This Orthodox Jewish Day School Graduate Held the Guinness Record for Memorizing Pi

When people picture a world-record-breaking math achievement, an Orthodox Jewish day school graduate may not be the first image that comes to mind. But Ilana Greenberg — who attended Orthodox Jewish day schools for both middle and high school — recently held the Guinness World Record for reciting digits of pi from memory, challenging assumptions about Jewish education and women in STEM.

The record was set in August 2025, when Greenberg, then just 17 years old, recited 408 digits of pi in under a minute entirely from memory.

Such a feat doesn’t happen overnight. Like many students during the Covid-19 pandemic, Greenberg suddenly found herself with more time and fewer distractions. But the journey toward that record didn’t begin with the goal of breaking one. Instead, it started as a curiosity-driven challenge she set for herself — a way to see how far her determination and discipline could take her.

Already drawn to STEM subjects, Greenberg leaned into a love of math that had been growing for years. “For me, it kind of began as just a personal way of challenging myself to see how many digits I could memorize,” Greenberg said. “And just having gotten it done, it felt very gratifying.”

The intellectual curiosity that eventually led to a Guinness record didn’t emerge in isolation. Greenberg spent her formative years in Orthodox Jewish day schools, first at Brandeis Hebrew Academy and later at North Shore Hebrew Academy; communities she says fostered both academic ambition and a deep love of learning.

“They really nurtured me and developed my intellectual curiosity,” Greenberg said of her teachers. “And my high school, North Shore Hebrew Academy, also gave me access to the opportunities and the inspiration to continue pursuing what I love.”

In public discussions about education, religious schooling is oftentimes portrayed as limiting academic exploration, particularly for young women interested in fields like mathematics and physics. Greenberg’s experience tells a different story. “I was very lucky to be raised in an environment that encouraged me in all of my pursuits,” she said.

More than simply allowing academic exploration, she believes Jewish learning itself can help inspire it. “I think that the emphasis that my schools have had on blending secular and Judaic education has really shaped my outlook on pursuing academic careers,” Greenberg said. “There’s so much in Jewish education that can inspire secular pursuits.”

Greenberg’s penchant for aiming high didn’t stop with her world-record title. She is now a student at Yale University, where she plans to double major in physics and mathematics. At the same time, she is part of Yale’s rigorous Directed Studies program, an interdisciplinary sequence exploring the Western canon. “It’s been an overwhelmingly exciting year,” she said. “I have learned so much both within and outside of the classroom.”

Outside of her coursework, Greenberg is involved in Yale Scientific Magazine, the Society of Physics Students, and a computer science outreach organization called CodeHaven. She has also discovered a new campus hobby: the Rubik’s Cube Club — and can solve a cube in roughly 12 seconds.

Though another competitor has since surpassed her pi digit total and now holds the record, Greenberg hasn’t lost interest in the numbers that first captured her attention. “With Pi Day approaching, I am memorizing more digits as a personal challenge,” she said. “I may try memorizing some digits of Euler’s number next.”

For Greenberg, the accomplishment was one expression of something deeper: a lifelong commitment to curiosity and learning. “I hope to continue to be pushed by my curiosity, to never stop learning,” she said. “For me, this record is just one aspect of my love of learning.”

And perhaps most importantly, she hopes her story can help broaden stereotypes about Jewish education, and about the possibilities open to young Jewish women pursuing ambitious intellectual paths.

“I hope that my experience shows that nothing is off limits for Jewish women,” Greenberg said, “and that Judaism can enhance and inspire, rather than limit, academic and professional pursuits.”

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