Shalom "Shuli" Rand (also spelled Shuly; he, שולי רנד; born 8 February 1962) is an Israeli film actor, writer, and singer. He is a Breslover Hasid and is best known in the English-speaking world for his role as the protagonist in '' Ushpizin'' (2005), for which he wrote the screenplay.

Biography

Shalom (Shuli) Rand was born to a

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, they ...

family in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.74 s ...

. His father, Professor Yaakov Rand, a winner of the Israel Prize for his contribution to

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

, is a

chazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this ...

.Frankfurter, Rabbi Yitzchok. "Between Words and Silence: A conversation with Shuli Rand". '' Ami'', 25 February 2015, pages 72–83. He attended the Or Etzion

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

until age 18. After compulsory

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

service, Rand attended the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and became an actor, abandoning Orthodox practice. In 1996, he returned to observant Judaism. He later joined the Breslov

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

movement and moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He is a student of Rabbi Shalom Arush. Rand withdrew from acting to realize his religious aspirations, but after a six-year hiatus he returned to the theater, performing in one-man plays. Rand and his first wife had together seven children. In 2004 he and his wife founded the Jewish Theatre of Jerusalem.

Acting and film career

Rand rose to stardom at age 26 after playing the lead role in

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of th ...

's play ''

The Dybbuk ''The Dybbuk'', or ''Between Two Worlds'' (russian: Меж двух миров �ибук}, trans. ''Mezh dvukh mirov ibuk'; yi, צווישן צוויי וועלטן - דער דִבּוּק, ''Tsvishn Tsvey Veltn – der Dibuk'') is a play by ...

'' at

Habima The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. Histor ...

theater. Rand was chosen Israel's Theater Actor of the Year several times. In 2004 Rand wrote, directed, and starred in the film ''Ushpizin''. He cast his wife, Michal Batsheva Rand, also a

baalat teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God) is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism">secular lif ...

, as the protagonist's wife. While Michal Batsheva had no prior acting experience, Rand insisted on playing opposite her rather than another woman for

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

reasons. In keeping with the halakhic standards of ''

tzniut ''Tzniut'' ( he, צניעות , , ; "modesty" or "privacy"; ) describes both the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. De ...

'' (modesty), the fictional husband and wife do not touch each other on screen. Rand has also acted in ''Hameuad'', ''Eddie King'' (1992), ''

Life According to Agfa ''Life According to Agfa'' ( he, החיים על פי אגפא) is a 1993 Israeli psychological-social drama film written and directed by Assi Dayan and produced by Rafi Bukai and Yoram Kislev. Starring Gila Almagor, Shmil Ben Ari, Irit Frank, ...

'' (1992), and ''New Land'' (1994). In 2018 he appeared in the

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, '' Autonomies''.

Singing career

After ''Ushpizin'', Rand embarked on a music career, performing mostly for secular audiences. In 2008 he released his first album, ''Nekuda Tova'' ( he, נקודה טובה, "Good Point") with 11 songs, which he composed himself based on the teachings of Rebbe

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

. Over 30,000 copies of the self-released CD were sold within 4 months, and it was awarded a gold album in Israel.

Awards and recognition

Rand won the

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The award, name ...

given by the Israel Film Academy twice. He was named Best Supporting Actor in 1993 for ''

'', and Best Actor in 2004 for ''Ushpizin''.

Discography

*' (2008) *''Shuli Rand Live'' (2010) *''Back and Forth'' (2018) *''Shuli Sings Benayoun'' (2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Shuli 1962 births Living people Baalei teshuva Israeli Orthodox Jews Jewish Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male singers People from Bnei Brak Breslov Hasidim Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Hasidic singers Israeli male screenwriters Israeli male stage actors