Rachel Sharansky Danziger

Rachel is a Jerusalem-born writer, educator, and lover of juxtapositions. She blogs about life in Israel, storytelling, Jewish texts...And the places where they intersect.

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About

Rachel is a Jerusalem-born writer, educator, and a lover of juxtapositions. She writes about the intersections between life, history, and Jewish texts for The times of Israel, Kveller, and other online venues , with an emphasis on the role of storytelling in Tanach. She teaches at Matan, Maharat, Pardes, and Torah-in-Motion. Currently a Sefaria fellow, Rachel is working on a book about Judges.

Programs

Jerusalem, in the Flesh

Like so many Soviet Jews, Rachel's father, Natan Sharansky, became a Zionist following the six days war. The picture of the paratroopers by the Western Wall inspired him to fight for his right to immigrate to Israel, and started the struggle that allowed Rachel to be born in Jerusalem. But life in real Jerusalem isn’t always simple, and the future and the past tend to complicate the present.

Terror, Truth and Teddy Bears: Raising Kids in Israel

Raising children in the arena of our past can be amazingly rewarding... Or amazingly difficult. You might find herself playing ball in a biblical battle field, practicing "how to fight a terrorist" with the help of a teddy bear, and fielding awkward questions about the Conflict... Sometimes, all within one day. One thing is guaranteed: you will never be bored.

Couches and Tents: Lessons from the Struggle for Soviet Jewry

"Life was so good when you were in prison," a neighbor once told Rachel's father, Prisoner of Zion Natan sharansky. "We stood together, not like now." Rachel grew up wondering if the same unity is achievable today, when there is no evil empire to unite against. Join for a discussion of the answers she sought - and the questions she learned to ask along the way.

Villains to Vanquish

Villains in stories represent so much more than external obstacles in a hero's journey: they embody and express the internal obstacles that can hold a hero back. As we face a new year and new endeavors, what can Big Bads like the Bible’s Lavan, JK Rowling’s Voldemort and star Wars’ Darth Vader teach us about the obstacles within ourselves?

Making the Exodus Our Own

On Passover, we are instructed to tell the story of the Exodus in the first person. But how can we turn a story that happened to some distant ‘them’ into a story about us? The authors of the Hagaddah employed various methods to invite us to remake the exodus into our own ongoing story, and this talk will ask how these techniques can enrich and alter our handling of our own personal histories.

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Interested in booking Rachel Sharansky Danziger to speak at your next event? Contact Jewish Speakers Bureau (infREMOVEo@jewREMOVEishspeakerREMOVEsbureau.com), America's only speakers bureau for Jewish-interest speakers, authors, entertainers, and experts.