Beth El in 2001-2002 and as the senior rabbi at B’nai Shalom in Vista, California from 2004 – 2018.  He spent his final years in Los Angeles, California, where he delivered guest sermons as a Visiting Scholar at Valley Beth Shalom until 2023. A month prior to his passing, he was honored at Valley Beth Shalom before the Torah and entire congregation in celebration of his 99^th birthday, the birth of his great-grandson, and the upcoming wedding of his grandchild.

Nationally, Rabbi Silverman served as an officer of the National United Jewish Appeal and as chairman of the UJA Rabbinic Cabinet, Israel Bonds Rabbinic Cabinet, Board of Directors, Joint Distribution Committee and World Council of Synagogues; executive of the Zionist Organization of America, National Advisory Committee of Jewish National Fund, Commission on Jewish Chaplaincy, and the Steering Committee of the Jewish Theological Seminary. 

He is past president of the Zionist organization of America, Southwest Region. 

Rabbi Silverman was a director of the American Friends of Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities, American Jewish League for Israel, Mercaz, Shaare Zedek Hospital of Jerusalem, Synagogue Council of American Plenum, national deputy chaplain, Jewish War Veterans of America, chairman of the Public Relations Committee and a member of the National Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly. 

Locally, Rabbi Silverman served on the Board of Directors of the Greenwich Jewish Federation, Jewish Family Service, Greenwich Emergency Medical Service, Incorporators Greenwich Hospital, American Red Cross, Nuclear Arms Control Council, Greenwich Junior League, and Greenwich Community Relations Council. He was president of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy. Rabbi Silverman served as campaign chairman of the Los Angeles Jewish Welfare Fund, chaplain of the Variety Club, and junior Chamber of Commerce. 

Rabbi Silverman has appeared on Connecticut cable television as a panel member on “The Other Side of the News.” In Los Angeles, he was rabbi and producer of the American Jewish Hour’s “Synagogue of the Air,” a popular television show viewed by hundreds of thousands of people on the West Coast every Sunday morning. 

Rabbi Silverman was on the faculty of the Academy for Jewish Religion, a graduate Rabbinical Seminary in New York City where he taught Bible and Homiletics. He is author of High Holiday Highlights, Add Life to Your Years, From Heart to Heart, From Week to Week, Judaism Meets the Challenge, Judaism Looks at Life, and Time of My Life: Sixty Fulfilling Years as a Congregational Rabbi. With his late father, he is co-author of the Junior Prayer Book for Summer Camps, Slichot Service, and Tisha B’av Service. And he is also co-author with Dr. John Bishop of the Jewish Christian Connection. 

His articles and essays have appeared in the Jewish Spectator, Jewish Digest, Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionist, Congress Weekly, United Synagogue Review, American Rabbi, Torch, and Best Sermons. He is a contributing editor of Bennenu, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Jewish Digest and the American Rabbi. 

Rabbi Silverman’s biography appears in Who’s Who in the West, Who’s Who in Religion, “International Authors and Writers Who’s Who, Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of International Biography, Who’s Who in Israel, Who’s Who in World Jewry, Men of Achievement, Who’s Who of Intellectuals, International Who’s Who in Community Service, Personalities of the West and Midwest, Contemporary Personalities, Two-thousand Notable Americans, and 5000 Personalities of the World. 

He traveled extensively, and visited Israel on 30 separate occasions. In 1974, he was Menchem Begin awarded him the Prime Minister’s Medal at an Israel Dinner of State in recognition of his distinguished service to Israel and the Jewish people. In 1978, he was awarded the Israel Service Medal at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. 

Rabbi Silverman is survived by his wife, Roberta Silverman, and his three children, Gila (Mark) Rutta, Dr. Sharon (Mark) Pollock, and Jonathan (Jennifer Finnigan) Silverman. He has three step-children, David (Miriam) Smotrich, Debbie (Eric) Diamond, and Arona Smotrich. He has 12 grandchildren, Rabbi Matthew Rutta, Joshua (Kelly) Rutta, Zachary (Rachel Racoosin) Rutta, Noah Pollock, Jacob Pollock, Danielle (Jeremy) Parker, Ariel Smotrich, Jason Diamond, Arielle Pollock, Gabrielle Smotrich, Jeffrey Diamond, and Ella Jack Finnigan-Silverman. He has three great-grandchildren, Shir Parker, Lev Parker, and Cory Rutta.