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Malka Drucker facts for kids

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Malka Drucker (born March 14, 1945) is an American rabbi and author. She lives in Santa Barbara, California.

About Malka Drucker

Malka Drucker became a rabbi in 1998. She studied at the Academy for Jewish Religion. This is a special school that trains rabbis from different Jewish groups. She started a place called HaMakom in Santa Fe. She was the main rabbi there for 15 years. Later, she was a spiritual leader at Temple Har Shalom in Idyllwild, California. She retired from that role in 2021.

Malka Drucker is married to Dr. Sheila Namir, who is a psychologist.

Books and Awards

Malka Drucker has written 21 books. Many of her books have won awards.

Award-Winning Books

Some of her famous books include:

  • Frida Kahlo
  • Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust
  • Grandma's Latkes
  • The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays

Her series about Jewish holidays won the Southern California Council on Literature for Children Prize. Her book Eliezer Ben Yehuda: Father of Modern Hebrew won the ADL Janusz Korczak Literary Competition. Her biography of Frida Kahlo was chosen as an "American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists."

Other Notable Works

Malka Drucker worked with photographer Gay Block on a book called White Fire: A Portrait of Women Spiritual Leaders in America. This book won the Southwest PEN award for non-fiction in 2005.

Her book Portraits of Jewish American Heroes was published in 2008. It won the New Mexico Children's Book Prize. In 2009, she edited a collection of essays called Women and Judaism. She also co-wrote "Embracing Wisdom: Soaring in the Second Half of Life" with Rabbi Nadya Gross.

Documenting Heroes

In 1986, Malka Drucker, along with Rabbi Harold Schulweis and Gay Block, started an important project. They wanted to record stories of non-Jewish Europeans. These brave people risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. This topic was very important but not widely known.

Their work led to Malka Drucker's book, Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust. It also resulted in an exhibition of Gay Block's photographs.

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