Linda Vero Ban

Linda Vero Ban (Hungarian: Verő Bán Linda; born 1976) is a Hungarian writer, rebbetzen,[1] and Jewish educator[2] who was born in Budapest,[3] where she still lives.

Linda Vero Ban in 2015

Early life and education

Ban was born in 1976 in Budapest, into a traditional Jewish family. She has been identified as "among the first ones who rebuilt the Jewish life in Budapest as a teenager after the Communist era,"[4] taking a very active part in its revival in Hungary in the 1990s. "You couldn't practice your religion under communism, so it wasn't until after the regime fell that people began trying to recover their identity," she says. "They don't go to synagogue, but they still want to express their Jewish culture," she explained to a journalist in 2013.[5]

Linda Ban graduated at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in the Art History and General Human Studies Department.

Early career

She worked as a shlicha (agent) of the Masorti Olami movement,[3] then spent a year in the scholarship program of the European Institute of Jewish Studies (Paideia)[6] in Stockholm, Sweden.

Family and further work
Linda with her husband

In 2002 she married Rabbi Tamás Verő and since then she has been working in informal Jewish education and community building at the Frankel Synagogue in Budapest. There she runs the Sunday School and the Family Kabalat Shabat, and in September 2015 founded BBYO Hungary for young people between the ages of 12 and 16.[7][4]

Writing career

In the last decade Ban has written and published 13 books for young families about Jewish traditions and identity.[8] These are the first modern educational Jewish children books published in Hungarian since the Shoah. Some of her books have been translated into English and German,[9] Slovak, French, Russian and Croatian.[4]

Ban's "What Does It Mean To Be Jewish?" was singled out for praise as a Jewish book on the Huffington Post, indeed chosen by its blog writer as "Best Jewish Book of 2010."[10]

Books available in English
  • What Does It Mean To Be Jewish? ISBN 978-0684842981
  • Hello God! – Interactive Jewish Prayer Book for Children ISBN 978-6155204043[11][12]
  • Becca's Family Photos – Jewish Life in Budapest [13]
  • Jewish Community Life in Budapest [14]

References
  1. "Young families bringing new life to Budapest synagogues - Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  2. Abend, Lisa (1 April 2013). "Ancient Fear Rises Anew". Retrieved 8 January 2017 – via content.time.com.
  3. "Jewish Children's Books by Linda Verö-Bán - Masorti Olami". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  4. Bee Jewish Books, author page Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. "Ancient Fear Rises Anew" by Lisa Abend [www.fthswiki.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ancient-Fear-Rises-Anew.docx Retrieved 14 November 2017.]
  6. For the Greek term, see paideia.
  7. "In Budapest, rabbi makes house calls". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  8. "Books » Online Zsidongó - Online Zsidongó". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  9. K.d.ö.R., Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland. "Budapest: Frag die Rebbezin - Jüdische Allgemeine". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  10. Rabbi, Brad Hirschfield; President, Clal; TheWisdomDaily.com, Executive Editor of (15 December 2010). "Best Jewish Book of 2010". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  11. "Hello God! - Linda Vero-Ban Eszter Paller, illus. Ralph Berkin, trans. - Jewish Book Council Reviews". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  12. Hello, God: Interactive Jewish Prayer Book for Children. Stein, Marion M. // AJL Reviews; May/June 2013, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p. 8
  13. Becca's Family Photos: Jewish Life in Budapest. Isaac, Fred // AJL Reviews; May/June 2012, Vol. 2, Issue 2, p. 12
  14. "Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features » Danube Blues". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
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