Budapest, Hungary

"Do you know when I got connected to my Jewish ancestry? In 2009 I went on a taglit trip to Israel and ever since I started learning more and more about my identity. So eventually I became a tour guide of the Jewish neighborhood in Budapest, Hungary. Moreover, in 2012 I participated in eight months of intensive Jewish study in Paideia institute for Jewish studies in Stockholm. When I returned to Budapest I wanted to share my newfound love of Talmud with other young Hungarian Jews, but everywhere I looked, I found barriers: difficulties in finding Talmud experts, a scarcity of study opportunities outside of Orthodox religious institutions, and — despite support from many in the community — doors closed to women. That’s when I decided to create a program called - Talmud nem csak nőknek. Translated from the Hungarian as “Talmud not only for women,” I chose the title to subvert the traditional notion that Talmud study is for men only." Burcsa Lakos