Jewish heritage of Tokaj-Hegyalja: follow the Wonder Rabbis

Mád is both the starting point and the end point of this excursion. The symbol of the settlement is the baroque synagogue, which is a monument building, and due to the balanced interiors created with lovely artistic details, it is one of the most valued architectural monuments of Hungarian synagogue construction. On the opposite side is the former home of the rabbi and the religious college, and the region’s biggest Jewish cemetery can be found at the edge of the village. This is the final resting place of the renowned rabbis.  

In Tarcal, you will find a synagogue built in Louis-seize style, and Tokaj has a Jewish house of prayer to visit, which operates today as a cultural and conference centre, proudly embellishing the town with its Moorish styled cupola and round-shaped roof windows. Bodrogkeresztúr is a highlighted location of the pilgrimage route, due to the fact that the renowned Wonder Rabbi of the Jewish community, Reb Steiner Saje, whose life is told in legends, lived and was buried here. His former dwelling place has become a major pilgrimage centre for the Hassidic Jews.  

Another well-known Wonder Rabbi, Friedmann Cvi Hers lived in Olaszliszka, a sleepy little village. You can find his tent-like tomb in the picturesque cemetery lying on the hillside by the stream. On the main street of the settlement, at the site where once the synagogue stood, is a holocaust memorial with unique architectural solutions. In Sátoraljaújhely, the Jewish population once counted more than four thousand people – remember this fact, when you walk by the two Jewish cemeteries of the town, the resting place of Wonder Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, or the ruins of the house of prayer. In Erdőbénye, you can walk around the only Jewish bath of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region.

Although the pilgrimage route officially won’t take you there, do visit Mezőzombor near Mád, too, where kosher wine was produced as early as the 17th century, and this tradition has been preserved until the present day. Take advantage of this stop to enjoy a glass of kosher Furmint or Hárslevelű wine.