Shuli Rand

• Name — Shuli Rand • Native Name — שולי רנד • Birth Name — Shalom Rand • Born — 6 February 1962 • Birthplace — Bnei Brak, Israel • Died — YYYY MM DD • Occupation — Singer, actor • Years Active — 1988-present

Shalom Rand was born to a Religious Zionist family in Bnei Brak. His father, Professor Yaakov Rand, a winner of the Israel Prize for his contribution to special education, is a chazzan. He attended the Or Etzion yeshiva until age 18. After compulsory army service, Rand attended the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Tel Aviv and became an actor, abandoning Orthodox practice. In 1996, he returned to observant Judaism. He later joined the Breslov Hasidic movement and moved to Jerusalem. 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 seven children together. In 2004 he and his wife founded the Jewish Theatre of Jerusalem. Rand wanted to divorce his first wife in 2016, but she refused to receive the get. After a year, Rand was granted a permission from 100 rabbis to remarry. He then married TV presenter Tzufit Grant.

Rand rose to stardom at age 26 after playing the lead role in Andrzej Wajda's play The Dybbuk at Habima 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, 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 reasons. In keeping with the halakhic standards of tzniut (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 (1992), and New Land (1994). In 2018 he appeared in the dystopian drama miniseries, Autonomies. Rand co-wrote the animated drama film Legend of Destruction (2021) with Gidi Dar. He also voiced one of the lead roles in the film.

• Illustration — Rand during a performance in Caesarea, October 2009 After Ushpizin, Rand embarked on a music career, performing mostly for secular audiences. In 2008 he released his first album, Nekuda Tova ("Good Point") with 11 songs, which he composed himself based on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Over 30,000 copies of the self-released CD were sold within 4 months, and it was awarded a gold album in Israel.

Shuli Rand is recorded with the occupation screenwriter. Recorded as actor, singer, songwriter, composer and screenwriter.