Szeged Synagogue




This week, on Friday afternoon, we took a field trip to the synagogue. As you can see there are many magnificient stain-glassed windows. The synagogue is a very stately building, built from 1900-1903, a celebration and expression of the Jewish freedom to express their faith and their nationalistic pride in Hungary. At the time that the synagogue was built, there were 7000 Jews living in Szeged. They contributed to the life and livelihood of the community. The sausage factory, which still employs many of the residents, was established by a Jewish businessman. Many of the Jews, including those who started the sausage factory, were deported during World War II. Now there are less than twenty Jews. 

On our tour, I learned that there are different denominations of Judaism. The Orthodox Jews who follow the rites and regulations of their forefathers even in the ancient ways that they were taught. They dress conservatively; the men wear yamakas and have the long locks on either side of their face. The Reformed Jews have adapted to the times. They dress in modern clothing and even allow women to be rabbis. The Neolog Jews are conservative in theology, but progressive in dress. The synagogue and Jewish population in Szeged are Neologs.

















Comments

  1. BillieMay 5, 2023 at 9:44 AM

    Very beautiful..... Have you seen the Painted Churches in Texas. The interiors are similar except for the Christian symbols inside...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

August Blessings

Image
“Lord, make me a blessing” I prayed as I began my third journey to Sherborne to visit a friend of many years. A pastor I know often says that “blessed people bless people.” I was certainly blessed by her hospitality, encouragement, fellowship, and simple adventures. After a very busy time of administering exams, organizing English camps, navigating my place in the schools where I worked and the church where I served, and endlessly questioning my intercultural and linguistic skills, my stay in Sherborne was relaxing and rejuvenating.   To be sure we did use our language differently. I adjusted to calling dessert “pudding”, though there was no pudding. I learned to call the sidewalk “pavement” and paved roads “tarmac.” We hung the laundry in the garden, which I would have called the yard. The yard, short for courtyard, is where we sat on sunny days to eat lunch or entertain guests who came for tea; I would have called it the patio. I already knew that my British friends called...
Read more

Fall Colors and Cityscapes

Image
 October 21, 2024 Last week, I learned from my university students that Monday and Tuesday were fall break. (This does not coincide with fall break at the vocational high school  which is for a week starting next Monday or the high school which is for a week starting next Wednesday) With an unexpected holiday, a friend in Budapest suggested a hike on Gellert Hill to look at the fall colors.  I almost missed the train. I was up at 6:30 for my daily Bible reading with the gang in Shanghai, which we finished quite early this morning and all my picnic preparations were done last night, but 8 o’ clock still creeped up on me and caught be by surprise. I had to look for my letter from the university that gives me a 50% discount on train fares and my ID. I also looked for my charger to make sure my phone would have peak performance. Somehow I had it in my mind that I was taking the train at 9:44, but I had told my friend 8:44. I stopped at the ATM on the way and arrived at the tr...
Read more