Budapest’s Zsilip Community Center is throwing open its doors in 2026 with a full slate of programs for every age and background. Set on the Danube at 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1 in the 13th District, Zsilip blends a kosher café–bagel bar with music, theater, study circles, and a lively playhouse—inviting audiences to engage with Jewish culture in a relaxed, welcoming way. From weekly study to Sunday school and a searing monodrama, it’s a calendar that makes stopping by worth your while.
Havruta: Learning Together, Week After Week
Zsilip’s Havruta—House of Learning Together—enters its third year without missing a beat. The model is classic yeshiva: small groups, paired learning, and big questions. Because in Judaism, study is not just academic—it shapes worldview, values, and daily life. It’s no solo journey, either; the strength is communal, and everyone has a share.
Every Wednesday:
– 17:30 The Era of the Messiah: philosophy and halacha with Rabbi Baruch Oberlander
– 18:30 The Book of Mitzvot: the 613 commandments with Rabbi Jonatán Megyeri
Every Monday:
– 18:30 On the Weekly Parsha with Rabbi Sámuel Glitzenstein
– 19:30 The Role of Women in Judaism with Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi
The Havruta series runs Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours each evening, all year long, designed for participants eager to deepen their knowledge and discover how ancient wisdom meets modern life.
Monodrama “Babylon Dossier” (Babilon dosszié): A Survivor’s Fight to Be Heard
On 2026.05.10, Zsilip stages Babylon Dossier (Babilon dosszié), a powerfully intimate monodrama bringing to life the memoirs of Olga Galló, a gifted young writer who was deported to Auschwitz at 30 with her mother. In the camp and subsequent labor camps, she kept a diary under impossible conditions—trading food rations for paper and pencil when she had to—because writing meant survival, a way to step out of an unendurable present into the life she had and longed to reclaim. She survived, but lost her mother, her closest sibling, her home, and the creative spark that had once sustained her.
In postwar Hungary, she did what the new world demanded: carried on as if nothing had happened. She didn’t touch the diary for twenty years. After a nervous breakdown, she returned to it on medical advice and decided to publish. The Kádár era’s silence around trauma resisted her. But Galló was not one to surrender.
This unique camp diary returns to the stage with the author’s publishing battle documented through her letters. Galló’s granddaughter, Andrea Fullajtár, delivers a deeply personal performance that sets the darkest chapter of 20th-century Europe alongside the absurd, tragicomic contours of socialism—eliciting bittersweet laughter where you least expect it. The text draws on the manuscript of Olga Galló’s Ten Months in Babylon (Tíz hónap Babilon) and her correspondence. Performed by Andrea Fullajtár. Written by Olga Galló. Dramaturgy by Róbert Solt. Music by Botond Lelkes. Directed by Máté Szabó. Tickets: $15.60.
Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School Is Back
Sunday mornings at Zsilip have a track record: kids who spend them here keep talking about it for years—shared games, playful learning, and the kind of memories that stick. Now the beloved program returns with a fresh name, Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School, hosted in the Zsilip Center’s two-story playhouse and a cluster of study rooms.
Every Sunday from 10:00 to 12:30, a young, enthusiastic team welcomes children and teens ages 4–14. Grouped by age, they:
– prep together for the holidays,
– learn about mitzvot,
– explore traditions,
– and pick up values that carry through life.
Whether you’re tiny, tween, teen-in-training, or gearing up for bar/bat mitzvah, Zsiliputi is built for you. Upcoming Sunday dates: 2026.05.10, 05.17, 05.24, 05.31, and 2026.06.07.
Women’s Learning With Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi
On 2026.05.20 at 19:30, Havruta spotlights a dedicated deep dive with Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi, who cuts through the question marks—and the exclamation points—around the true role of women in Judaism. Participation is free with registration, and halachically Jewish participants are invited. You can join any time during the year. The session echoes the Monday evening class and offers a focused forum to explore identity, practice, and purpose through a women-centered lens.
Havruta With Rabbi Baruch Oberlander
Also on 2026.05.27 at 17:30, Havruta returns to the big theme: the messianic era. Rabbi Baruch Oberlander guides participants through the philosophy and halacha shaping Jewish thought on redemption and the future. It’s free to attend with registration, and halachically Jewish learners can plug in year-round. Venue: Zsilip, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1.
Plan Your Visit
Zsilip sits riverside in central Budapest, in the 13th District at Újpesti rakpart 1. Alongside events, the center offers spot-on extras—kosher coffee and bagels, spaces for conversation, and a community vibe that favors curiosity over credentials. Keep an eye on dates and details; organizers reserve the right to change programs and timing.
