A 150-year-old Orthodox shul in Hungary, which was closed for more than a decade, is beginning a new chapter as a youth-led community, with organisers hoping to inspire a new generation of Jewish engagement.
The synagogue on Budapest’s Dessewffy Street, which dates back to 1870, is now the home of CTeen, the international Jewish youth movement. Its young members will take responsibility for communal leadership, organise activities and shape the future of the congregation themselves.
The project is being led by Chabad emissary Rabbi Tzvi Bassman, who told Arutz Sheva: “This is a groundbreaking community and educational initiative.
“Our goal is not simply to establish another minyan or a place of worship for young people under 18, but to create a place that is entirely led and run by them.”
“We want every young person who walks through the door to feel that this is their home, that they are not merely passive participants but take full responsibility for shaping their own Jewish lives and those of their friends.”
The synagogue was founded in a building that had previously served as a stable. Its early congregants included Jewish porters and coachmen from the surrounding neighbourhood, who used the premises as a place to pray between shifts.
Over subsequent generations, the building became a centre for Orthodox Jewish life, housing a cheder and youth activities. Bassman said its survival owed much to the late Laszlo Herzog, a prominent community member who worked to bring young people into the community.
After Herzog’s death and the decline of the congregation, however, regular religious life eventually ceased. The building remained closed for more than a decade, leaving a historic Jewish space without an active community.
“The revival of this place is like ‘the resurrection of the dry bones’,” he said, referring to the biblical image of renewal. He added that the mayor had described the reopening as “not a break with the past, but its natural continuation”.
The restoration was carried out through cooperation between the Association of United Hungarian Jewish Congregations (EMIH), led by Hungary’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Koves, and the Hungarian Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community (MAOIH), which owns the synagogue. The reopening ceremony took place on 6 September.
The synagogue in Budapest’s Rákospalota had spent decades being used to store books and newspapers belonging to the Hungarian National Library. Following years of work and extensive renovation, it was rededicated.
The Dessewffy Street project is the sixth historic synagogue to resume religious services under the wider restoration initiative, according to Bassman.
“Wherever there was darkness and silence, we are bringing back light and life,” he said.
For the organisers, the emphasis on teenagers is central to the project. Rather than simply offering young people activities arranged by adults, the synagogue aims to give them genuine responsibility for their community. Its officeholders and organisers will be under 18, allowing members to develop leadership skills while taking an active role in Jewish religious life.
Bassman said the reopening had generated excitement among local Jews and non-Jews alike. He also argued that Hungary offered a welcoming environment for Jewish life, although his assessment reflects his own experience and should not be taken as a measure of every Jewish person’s experience in the country.
“Our clear goal is to fill the synagogue with Torah study and prayer,” he said. “We want every young man and woman who steps inside to know that they have a community, a place to pray and study, and that a life of Torah and mitzvot is their greatest source of pride.”
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