Leah R. Lightman

My husband and I love traveling to places of Jewish significance. On a recent trip to Hungary, we spent a day in northeastern Hungary near the borders of Slovakia and Ukraine and it did not disappoint. We visited Szerencs, Mad, Kerestir and Satoraljaujhely and we were struck by the honor accorded to those who are no longer in this world.

In Szerencs, for example, which is about 120 miles from Budapest, the Jewish cemetery is on a hill and its gate is secured by a padlock. We chose to go to Szerencs as we know the descendants of the late chief rabbis.  Adjacent to the locked gate is a board upon which is written in Hebrew letters the word “code” and then four Hebrew letters, each one corresponding to a number on the padlock.  A couple tries, combined with a push or two on the padlock, and it finally yielded and opened to an overgrown cemetery on yet a higher hill with the Ohel at the hill’s peak.  The tombstones were weather-worn and the grass was thigh-high. My husband and I stood for a pregnant moment, trying to figure out if and how to proceed.  My husband plowed forward determinedly, separating the high weeds and thistles so I could follow in his path.

In contrast to the wilds of the cemetery, the Szerencs Ohel is a study in order and tranquility. Its floor is done in brick and is easy to traverse. Buried inside are two chief rabbis of Szerencs, Rabbis Pinchas HaLevi Billitzer (1860-1913) and Amram Yishai HaLevi Billitzer (1834-1889).  There was no lack of stones or Kvitlech on each kever. We could feel the ties of the generations in this simple structure where the accomplishments in Jewish life and learning of the previous generations offer inspiration.

Our next stop was Mad which at one time was a major center of kosher winemaking. The shul has been restored and more than hints to the grandeur of Jewish life in the region prior to World War II. The shul has been the setting for numerous Simchas over the last twenty or so years.

Our visit to the cemetery was fascinating.  Like the one in Szerencs, it is nestled on a hill and is overgrown with grass: Miriam Frank of the Mad Jewish Museum explained that the grass is all cemeteries is mowed 3-4 times annually and that this recent spring was unusually wet and caused major overgrowth. A mowing and pruning was scheduled for later in the week.

In the cemetery is a state-of-the-art, relatively newly constructed Ohel by the Schwartz family of Lakewood, New Jersey, for their antecedents who had been rabbis in Mad. One forefather had been a premier student of the Chasam Sofer and, after meeting the scion of the Sanz dynasty, became attached to Chassidus.  The lights in the Ohel turn on automatically as one enters. The Ohel is heated in the winter and delightfully air conditioned in the summer. The mounds of stones and Kvitlech attesting to the numbers of visitors were astonishing.

After a brief stop at a winery that had 3 types of kosher wine (which we purchased), we then traveled to Kerestir. Kerestir is famous for Rav Shaya Steiner, the legendary Reb Shaya’le of Kerestir, who was Kerestir’s Rebbe from the end of the 19^th century until his death in 1925.

Reb Shaya’le was a Hassidic Rebbe known for hospitality on an institutional scale. The hungry, the homeless and any person in need of physical and spiritual sustenance could go to Kerestir where Reb Shaya’le would tend to them himself.

Like our previous stops, the Ohel is up on a hillside. There are separate entrances for men and women. On that Thursday afternoon not even two weeks ago, there were about 3 or 4 other people in the Ohel, davening and beseeching Reb Shaya’le to be a Melitz Yosher for whatever they were davening for. My husband and I each found places on our respective sides of the Mechitza, sat down and joined the davening, pleading the Al-Mighty for personal requests and the safety and salvation of Klal Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael in these tumultuous times. More than one tear was shed as we wrote out Kvitlech that we carefully placed on the Kever.

I’d be remiss if I did not mention that kosher food abounds in Kerestir. We sat down to a late lunch at 3:30 pm and as hungry as I was, I could not eat the cholent even though my husband assured me it was delectable.  When I asked Mr. Friedlander (who oversees one of Kerestir’s eateries) for the bill, he looked at me puzzled and replied, “There is no bill. In the tradition of Reb Shaya’le, we have ample food.  You can choose to donate as you want.”  And we did.

Completing our visit to Kerestir was a stop at Reb Shaya’le’s house. We walked gingerly across the freshly washed kitchen floor to see the place of Reb Shaya’le’s original oven which is preserved under plexiglass.  We marveled at the kitchen and volumes of food it produces to feed the throngs of people who travel to Kerestir.  They estimate that on a “quiet” day, such as when we were there, they average about 150 visitors. We were also shown the building of a replica to the size of the original house.

Our driver Eliezer, a 28-year old Budapest native who learned in Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, then insisted that we travel about 30 minutes to Ujhely/Satoraljaujhely to the kever of the Yismach Moshe, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum.  Rabbi Teitelbaum descended from an old rabbinic family and was the founder of Hungarian Hasidism, specifically the Siget-Satmar dynasty. Fascinatingly, he rejected all Hasidic teaching until he was in his fifties.  One day, his son-in-law asked him to travel to Lublin to meet Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin. Rabbi Teitelbaum had been troubled by Hasidim emphasizing joy when we do not have the Beis HaMikdash.  Anticipating his question, Rabbi Lublin stated that while Hasidim are outwardly joyous and happily praise HaShem, in their hearts, they mourn the Beis HaMikdash.  Because of this encounter, Rabbi Teitelbaum committed to Hasidus. He became known as a miracle worker who helped many sick people. Subsequently, his city – Satoraljaujhely – became one of the most important destinations for Jews traveling to Hungary.

While this Ohel is not on a hill, we nonetheless had to walk up several steps. After we davened, we went to the adjacent building where there are several rooms, including a large kitchen area with tables.  The room is stocked with different foods and drinks. We were told that they were beginning preparations for the Yismach Moshe’s Yahrzeit which is on the 28^th of Tammuz which would be the following week. They were expecting thousands of visitors.

Our “tour” of the Kevarim ended at about 6 pm, at which time we returned to Budapest. It was a long day that flew by. When my husband and I later debriefed, we agreed it was thrilling to be part of something much larger than us – and to tap into a history that began at Har Sinai and continues through this very day. Over Shabbos, we met a wide spectrum of people, including secular Israelis, who were planning trips on Sunday to Kerestir and its environs.  Each person had his or her own story and wanted to daven where it feels that there’s almost an express line for our prayers to go “straight up there.”

May our collective Tefilos wherever they are said be accepted l’Tovah and bring the ultimate redemption which we sorely need.