Budapest’s Zsilip Community Center, at 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1 in the 13th district, is rolling into 2026 with a packed calendar that’s warm, curious, and open to everyone. The goal: easy, joyful access to Jewish culture and learning. Drop in for a kosher café and bagels, live music, theater, study programs, and a two-level playhouse that keeps the youngest guests happily busy while adults dig into talks and texts. It’s a space where learning is a worldview, community is the center, and conversation runs both deep and welcoming.
Havruta: The House of Learning, Twice Weekly
The Havruta learning program returns for its third year, steady and strong, with small-group, yeshiva-style study. The name says it all: togetherness is the point. In Judaism, learning isn’t just academic—it’s how you build your values and your life. Zsilip’s study house leans into that with tight-knit learning circles, a format designed to think together and master ancient wisdom through dialogue. The doors are open to every knowledge-hungry member of the community.
Wednesdays feature two back-to-back sessions: at 17:30, Rabbi Baruch Oberlander leads The Era of the Messiah: Philosophy and Halacha. At 18:30, Rabbi Jonatán Megyeri dives into The Book of Mitzvot: The 613 Commandments. Mondays are equally focused: at 18:30, Rabbi Sámuel Glitzenstein teaches the weekly Torah portion, then at 19:30, Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi speaks on The Role of Women in Judaism. The program runs throughout spring and early summer, with dates including 2026.04.29; 05.04; 05.06; 05.11; 05.13; 05.18; 05.25; 05.27; 06.01; 06.03.
Friday Night for Families: Péntekecske
On 2026.05.01, Zsilip hosts a family-friendly Friday evening that meets kids and adults where they are. While grown-ups catch Rabbi Glitzi’s teaching in the synagogue, the Zsiliputi playhouse hosts a mini Shabbat program for children led by a madricha. Expect stories and hands-on learning about the weekly portion, Shabbat, and the current holiday cycle, backed by images and games. There are gifts for attentive participants and even a raffle. Bring the whole family—and let everyone learn on Shabbat.
Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School Is Back
Sunday mornings at Zsilip are a community favorite, and they’re officially back under a refreshed banner: Zsiliputi Jewish Sunday School. Generations of children have carried these Sunday memories for years—shared games, playful learning, and friendships that stretch across age groups. Now the program returns to Zsilip’s two-story playhouse and many study rooms, with a young, enthusiastic team ready to welcome kids aged 4–14 (and teens) every Sunday from 10:00 to 12:30.
Activities are grouped by age and built around four pillars: preparing for the holidays together; learning about mitzvot together; getting to know traditions together; and taking on the values that carry through a lifetime. Whether you’re little or a teen, almost a youth leader, or on the road to your Bar/Bat Mitzvah, this school is for you. Upcoming Sundays include 2026.05.03; 05.10; 05.17; 05.24; 05.31; 06.07.
Női szerepek (Women’s Roles): With Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi
On 2026.05.20 at 19:30, Rebbetzin Sarah Nógrádi tackles the question marks—and the exclamation points—around women’s real role in Judaism. The session is free but requires registration. Participation is open to halachically Jewish attendees, and you can join any time during the year. This evening ties directly into the Monday Havruta slot on women’s roles, creating a living conversation that extends week to week.
Oberlander on the Messiah
Also on Wednesday, 2026.05.27 at 17:30, Havruta spotlights Rabbi Baruch Oberlander for an in-depth study of the messianic era. It’s a signature topic for Zsilip’s study house: learning not as a solo pursuit but as a shared discipline that shapes both ethics and daily life. The session is free with registration. As always, ongoing participation is encouraged, and halachically Jewish learners are invited to join throughout the year.
Theater: Babilon dosszié (Babylon Dossier)
On 2026.05.10, Zsilip hosts Babilon dosszié (Babylon Dossier), a one-woman performance that resurrects the voice of a radiant young writer, Olga Galló, deported to Auschwitz at 30 with her mother. In the death camp and the subsequent labor camps, Galló kept a diary against the odds—bartering even food rations for paper and pencils. Writing was survival, a way to leap from the unbearable present into the memory of the life she had and longed for. She survived but lost almost everything: her mother, her dearest sibling, her home, and the literary gift that had carried her through. Like so many in the postwar years, she pretended nothing had happened and didn’t touch the diary. Twenty years later, after a nervous collapse, she opened it on medical advice and vowed to publish. The Kádár era, built on silencing trauma, didn’t exactly applaud—but Galló refused to let go.
The extraordinary camp diary returns to the stage as a unique monodrama, paired with the author’s correspondence documenting her fight to publish. Performed by her granddaughter, Andrea Fullajtár, the show walks viewers through the darkest chapter of 20th-century Europe while revealing the socialist absurdities that tug a bittersweet laugh. The text draws on the manuscript of Olga Galló’s Tíz hónap Babilonban (Ten Months in Babylon) and her letters. Cast and crew: performed by Andrea Fullajtár; writer: Olga Galló; dramaturgy: Róbert Solt; music: Botond Lelkes; poster photo: Péter Németh; poster design: László Csáfordi; director: Máté Szabó. Tickets: 5,900 HUF (about 15.90 USD); with Haver Card: 5,015 HUF (about 13.52 USD).
Practicals and Fine Print
Venue: Zsilip, 1137 Budapest, Újpesti rakpart 1. Check listings for precise dates and times. Many Havruta sessions are free with registration; participation rules apply for halachic status in certain classes. For family and kids’ programs, plan to arrive a bit early to settle in. Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
