RABBI Philip Silverstein

COLUMBIA Rabbi Philip Silverstein never met a joke he didn’t want to tell or a story he couldn’t improve. He died at the age of 84 on May 4th in the dining room of the Community Living Center at Dorn VA Medical Center: the last sound he made was laughter. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Rabbi Silverstein immigrated to the U.S. with his parents and sister in 1941, just as the Nazis were invading the city from which they sailed: he told the story of those last weeks in “Flight from the Nazis,” published most recently in The State’s Holocaust supplement. The family settled in Brooklyn. Rabbi Silverstein earned a BA in math from Yeshiva College of Yeshiva University before enrolling in Jewish Theological Seminary, from which he graduated with an MHL; he then received an MA in sociology from Long Island University. After his retirement, Rabbi Silverstein attended Lutheran Theological Seminary and completed a doctorate, for which he wrote a dissertation titled “A Talmudist Looks at Matthew.” He was an exceptional Torah reader, baal Tefillah, fluent in four languages and somewhat understandable in three others, a lifelong scholar who loved to study as much as he loved to sing along with his beloved operas (and almost anything with a tune he recognized). Rabbi Silverstein was ordained in 1955 and began his career as an Air Force chaplain at Warren Air Force Base. He returned to civilian life two years later, resuming his chaplaincy with the army in 1971. During his army years, he served at Fort Bliss, Fort Wadsworth, Fort Bragg, and Fort Knox as well as in Europe, where he was the Army’s senior Jewish chaplain. As staff chaplain in Heidelberg, he organized National Prayer Breakfasts for the Command, bringing to Germany such speakers as Simon Wiesenthal and the astronaut James B. Erwin. He also served in Korea. His military awards include three Army Meritorious Service medals, Commendation medals from the Army and Air Force, a National Defense Service Medal, and a Humanitarian Service Medal. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1989, at which time he moved to Columbia, SC, to become rabbi at Beth Shalom Synagogue. He also continued to work as a retired chaplain at Fort Jackson and held services and seders there into his 80s. As part of his support of the military chaplaincy, he served as head of the Rabbinical Assembly’s delegation to the Jewish Chaplains’ Council. Rabbi Silverstein is survived by his wife, Susan Levi Wallach; daughters, Terri McWilliams and Meira, five step-children, two grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and a sister. He was predeceased by his daughter, Aviva and his second wife, Adinah. Services were held on May 5th at Beth Shalom. Memorial donations may be made to Beth Shalom (5827 N Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29206) for the Adinah Kitchen or to Beit Midrash (2509 Decker Blvd., Columbia, SC 29206).