You heard the joke about the rabbi that walks into a comedy club? No? Well, Rabbi Menachem Silverstein of Shul on the Hill would be the rabbi on stage, telling the jokes. Every Thursday night at 10, Rabbi Silverstein has a gig at the Laugh Factory — less than 24 hours before leading Friday night and Shabbat services at the Orthodox synagogue in Studio City.

Silverstein somehow seems to have found a route to make two starkly contrasting careers click. “I have two kids, six and five. I also write scripts for TV shows. And I have a production company. I produce and direct product videos, commercials, web series, short films. Very busy. As a Jew,” he said, leaning into his punchline, “I need a reason to complain. So if I am never free, I have nothing to complain about. I need to whine.”

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Silverstein had his sights set on comedy and screenwriting. And he learned how to deal with the public through outreach done by his Chabad-centered home. “Every Friday I was out asking people to put on tefillin and giving out Shabbat candles,” he said. “I always looked up to rabbis. It was something that was amazing, and I would have been honored to be a part of. But I was like, I don’t know, I’m not Jewish enough. I’m not smart enough. I don’t speak Hebrew well enough and I don’t know Torah well enough.”

But show business was always in his thoughts. Two years before he moved to Los Angeles, Silverstein was backstage at the Laugh Factory, schmoozing with a friend when Tehran Von Ghasri stopped by. He was “tall, Persian, Black, Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian. “So many different parts,” he marveled. “I am not amazing at math, but it all has to equal 100%.” Eventually, he showed Tehran how to put on tefillin. They became writing partners and soon, Tehran brought Silverstein on to co-produce his weekly show, “Tehran Thursday.”

Until recently, the rabbi prioritized comedy and his writing. “From a humility perspective, I am not going to force myself on anyone as their rabbi,” he said. But gradually, the (Shul on the Hill) community said ‘We need someone to fill the shoes of the rabbi, and we’d like that to be you.’ I sat there while they were having the conversation, and I felt if no one’s going to do it, I will. Then I stepped up and said, ‘We’ll do two words of Torah every Shabbat, we’ll start a men’s class, and on Jewish holidays we will have special events.’” Today, Shul on the Hill offers two weekly Torah classes, one for women, one for men. “Every week I choose a couple pages. I found I could do it. Gradually and naturally. My personality type is, if no one is going to do it, I will.”

Where did that confidence come from? “When you are one of seven children,” Silverman said, “if you want to stand out in a crowd, you need confidence,” As a matter of fact, he said, he was third of seven. “Third is best,” he explained, “because in the Torah it mentions that when Abraham was recovering from circumcision and when the angels came to visit him, it says he slaughtered the third cow because it was the best meat.”

Rabbi Silverstein wasn’t finished. “Here is how I look at life: The oldest (sibling) in my family is a girl. Tried it with a girl. She came out okay. Tried it with a boy. He came out okay. Tried a third time, the third time’s a charm. Perfect child. Tried a fourth time, close but not there. Again, close but not there. Again, close, not there. Tried one more time, with a girl as the seventh, but again not perfect. And they gave up. To me, again, the perfect child is the third.”

Looking toward the future, the rabbi/comedian said his next goal “is to be running my own show in five years. I would like to be growing in my stand-up, and also be touring more.” He would also like to write and direct movies. For now, Toveedo, a streaming service that creates content for Orthodox Jews, has hired him to write, direct and sometimes act in their 40-minute movies.

Asked if he has any unattained goals, the  busy 28-year-old thought for a moment, then said, “I want to be taller. I am tall for a Jew but short for an Aryan. I am 5-9, which is like a Jewish 6-2 and an Aryan 5-3.”

Fast Takes with Rabbi Silverstein

Jewish Journal: Favorite place you have traveled outside of Israel?

Rabbi Silverstein: Ukraine. A friend and I were able to hold a Passover seder there.

Jewish Journal: The most memorable book you have read?

Rabbi Silverstein: From a Jewish perspective, there is a sefer called “The Gate of Trust,” about the difference between believing in God and trusting in God. Growing up, there was a book, fiction, called “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Daniel Handler.

Jewish Journal: What do you do on your day off?

Rabbi Silverstein: Spend time with my kids.