schools

At Shulmaith, journey from dancer to frum Jew

Posted

Shulamith students in Grades 5 through 8 enjoyed a powerhouse presentation by Rachel Factor, who told the girls about her journey to Judaism, using the medium of song and dance.

Factor shared the details of her growing up in Hawaii, where she enjoyed a privileged life with wonderful parents, many friends, and a great school.  She explained that despite a happy childhood, she always felt restless and empty, and how that emptiness was filled, for a time, by a career as a dancer.

From Los Angeles to the Broadway stage, Factor tried to find fulfillment, to no avail.  She eventually met “a nice guy” who was Jewish but who knew nothing about his heritage.

The two began to explore Judaism and search for truth. Eventually, Factor converted and today, her husband learns in kollel and the couple live a Torah-true life in Israel with their five beautiful children.  

Factor told the girls that the changes she made were incremental. She explained that had she been told about tzniyut immediately, she might have balked, but by the time she made the move to dress b’tzniyut, realizing it meant giving up her career as a dancer, she was more than ready.

“I felt my insides,” she said. “I felt centered, contained, dignified. I liked it a lot. I felt that I had value and it had to do with the way I was dressed.”

The climax of her performance for the students of Shulamith was a moving song, “K’Shoshana bein haChochim” (“Like a rose among thorns”), in which she exhorted the girls to realize just how special they are. 

“You are worth so much to the world by what you do every day,” Factor said. “Every choice you make will lead you to greatness. Remember — believe in yourself.”