Silverman was spiritual leader of Shearith Israel from 1954 to 1964; Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner with links to the Mafia who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, was one of his congregants
Despite a bounty of competitors, The Birnbaum machzor, first published in 1951 remained a staple of Orthodox synagogues largely because the 'worshipper is not called upon to search from page to page and to commute from reference to reference'