Pilgrimage - The “ Wonder Rabbis' Way ”

Hungary, especially North-East Hungary, and other regions were home to large and ignificant Hasidic Jewish communities until before the Second World War, from which a number of Hasidic movements and dynasties, which still exist today and bear the names of the settlements, originated.

Gepoilt ales gits!" is the Yiddish greeting everywhere at the jahrzeit of the Sátoraljaújhely Wonder Rabbis, or death anniversary of his death in the local Jewish cemetery.

However, it is not compulsory to visit the tomb only on the anniversary day; pilgrims come to Bodrogkeresztúr and Sátoraljaújhely, as well as to other cemeteries in the area, in large and small numbers throughout the year.

During our excursion we will learn about Jewish traditions, teachings, customs and the life of the wonder rabbis.

Route from Budapest or Debrecen/Hajduszoboszló :

Tarcal – Mád – Bodrogkeresztúr  – Sárospatak – Sátoraljaújhely

Tarcal

Jewish families trading wine and grapes lived in Tarcal after their arrival from Poland in the middle of the 18th century. Their Baroque synagogue was probably build between 1790 and 1810 in Louis XVI style (86. Fő utca). The building itself is private property. Now called Gallery of Tarcal, it is being used as a venue for temporary exhibitions. The Jewish cemetery of Tarcal is located at 25. Keresztúri út. Among the hundreds of tombs rests Jakab Spira, the town's famous rabbi.

Mád

Mád was one of the religious centres of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region, with its 18th−century Baroque synagogue of unparalleled beauty and its famous yeshiva, which gave Hungary more than one great rabbi. The Jewish community, made up of wine producers and merchants, lived in peace with the Christian population until the 1940s, in good neighbourly relations.

But the World War swept away the Jewish community of Mád. Barely forty returned from the hell of war, and they too tried in vain to rebuild their community. By 1956 the Jewish community of Mád had ceased to exist.

It is said that the Mád synagogue is one of the most beautiful synagogues of the world and it is with good reason that it was included in an album published in the USA, titled «100 Most Beautiful Synagogues of the World». The excellent restauration work that was carried out on the synagogue was recognized with the Europa Nostra Award. The largest Jewish cemetery of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region is found at the end of Magyar utca. The well-kept cemetery is surrounded by a stone fence and is the resting place of Ábrahám Schwarz and Mordeháj Winkler, famous rabbis of the congregation.

Bodrogkeresztúr

Surrounded by beautiful scenery, the riverside village is an important site of Jewish pilgrimage routes. Reb Steiner Saje, wonder rabbi of the local Jewish congregation is known far and wide.

Legends tell of the miracles performed by the renowned wonder-working rabbi.

The former residence of the wonder rabbi was turned into a memorial house (65. Kossuth utca) and is now a popular pilgrimage destination along with his grave in the Jewish cemetery on the slopes of Dereszla hill.

Sárospatak

Sárospatak is a town in northern Hungary, situated along the Bodrog River, at the junction of the Tokaj-Hegyalja and the Great Plain. It has been an important settlement in Hungary since the Middle Ages, and in the last century it was known as the Athens of the Bodrog. It was Italian colonists who settled here in the 12th century who made the town famous throughout the world. The town, rich in monuments, was made an important cultural centre for generations by its Reformed College, which was one of the strongest bastions of education in Hungary from the mid-16th century. In addition to the famous Rákóczi Museum in Sárospatak Castle, the town is home to many traditional festivals and events.

The Jewish community played a major role in the economic life of Sárospatak, a town with rich traditions at its core. The first Jewish residents settled in the town at the end of the 18th century. By the end of the 19th century, the community had its own school, a yeshiva, which was functioning until the end of World War II. There is a Holocaust memorial plaque on the community's old bath house, while the synagogue on Rákóczi út was converted to a shop. The Jewish cemetery is located on Arany János utca.

Sátoraljaújhely

Sátoraljaújhely is the most famous pilgrimage destination of Tokaj-Hegyalja. For more than 150 years, many pilgrims have been visiting the grave of Moshe Teitelbaum, the founder of Hungarian Hasidism. Rabbi Teitelbaum due to his charismatic personality was revered as a tzadik or ‘wonder rabbi’ and people turned to him for advice in many different fields, while other came to him for his protective and healing talismans. During his 33 year of work, Rabbi Teitelbaum founded a yeshiva, created literary works and preached. He passed away in 1841. Later, his synagogue was demolished, and now only two Jewish cemeteries and a small dilapidated prayer house remain. A few stairs lead up from the centuries-old cemetery lobby, which climbs up the hillside, to the tomb of Moses Teitelbaum… In the new cemetery we find the tombs of Jeremiah Lőw and his son Rabbi Lazar.

price of shuttle and guide : 
up to 3 person  830,−€/tour
up to 6 person  1065,−€/tour
up to 17 person 1310,−€/tour
up to 48 person 1715,−€/tour
the price does not include entrance fees during the programme.