Budapest’s Jewish calendar for 2026 is packed across multiple districts and venues with study, theater, music, food, walks, and holidays curated by the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH). From havruta-style learning and kids’ krav maga to cemetery tours, Kabbalah classes, and memory-boosting workshops, the city’s Jewish life is buzzing—and much of it repeats weekly, so you can make it a habit.
Wednesdays: Havruta House of Learning
Now in its third year, Havruta at the Zsilip keeps the classic yeshiva vibe alive in small-group, partner-style study, because in Judaism learning isn’t just academic—it’s a worldview and a communal act. Every Wednesday at Újpesti rakpart 1, 13th district: 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. The Zsilip throws its doors open to all who are thirsty for knowledge.
Kids Rule the Afternoon in Óbuda
KiddieTime lands every Wednesday, 16:30–18:00 at the Óbuda Synagogue, Lajos Street (Lajos utca) 163 (3rd district). For ages 3–10, the program runs in three parts: a music session with parents; playful Jewish learning for kids while parents boost their Hebrew in a language course; and a parent–child reunion for a high-energy krav maga closer.
Teen Shabbat Goes Country: Sátoraljaújhely
April 24–26, CTeen takes Shabbat to the Zemplén town of Sátoraljaújhely at the Rákóczi Hotel, Camp and Event Center (V. King Stephen Street [V. István király útja] 123). They’ve done Mád and Debrecen—now it’s time for rustic charm again. Participation fee is USD 40.70 (14,990 HUF), and the program is only for Jewish teens. Register, pack your ruach, and go full ShabatON.
Sunday School Is Back—Zsiliputi-Style
The beloved Zsilip Sunday kids’ mornings return refreshed as the Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School (Zsiliputi Zsidó Vasárnapi Iskola), 10:00–12:30 at Újpesti rakpart 1 (13th district). For ages 4–14, with group-based sessions: prep together for holidays, learn mitzvot, explore traditions, and soak up values to carry for life. A huge two-level playhouse, study rooms, youthful team spirit, and memories that last. Dates: April 26, May 3, May 10, with more to come.
Walk the Sealed Salgótarjáni Cemetery
On April 26, join Dr. László Negyela for a guided walk in Budapest’s closed Salgótarjáni Street Jewish Cemetery (1086 Budapest, Salgótarjáni utca 6). Admire Béla Lajta’s sculptural gravestones, spot the turul at Vilmos Vázsonyi’s resting place, and learn burial customs and the site’s history. Price: USD 9.50 (3,500 HUF). Photo and audio may be recorded for web and social use.
Mondays: Kabbalah in Terézváros, Plus Havruta
Every Monday at 19:00, Rabbi Baruch Oberlander teaches Kabbalah at the Vasvári Pál Street Synagogue (1061 Budapest, Vasvári Pál utca 5). Also Mondays at the Zsilip: 18:30 Weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Sámuel Glitzenstein; 19:30 The role of women in Judaism with Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi.
Holiday Kitchen: Lag BaOmer Cooking School
April 27 at Óbuda Synagogue (Óbudai Zsinagóga, Lajos u. 163), Tamara Cserháti and Tzivia Myers fuse Lag BaOmer’s bonfire spirit with bold flavors. Doors 16:30. Menu: smoky baba ganoush; spiced beef kofta grilled on cinnamon sticks with store-bought pita and tabbouleh; dessert malabi. Price: USD 67.80 (25,000 HUF), or USD 61.00 (22,500 HUF) with Haver Card. Loyal attendees across all previous sessions get a gift.
Theater Tales and a Quiz
At Óbuda Synagogue (Óbudai Zsinagóga), theater historian Ágnes Szebényi (Bajor Gizi Theatre Museum) unpacks Jewish stage legends with gossip, backstage secrets, and aphorisms, followed by a quiz. Sessions: April 27, 10:00 Kálmán Latabár; May 11, 10:00 Juci Komlós; May 27, 10:00 József Székhelyi. Quiz: June 8, 10:00. Tickets: USD 5.40 (2,000 HUF), Haver Card USD 4.00 (1,500 HUF).
Tea & Torah Tuesdays in Kecskemét
Every Tuesday, sip and study at Tea & Torah (Tea & Tóra) with Rabbi Shalom Ber at the Jewish House Kecskemét (Zsidóház Kecskemét, 6000 Kecskemét, Katona József tér 12). The Torah steadies the mind like a favorite brew—weekly five o’clock comfort for the soul.
Books, Memory, Mind
April 29 at Brooklyn Bagel (1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1), writer Róbert Scheer reads The Cat of Tel Aviv (Tel-Aviv macskája). Set in a former Dizengoff Street bookshop where Sándor Márai and György Lukács once sat on the shelves, the novel’s narrow aisles blur imagination and reality as Boaz Blum navigates the entwined Hungarian and Jewish past, sliced apart in 1944—mystical, witty, bittersweet.
Train Your Memory
May 4 at Óbuda Synagogue (Óbudai Zsinagóga): Memórialabor—Memory Training, mental aerobics designed especially for ages 50+, open to all. Anchored by Anders Hansen’s insight that memories follow well-trodden brain paths, the session aims to refresh cognition, memory, and focus. Price: USD 5.40 (2,000 HUF).
Babylon Dossier: A Survivor’s Voice on Stage
May 10 at the Zsilip (1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1), actress Andrea Fullajtár brings to life her grandmother Olga Galló’s Auschwitz diaries in a powerful monodrama, Babylon Dossier (Babilon dosszié). Galló, deported at 30 with her mother, wrote in the camps at the cost of her food rations. She survived but lost family, home and, for a time, her writer’s voice. Two decades later she revisited the text to publish it, pushing against the Kádár era’s hush. The piece blends extracts from the manuscript Ten Months in Babylon (Tíz hónap Babilon) and correspondence about the fight to publish, balancing the Holocaust’s darkness with the absurd, tragicomic tones of socialism. Team: Writer Olga Galló; dramaturg Róbert Solt; music Botond Lelkes; poster photo Péter Németh; design László Csáfordi; director Máté Szabó. Tickets: USD 16.00 (5,900 HUF), Haver Card USD 13.60 (5,015 HUF).
Szentendre: Menorahs and Cobbles
Also May 10, take Menorah and Cobbles – Destination Szentendre! (Menóra és macskakő – Irány Szentendre!) with guide János Vajda. Trace Jewish family homes on Kossuth Street (Kossuth utca)–Deim Square (Deim tér); Radnóti’s labor service plaque in the Ferenczy Museum courtyard; the former Jewish school and prayer house on Petőfi Street (Petőfi utca); the Lajos Vajda memorial on Dumtsa Street (Dumtsa utca); Main Square’s (Fő tér) Jewish shops, family stories and Stolpersteine; the Szántó Memorial and Prayer House; and the Jewish House Szentendre (Zsidóház Szentendre) for a 10–15 minute talk by Rabbi Mendy Myers. Meet at the Szentendre HÉV terminus; walkers get lemonade at Cháj Café. Price: USD 10.90 (4,000 HUF), Haver Card USD 9.80 (3,600 HUF).
