By COLlive reporter
Photos by Dániel Kádár
For the first time since World War II, the Hungarian city of Debrecen held an ordination ceremony for an Orthodox rabbi, installing Rabbi Shmuel Faigen as the spiritual leader of the local Jewish community in one of the Hungarian people’s most important cultural centers.
The historic ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 8, at the Pásti Street Synagogue and was followed by the official opening of the Jewish House, a new center for religious and cultural programs, and featuring Debrecen’s first kosher restaurant.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rabbi Shlomo Köves, Chief Rabbi of the EMIH-Hungarian Jewish Association, recognized the local Jewish community for its cooperation, which led to the city’s first Orthodox rabbinic ordination in nearly 80 years.
As such, he thanked the president of Debrecen’s Jewish community, Tamás Horovitz, for “putting aside differences and keeping the unity and future of the Jewish community in mind.” He also thanked Debrecen’s local administration for supporting the development of the Jewish community within the city.
“Jews live throughout Hungary – not only in Budapest – and our goal is not to rest until every Hungarian Jew is given the opportunity to return to, and appreicate, the faith of their ancestors,” Rabbi Koves added.
A guest of honor at the ceremony was Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau. “On behalf of the Israeli Rabbinate, I wish to acknowledge the unprecedented renaissance of the Hungarian Jewish community,” he said. “I have been to Hungary four times in the past 10 years, and each time I see more and more synagogues opening, and more people going to Jewish schools and synagogues,” he said, and thanked EMIH and the Chabad-Lubavitch movement for their efforts on behalf of the Jewish community.
Representing the government was Hungary’s Deputy Secretary of State for Church and Ethnic Relations, Zoltán Fürjes. While he stated the government’s ongoing support of the community, he pointed out that in order to have such a lively and active community as the one in Debrecen, leaders like Rabbi Faigen and his wife ’’were essential.”
Rabbi Faigen was born in the Israeli village of Kfar Chabad. He began his studies in the Chabad yeshivot of Lod and Migdal Haemek, followed by the Central Chabad Yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. He continued his rabbinical studies in Budapest, Hungary, where he organized Chabad programs for Israeli medical students who were studying in Debrecen.
In 2010, Rabbi Faigen and his wife Riki Faigen opened a permanent Chabad house in Debrecen which is currently used by Jewish students studying there. Their cooperation with the local Jewish community led to its decision to elect him community rabbi in 2019, which culminated in his inauguration. Rabbi Faigen and his wife have five children.
The ordination ceremony was followed by the festive opening of the Debrecen Jewish House, located at 5-7 Piac Utca. In addition to acting as a center for religious, cultural and educational programs, it is the new home of Debrecen’s first quality kosher restaurant, Hamsza. “The city of Debrecen functions because of its citizens, such as those in the local Jewish community,” said Debrecen Deputy Mayor István Puskás, who also confirmed that he had already enjoyed a tasty meal at the restaurant.
The events in Debrecen closed this year’s Synagogue Week, sponsored by EMIH, which opened on August 28 in Budapest with the traditional Cholent Festival and other Jewish musical and cultural programs around Hungary.
