Background
He was born Shalom Rand 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 was born Shalom Rand 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 exclusive Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Tel Aviv and became a successful theatrical actor, abandoning Orthodox practice.
He is a Haredi Jew and is best known in the English-speaking world for his role as the protagonist in Ushpizin (2005), for which he wrote the screenplay. He rose to stardom at age 26 after playing the lead role in Andzei Vida"s play The Dybbuk at the Habima theater. Rand was chosen Israel"s Theater Actor of the Year several times.
He later joined the Breslov Hasidic movement and moved to Jerusalem.
He is a student of Rabbi Shalom Arush. Rand withdrew from acting in order to realize his religious aspirations, but after a six-year hiatus he returned to the theater, performing in one-man plays.
In 2004 he wrote, directed, and starred in the film Ushpizin. While Michal Batsheva had no prior acting experience, Rand insisted on playing opposite her rather than another woman for halakhic reasons.
Rand has also acted in Hameuad, Eddie King (1992), Life According to Agfa (1992), and New Land (1994).
After Ushpizin, Rand embarked on a music career, performing mostly for secular audiences. In 2008 he released his first album, Nekuda Tova (Hebrew: נקודה טובה, "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 Civil Defense were sold within 4 months, and it was awarded a gold album in Israel.
They reside in the Mevaseret Zion suburb of Jerusalem.