Budapest’s Jewish calendar is bursting across multiple districts and venues with study circles, theater, music, kids’ activities, food workshops, memory training, city walks, and big outdoor celebrations. From Tel Aviv bookshop tales to Lag BaOmer bonfires and Oxford-meets-Orthodoxy talks, it’s all on one lively map—tickets ready to click.
Literature, Memory, Stage
Róbert Scheer: The Cat of Tel Aviv (Tel-Aviv macskája) lands on April 29 at Brooklyn Bagel (1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1.). In a once-real bookshop on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street—where Sándor Márai and György Lukács could sit side by side—the narrow aisles blur memory, joy, and sorrow. Boaz Blum, Scheer’s hero (and maybe alter ego), navigates the shared Hungarian and Jewish past torn apart in 1944. A gently funny, mystical story that both entertains and stings.
On May 10 at Zsilip (1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1.), The Babylon Dossier (Babilon dosszié) revives the camp diary of writer Olga Galló, deported to Auschwitz at 30 with her mother. She wrote to survive—sometimes trading food rations for paper. She lived, but lost almost everything: her mother, her closest sibling, her home, her literary voice. Twenty years later, after a breakdown, she pulled out the manuscript to publish it—despite the silence of the Kádár era. The monodrama, performed by her granddaughter Andrea Fullajtár, mixes the Holocaust’s darkest chapter with the tragicomic absurdity of socialism. Text by Olga Galló (from Ten Months in Babylon [Tíz hónap Babilon]), dramaturgy by Róbert Solt, music by Botond Lelkes, directed by Máté Szabó. Tickets: 5,900 HUF (about 16.50 USD), with Haverkártya 5,015 HUF (about 14.05 USD).
Theater history and a quiz return at Óbuda Synagogue (Óbudai Zsinagóga) (1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163.). With historian Ágnes Szebényi, legends like Juci Komlós (May 11, 10:00) and later József Székhelyi (May 27, 10:00) are in focus, capped by a June 8 quiz. Tickets: 2,000 HUF (about 5.60 USD), Haverkártya 1,500 HUF (about 4.20 USD).
Learn Together: Havruta, Kabbalah, Tea & Torah
Learning is lifeblood here—studied together, not alone. The Havruta – House of Learning continues at Zsilip (Újpesti rakpart 1., 13th district), modeled on yeshiva study pairs and small groups.
– Wednesdays: 17:30 The Messianic Era—philosophy and halacha with Rabbi Baruch Oberlander; 18:30 The Book of Mitzvot—the 613 commandments with Rabbi Jonatán Megyeri. Dates: Apr 29, May 6, May 13.
– Mondays: 18:30 On the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Sámuel Glitzenstein; 19:30 The role of women in Judaism with Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi. Dates: May 4, 11, 18.
Kabbalah classes with Rabbi Baruch Oberlander run Mondays at 19:00 at the Vasvári Pál Street Synagogue (1061 Budapest, Vasvári Pál u. 5.) on May 4, 11, 18.
Outside the capital, Tea & Torah with Rabbi Shalom Ber pours weekly wisdom every Tuesday at Jewish House Kecskemét (Zsidóház Kecskemét) (6000 Kecskemét, Katona József tér 12.) on May 5 and 12—warm, clear learning like a steady cup of five-o’clock tea.
Kids First: Óbuda Afternoons and Sunday School
KiddieTime turns every Wednesday into adventure for ages 3–10 at Óbuda Synagogue (Óbudai Zsinagóga) (1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 163.), 16:30–18:00 on Apr 29, May 6, May 13. It’s music with parents, playful Jewish learning while parents join a Hebrew course, then everyone reunites for a Krav Maga finisher.
Sundays belong to Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School (Zsiliputi Zsidó Vasárnapi Iskola) at Zsilip (Újpesti rakpart 1.) on May 3, 10, 17, 10:00–12:30, for ages 4–14. By age group, kids prepare for holidays, learn mitzvot and tradition, and absorb the values that carry a life—whether pre–Bar/Bat Mitzvah or almost youth counselor.
Active Minds: Memory Labs and Food for Thought
Memorial Lab – Memory Training (Memórialabor) at Óbuda Synagogue (Lajos u. 163.) is mental aerobics primarily for ages 50+, open to all. Think cognitive workouts for memory and focus, in the spirit of Anders Hansen’s “brain trails” metaphor. Dates: May 4 and May 18. Price: 2,000 HUF (about 5.60 USD).
Street food with soul: On May 17, Jewish House Szentendre (Zsidóház Szentendre) (2000 Szentendre, Pátriarka u. 6.) hosts a thematic cooking workshop that starts with a short learning session led by Rebbetzin Tzivia Myers, then chef Balázs Sepsi takes over the stoves. Register and pay on site; registration fee 5,000 HUF (about 14.00 USD). Because the brain burns 20–25% of our body’s energy—feed it ideas, then feed the rest.
Walks, City Secrets, Community
Menorah and Cobblestones – Off to Szentendre! (Menóra és macskakő) on May 10 traces Jewish artists and histories in Hungary’s picture-perfect town. Guide János Vajda leads from Kossuth Street and Deim Square (homes and stories of Jewish families), to the Ferenczy Museum courtyard (Miklós Radnóti’s labor service plaque), Petőfi Street’s former Jewish school and prayer house, Dumtsa Street (Lajos Vajda memorial and Jewish artists), Main Square’s shops and family tales with Stolpersteine, the Szántó Memorial and Prayer House, and a short talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers at Jewish House Szentendre—plus refreshing lemonade at Cháj Café. Meet at the final stop of the Szentendre HÉV line. Price: 4,000 HUF (about 11.20 USD), Haverkártya 3,600 HUF (about 10.10 USD).
Back in Budapest on May 17, The Secret Sites of the Jewish Quarter reveals the 7th District beyond its tourist fame. From the vanished Orczy House—once the hub of Jewish life—head to the Kazinczy Street mikveh and synagogue, and finish at Carmel restaurant with authentic kosher flódni tastings. Guide: Kata Nádas. Meet at the Sisi statue on Madách Square (1075 Budapest, Madách Imre tér 7.). Photos and recordings may be used on organizers’ platforms.
Bonfires, Beats, Release
Lag BaOmer 5786 lights up May 4 at the UTE Kayak-Canoe Club (1036 Budapest, Árpád fejedelem útja 125.). In Jewish time, it’s the day joy interrupts mourning—the day, tradition says, Rabbi Akiva’s devastating plague ceased after 33 days. Expect a huge bonfire, fire-cooked food, a star DJ flying in from Israel, and a community ready to breathe out together. Tickets: 4,000 HUF (about 11.20 USD).
Big Ideas: Oxford Night in Óbuda
On May 8 at Óbuda Synagogue (Lajos u. 163.), The Future of Humanity – Oxford Night in Óbuda seats an Oxford University behavioral scientist, Tamás Dávid-Barrett, across from an Orthodox rabbi, Slomó Köves. Time is sprinting; what was last month now feels prehistoric, and what’s one month ahead could bring light-years of change. If anyone can make sense of the new normal, it’s a researcher trained on it—and a rabbi schooled in timeless law. Note: out of respect for Shabbat sanctity, no phones or electronic devices in the synagogue. Tickets: 6,900 HUF (about 19.30 USD), Haverkártya 5,865 HUF (about 16.40 USD).
