Language Insomnia

Born in Bobruisk, Russian Empire (today in Belarus), to an affluent family, Rachel Katznelson-Shazar received her secondary education in a Russian high school, during which time she involved herself in the Socialist Zionist movement. Because of her Russian-language abilities, she was able to attend women’s college in St. Petersburg, which was at the time accessible to few Jewish students. After completing coursework in literature and history, she moved to Berlin, where she continued her education at the Academy of Jewish Studies. She immigrated to Palestine in 1912, where she was active in labor organizing and the Histadrut, eventually helping to lead the Mapai Party. A talented journalist, Katznelson-Shazar contributed to many journals and newspapers, most notably the labor-oriented Dvar Hapo‘elet [The Word of the Woman-Worker], which she founded and edited. She married Schneor Zalman Rubashov (later Zalman Shazar) in 1920, serving as the third first lady of Israel when Shazar became president.