blogs/rabbi-joshua-hoffman

From February 23 to March 1, Rabbi Hoffman is travelling to Hungary and Israel on a mission with 30 rabbis from all across the US. 
 
Day 1:

The drizzly and overcast weather on our early morning arrival in Budapest forecast the tone for our journey through the city over the next three days. There is a darkness, palpable and ominous that we will encounter in all the private spaces and that will also occasionally spill out into the public discourse. And by the time we leave the city, there is a warmth and sense of hope for the revial of Jewish life here in Hungary.

Our guide, Julia immediately brought us to the center of Jewish life in Budapest, to the symbolic manifestation of the most prominent and joyous time in Jewish-Hungarian history, to the Dohany synagogue. (see pictures) It is an absolutely stunning edifice, laden with gold, and recently restored to its original brilliance. The Hebrew text adorning the entrance is a well known verse from the Torah, ועשו לי מק�"ש ושכנתי �'תוכם (Ex. 25:8) "Build Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." the Synagogue was constructed in 1859, at the beginning of the Golden Age of Hungarian Jewry, the date indelibly marked on the building with golden stars chiseled over the letters that have a numerical equivalent to 1859, in Gematria.

We are given a tour of the synagogue, still actively used today by what is called the Neologue movement, a uniquely Hungarian expression of Judaism, similar to many streams of non-Orthodox Jewry in the United States; that is, public observance of Jewish tradition and private personal practice which is modern and often non-religious. During the High-Holidays, this massive space holds services for some 6000 people, but on most Shabbatot, a very small community (75 people regularly attendees) holds services in a small sanctuary adjacent to the main building, also a sacred space that is charming and impressively decorated.

We are taken to some other historical synagogues and then whisked off to the hotel to drop off our luggage, freshen up and dress for shabbat. Our hotel, and the Jewish quarter, is located in the heart of what used to be the area of Pest. (Buda, Pest, and Obuda used to be three separate cities)

We are invited to meet with the foreign minister for Hungary, who spoke to us aboutsome of the dominant themes we will explore over the next three days; namely noticing the blatent absence of recognition of the Reform community and the new and fledgling Masorti group by the current government's reasssesment of what are considered legitimate religious groups. (remember they do not have separation of church and state.)   There is also a growing concern from the perceived limitations of free press and judicial criticism and the proposed changes to the Hunarian constitution to further limit these freedoms.

There is so much to say about our meeting with the minister, and I will perhaps elaborate more about all the dignitaries we met later. I think it's important to share now that after an hour long meeting with a speech in broken English on the heels of a day and half of travel, I and my colleagues were nodding off like those bobbing birds whose heads lean over when filled with too much water. If our drooping eyes were musical notes, we could have played a concerto!

Our events before Shabbat continued with an unexpected opportunity to meet a delegation from the US Congress as they presented a wreath at the foot of the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Statue. Raoul Wallenberg was the Swedish Diplomat in Hungary who was responsible for saving thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by issuing visas and hiding Jews in Swedish protected properties in the city of Budapest. This year marks his 100th birthday. The delegation was from the House Foreign Affairs sub-committee on Central and Eastern Europe, and it was a thrill to hear clear English spoken after encountering the extremely difficult Hungarian language.

As we drove back to the Jewish Quarter and prepared to welcome Shabbat with the members of the Dohany synagogue, the weather was brisk and clear. Just like the beginning of our day, The sense of purpose we will have in our short time here is in the air around us.