Rachie Shnay

I had the honor of speaking to Rachie Shnay about her experience as a Jewish woman in the jewelry industry. 

Rachie Shnay is a fearless advocate, standing up for Israel, and fighting antisemitism through her platform and jewelry brand. Rachie was born and raised in NYC, a grandchild of four holocaust survivors.  Rachie was named after her grandfather’s sister, Rachel Shnay, who was murdered in the Holocaust, in a concentration camp, when she was only six years old. In 2019, she chose to shift her career path and launch her jewelry brand “Rachie Shnay.” Rachie honors her relative with her brand name: “I think it's really beautiful that it's a memorial to her, so that every time people say the name of the brand, it's … like it's an ode to her.”

Rachie Shnay showing off some of her pieces.

By making beautiful, affordable, jewelry she encourages people to wear their Jewish identity proudly and show their support for Israel. Rachie specifically highlighted the importance of wearing the Magen David and including it in her designs: “I wanted to make the Magen David cool again because the Nazis took it and made it into a symbol that we should be ashamed to wear…I wanted to take it back and make it cool and funky, and relatable, and something that if a woman has some money to spend on jewelry they will choose to wear a Magen David.” Because jewelry is so timeless, Rachie hopes it will be passed down across generations, inspiring tradition. 

The Mazal Collection.

Though people discouraged her from mixing religion with her business, Rachie decided that the purpose of her brand would be to honor and display symbolism related to Judaism. Beyond her designs, she also donates some of her proceeds to Jewish charity organizations. Rachie is a firm believer that you should never sacrifice your values when you’re starting a business. “Go 100 million percent into it, with your values on your sleeve, your heart on your sleeve, and make sure that nobody convinces you to sacrifice any of your beliefs or values.” Rachie expressed her belief that Hashem has a plan for you. Whether you stand up for your beliefs, or not, your plan in his eyes won’t change, so she sees the importance of staying true to your belief system.

After October 7th, Rachie began to receive hateful messages on social media for being vocal about her support for Israel. When asked about this, Rachie said that she doesn’t take it personally. She is confident that she is on the right side of history. If her stance deters customers, they aren’t the customers that she wants anyway.

Rachie Shnay supporting Israel at a parade.

Her brand has gained a massive following, specifically with the success of her “Mazel Collection.” It has been worn by many recognizable strong Jewish women, including Gal Gadot and Amy Schumer. When asked about who her queen Esther, a strong Jewish woman in the fashion industry that she admires was, she mentioned Shoshana Gruss. 

Outside of her brand, Rachie is passionate about spreading Holocaust awareness and the importance of Jewish education. Rachie mentioned that she was initially inspired to be an activist when she was asked to speak at Ramaz’s Yom HaShoah program in tenth grade. This deeply resonated with me, as a 9th grader at Ramaz who is also passionate about my faith and about raising awareness for antisemitism. I find it especially inspiring that Rachie was a Ramaz student and that she found her voice to speak up there. Now, through my blog, she is passing the torch to me and helping me speak up.

Link to Rachie Shnay Jewlery: https://rachieshnay.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooVVGVg4f-5eGKVrO85IohTnvFeyISh26jsZ5QvJ_KxQfvySAZi