Budapest and beyond are buzzing with Jewish culture this spring. From hands-on parenting workshops and synagogue learning to secret cemetery walks, brutalist architecture deep dives, street festivals, and kids’ programs, the calendar is stacked. Organized by EMIH (Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation), events pop up across multiple districts in Budapest and in cities like Kecskemét and Sátoraljaújhely. Tickets are on sale—here’s the lineup you’ll actually want to bookmark.
Parenting Without Power Struggles
Parents’ Club with Flóra Bacsó tackles a universal pain point: when the simplest request becomes a day-wrecking standoff. This 90-minute practical workshop leans on the Connected Parenting approach to decode what’s behind a child’s defiance and how to set clear, loving boundaries without damaging trust or safety. Expect less theory, more tools; bring your latest “stormy” moment and workshop it together in a judgment-free space. Venue: Zsilip, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1. Price: about $4.10 (1,500 Ft). Date: April 26.
Inside Hungary’s Brutalism at the Rózsi Walter Villa
An exclusive guided tour spotlights the temporary exhibition Breuer, Goldfinger and Other Hungarians – Brutalist Architecture at Home and Abroad. The show centers on two world-famous Jewish Hungarian architects: Marcel Breuer and Ernő Goldfinger. It unpacks how their international stature grew far from Hungary—and from the 20th century’s chaos back home—while clarifying what brutalism is and isn’t. Venue: Rózsi Walter Villa (Walter Rózsi Villa), 1071 Budapest, Bajza u. 10. Price: about $5.50 (2,000 Ft). Date: April 26; guided slot highlighted on March 29 at 10:30 for context.
Locked Jewish Cemetery Walk
Explore the closed Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery with guide Dr. László Negyela. See Béla Lajta’s monumental memorial art, the turul at Vilmos Vázsonyi’s grave, and learn burial customs and regulations, plus who was interred here and when the cemetery ceased operation. Photos and video may be recorded for web and social media. Venue: 1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni u. 6. Price: about $9.60 (3,500 Ft). Date: April 26.
Sunday School Is Back
Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School returns refreshed to the Zsilip Center’s two-story playhouse and study rooms. From 10:00 to 12:30, children ages 4–14 rotate by age group through sessions preparing for holidays, learning about mitzvot, and getting hands-on with traditions and values that stick. Venue: Zsilip, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1. Dates: April 26, May 3, May 10.
Shabbat in Sátoraljaújhely
CTeen heads to Sátoraljaújhely for a countryside Shabbat, April 24–26. After Mátészalka and Debrecen, the next stop is this Zemplén gem. Note: participation is for Jewish teens only; the fee is about $41.00 (14,990 Ft). Venue and lodging: Rákóczi Hotel, Camp and Event Center, V. István király útja 123.
Weekly Learning, Multiple Cities
– Havruta – House of Learning at Zsilip on Mondays: 18:30 Parsha with Rabbi Sámuel Glitzenstein; 19:30 The Role of Women in Judaism with Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi. Also on Wednesdays: 17:30 The Era of the Messiah—Philosophy and Halacha with Rabbi Báruch Oberlander; 18:30 The Book of Mitzvot—613 Commandments with Rabbi Jonatán Megyeri. Venue: 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1. Starts April 27 and continues weekly.
– Kabbalah Class with Rabbi Báruch Oberlander, Mondays 19:00, Vasvári Pál Street Synagogue, 1061 Budapest, Vasvári Pál u. 5. Dates include April 27 and May 4.
– Tea & Torah, Tuesdays with Rabbi Shalom Ber in Kecskemét: Jewish House (Zsidóház), 6000 Kecskemét, Katona József tér 12. Dates include April 28 and May 5.
Cook, Grill, Celebrate: Lag BaOmer
Two flavors of Lag BaOmer this year. First, an exclusive holiday cooking workshop where chefs Tamara Cserháti and Tzivia Myers turn bonfire inspiration into a menu: smoky baba ganoush; spiced beef kofta grilled on cinnamon sticks with store-bought pita and tabbouleh; and malabi for dessert. Doors: 16:30. Venue: Óbuda Synagogue, 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163. Price: about $68.50 (25,000 Ft), or $61.60 with Haver Card (22,500 Ft). Date: April 27.
Then the big outdoor blowout: bonfire, fire-grilled eats, and a star DJ flying in from Israel to break the Omer’s somber stretch for one euphoric night. Venue: UTE Canoe-Kayak, 1036 Budapest, Árpád fejedelem útja 125. Price: about $11.00 (4,000 Ft). Date: May 4.
Stage Legends and a Quiz
The hit theater-history series returns with historian Ágnes Szebényi from the Bajor Gizi Museum. Three Jewish Hungarian greats step into the spotlight—Kálmán Latabár (April 27, 10:00), Juci Komlós (May 11, 10:00), and József Székhelyi (May 27, 10:00)—followed by a knowledge quiz on June 8 at 10:00. Venue: Óbuda Synagogue, 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163. Price: about $5.50 (2,000 Ft), or $4.10 with Haver Card (1,500 Ft).
Hostage Story: A Grandmother’s Nerves of Steel
Rachel Ederi and her husband survived a 20-hour home invasion by five armed terrorists—because Rachel treated them, in her words, as “guests”: offering cookies, drinks, and lunch while keeping her composure and outwitting them. Hear her tell it live, in conversation with Rabbi Jonatán Megyeri. Venue: Zsilip, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1. Price: about $2.75 (1,000 Ft). Date: April 28.
KiddieTime Wednesdays in Óbuda
Every Wednesday 16:30–18:00 for ages 3–10: music with parents, playful Jewish learning while parents join a Hebrew language session, then everyone reunites for a kid-friendly krav maga closer. Venue: 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163. Dates include April 29 and May 6.
Books, Memory, and Big Questions
– Róbert Scheer’s Tel Aviv’s Cat (Tel-Aviv macskája): Step into a tiny Dizengoff bookshop where reality and imagination blur, Hungarian and Jewish pasts intertwine, and Boaz Blum navigates humor and hauntings. Venue: Brooklyn Bagel, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rkp. 1. Date: April 29.
– Memory Lab (Memórialabor) – Memory Training: Mental aerobics designed especially for over-50s but open to all, boosting cognition, memory, and focus. Venue: Óbuda Synagogue, 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163. Price: about $5.50 (2,000 Ft). Date: May 4.
– The Future of Humanity: Oxford Night in Óbuda. Behavioral researcher Dr. Tamás Dávid-Barrett of the University of Oxford joins Rabbi Slomó Köves for a lively look at where we’re headed in a world changing at warp speed. Note: please refrain from using phones or electronics in the synagogue due to Shabbat sanctity. Venue: Óbuda Synagogue, 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163. Price: about $18.80 (6,900 Ft), or $16.00 with Haver Card (5,865 Ft). Date: May 8.
Szentendre on Foot: Menorahs and Cobbles
A Shtetl Jewish Urban Walk through Szentendre reveals much more than its painterly charm. With guide János Vajda, trace Jewish homes and family stories on Kossuth Street and Deim Square; see the Miklós Radnóti labor-service plaque in the Ferenczy Museum yard; the former Jewish school and prayer house on Petőfi Street; Lajos Vajda’s plaque on Dumtsa Street; former Jewish shops and Stolpersteine on the Main Square; the Szántó Memorial and Prayer House with its local history and Holocaust memorial; and finish at the Szentendre Jewish House with a 10–15 minute talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers. Meeting point: Szentendre HÉV terminal. Refreshing lemonade awaits at Cháj Café. Date: May 10.
