In the summer of 1686, the Jewish community in Budavár (the ancient nucleus of modern Budapest) was laid to waste by victorious Christian fighters, who had laid a lengthy siege on the city, which had previously been held by Turkish Muslims. Many of the city’s Jewish denizens were raped, murdered or sold into slavery, and their three synagogues burnt. One of those synagogues, situated near the “Jewish gate” of the walled city frequented by Syrian Jews, was discovered in 1964 and made into a museum. Known informally as the Buda Castle Synagogue, it is believed to have been built in the 13th century. RELATED In 2018, the EMIH (the umbrella organization associated with Chabad Lubavics of Hungary) was invited to revitalize the building and make it into a thriving center of Jewish life once again. This past Shabbat, the Buda Castle synagogue was the site of a joyous bar mitzvah, the first to be celebrated there in 332 years. The young celebrant, Yonatan Sebok, is a student of Rabbi Asher Faith, the Hungarian-born rabbi who leads the now-flourishing congregation. Yonatan Sebok, above, was the first boy to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Buda Castle Synagogue since 1686. Here, he puts on tefillin with Rabbi Asher Faith.

Rabbi’s Journey Mirrors Community’s Resurgence The congregation has been gaining attendees every week, reports Faith, drawing local Hungarian-speaking Jews, Israeli expats and even an Australian Jew who has taken to its charming vibe. In a sense, the congregation’s rise from the abyss reflects the rabbi’s journey. Raised in Budapest in the 1990s and vaguely aware that he was Jewish, he had no interest in religion and planned to become a journalist. Even after his older sister and twin brother became more involved in Judaism and attended Chabad events and services, he demurred. After he finished high school, he decided to check out the Friday-night meals that had so captivated his siblings. “I came for the food and to be entertained by the ‘crazy’ American yeshivah students who danced with such joy, but it had nothing to do with me,” he told Chabad.org. His turning point came when Rabbi Slomó Köves (also a red-bearded Hungarian-born Chabad rabbi) invited him to attend Pesti Jesiva, the Chabad rabbinical school Rabbi Boruch Oberlander had founded in the Szász Chevra synagogue on the Pest side of the city (Budapest was formed by the merger of Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube River, in 1873). “I came for a day and stayed for two years,” says Faith jovially in a lilting Hebrew laced with a strong Hungarian accent. Hungry to learn more, he continued his studies in Israel, where he remained for nearly six years. “I had a very hard time at first,” he acknowledges, noting that he knew no Hebrew, which was the language of instruction, “but I stuck with it and eventually persevered.” In 2010, now married to his French-born wife, Racheli, the young rabbi returned to the city of his youth and joined the team of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries led by Rabbi Boruch and Batsheva Oberlander, who founded Chabad in Hungary in 1989. “Rabbi Faith has gained a following among the youth of the city,” says Rabbi Oberlander, who also serves as the head of the city’s Orthodox rabbinical court. “He’s learned, he’s kind, he’s approachable, and people flock to him and his wife.” Alongside young people, his presence is felt in other segments of the Budapest Jewish community, which numbers as many as 100,000-strong. He gives classes in nursing homes, visits local prisons and organizes an afternoon yeshivah. The ancient synagogue joins four other synagogues run by Chabad in the Pest side of the Danube is the second to be reopened by Chabad in Buda side. The stately Óbuda Synagogue was been built in 1820 and became a television studio in the 1970s. In 2010, under the leadership of Köves, it was returned to its original sacred purpose. Faith greets dignitaries who came to celebrate his installation as rabbi of the ancient synagogue.