5 months ago

New Yeshiva and Smicha Program Opens in Budapest

Twenty years after the closure of the last yeshiva that operated in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, a new yeshiva has recently opened, combining rabbinical training studies with extensive Jewish and Torah activities in various locations across the city • Full Story

“Budapest is the European capital with the largest percentage of Jews relative to its total population,” says the Chief Rabbi of Hungary, Rabbi Shlomo Koves. “At least 5% of the city’s residents are Jewish, and there are many more who conceal their Jewish identity or do not know they are Jewish.”

“Therefore, the yeshiva is a very important element in bringing Judaism and Torah study to the Jewish community of the city,” Rabbi Koves adds.

The Yeshiva is currently home to 16 students, all among the finest Chabad boys from the United States, and all graduates of the Oholei Torah yeshiva in Crown Heights, New York. This new Yeshiva follows in the footsteps of a Yeshiva established 25 years ago by Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, the Chabad Shliach to Hungary. During its years of operation, that yeshiva brought about significant changes in the Jewish life of Hungary, and many of the country’s shluchim and those from around the world passed through its doors. Unfortunately, the yeshiva closed about 20 years ago for various reasons, and since then, there has been no yeshiva in Hungary.

According to Rabbi Koves, “Following the events of October 7th and the massive spiritual awakening among Jews across the world, we decided to take action to harness this newfound energy and spread more light. After months of preparations, including finding a suitable location, recruiting students, and designing a structured program, the yeshiva was established. Budapest is the safest city for Jews in Europe, and the opening of this yeshiva is part of the flourishing of the local community and the sense of security that exists here.” It is worth mentioning that Hungary was the first country in the world to declare its support for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and to announce that it would not enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hag .

Rabbi Mordechai Beck, a Chabad Shliach in the city and the person responsible for the yeshiva, shares that the students’ daily schedule is packed. “The students, all in their early twenties, start their day with prayer alongside dozens of local teenagers at the Maimonides Jewish high school. Their impact is evident, and the prayers at the school are now filled with much more energy. Afterward, they spend four hours studying the laws of Issur V’Heter in preparation for receiving their Semicha. In the afternoons, they spend two hours helping local Jews and tourists to put on tefillin at booths set up in central locations and in the Jewish quarter. Later in the afternoon, they disperse to the eight Chabad houses in Budapest, where they learn in Chavrusa with local Jews. In the evening, they return to the yeshiva to study Chassidus.”

The Semicha program is run by Rabbi Yossi Feldman, a shliach with extensive knowledge of halacha and rabbinics.

Although the yeshiva has only recently opened, the awakening it has sparked is already clearly visible. “The students are finding new Jews every day, and thanks to them, we are seeing ‘new faces’ in the synagogues of Budapest. We have no doubt that this yeshiva will bring about a true revolution in Hungary and will connect hundreds of local families to their Jewish heritage over the coming year.”