Situated on the banks of the Bodrog River, Bodrogkersztúr – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 as part of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region – has by now become an important pilgrimage site. Jews from Galicia, Moravia, and the northern counties came here, making a living as tenants and related occupations (as servants, waiters, barkeepers, etc.). The first records of them can be found in the 1726 national Jewish census, which mentions 7 Jewish taxpayers. Ten years later, 3 Jewish families with 20 individuals including servants were recorded.

The 1770-72 data shows 26 Jewish families with 99 individuals. In 1805, 60 families were recorded with 77 men, among whom 51 were born in Bodrogkeresztúr or in neighbouring counties in Hungary. 22 persons were born in Galicia, 3 in Moravia. The 1821 census lists 33 Jewish families with 146 persons. In 1840, 239 Jews were recorded in Bodrogkeresztúr, which at the time amounted to 13% of the population. The number of Bodrogkeresztúr Jews continued to grow albeit moderately up until the 1930s. In 1880, the local orthodox community, with 309 members, constituted almost a quarter of the population, precisely 24.6%. In 1930, there were 535 Jews living here (23.5%), and in 1941, 455 Jews were recorded in the settlement (20.2%).

The community established its burial society (hevra kaddisha) in 1767. By that date, the Jewish community already had a prayer house, although no further information is known about it. The current synagogue was built around the turn of the century, and was inaugurated in 1906. In 1920, a Hasidic synagogue was also built in the town, located at 63. Kossuth Lajos utca.

An interesting aspect of the town’s educational history is that, following Emperor Joseph II’s Edict of Tolerance, Bodrogkeresztúr was one of the first towns in the county to open a public Jewish school, in 1785.

„Among the first rabbis were Eliezer London, serving between 1780 and 1796, – who was associated with one of the era’s most significant Jewish legal scholars, Rabbi Jehezkiel Landau (1713–1793) of Prague, – as well as Yisrael Wahrmann (1755–1826), who served between 1770 and 1799. Rabbi Wahrmann later moved to Pest, becoming the first officially recognized rabbi of the ‘left-side shore of the Danube’. He played the most significant role in laying the foundations for the Pest Jewish congregation, which was to gain great significance in years to come, by leading the initiative to establish for example a hospital in 1805, a cemetery in 1808, and a school in 1814. Among the descendants of Rabbi Wahrmann, we find several notable individuals: one of his grandsons, Mór Wahrmann (1832–1892), was a banker and the first member of parliament of Jewish descent in Hungary, while one of his great-grandsons, Adolf Fényes (born Fischmann, 1867–1945) was a painter, several of whose works can be admired in the National Gallery.„

Bodrogkeresztúr is associated with Reb Shaya’la (1851-1925), who is considered the last Hasidic miracle rabbi in Hungary, a reputation which attracts pilgrims to the town to this day. Often referred to as Reb Sajele, the tsaddik of ‘Keresztúr (“tsaddik” meaning righteous, miracle-working sage), he can also be found in the Hungarian Jewish Lexicon under the name Steiner Jesája. The miracle rabbi was born in Zborov (in present-day Slovakia) in 1851. Sajele came under the patronage of the tzaddik of Olaszliszka, Friedmann Cvi Hirsch, who recognized his commitment to Torah study. In 1874, he became the leader of the Bodrogkeresztúr community in a manner befitting his patron, welcoming those who sought advice or blessings with open doors. Additionally, the rebbe was renowned for his charitable acts. According to descriptions from the era, the rebbe’s house and surroundings were always teeming with people, either awaiting his advice or his charity. Even Christians sought his guidance, often from arriving from distant towns. When he passed away in 1925, more than ten thousand people attended his funeral, and his grave has since become a pilgrimage site, covered with kvitels (petitionary prayer notes) within its ohel (crypt-like, tent structure raised above a grave).

After his death, his community faced another calamity in 1930, when a fire broke out in the rabbi’s residence, which spread to the buildings of Jewish institutions, including the synagogue and the Talmud-Torah school. Nationwide fundraising efforts began for the repair of the damaged buildings.

In 1944, the local community of approximately four hundred fifty was ruthlessly targeted by Hungarian gendarmes, who crowded people into the synagogue, even war widows who were supposed to be exempt from the anti-Jewish laws. From there, the Jews – allowed to carry parcels even smaller than those officially sanctioned – were herded to the Sátoraljaújhely ghetto, from where most were deported to Auschwitz with the third transport, as soon as the 25^th of May. Only a few survived the deportation, including one of the sons of the last rebbe before the war, Rubin Jiszákhár Beris (Yissachar Dov, 1925-2001/5761 17^th of Elul), who preserved his father’s legacy in the United States and established a Hasidic dynasty, which he named “Kerestir.”

Today, reminders of the community include the synagogue building, now functioning as an office, the Jewish cemetery, the rebbe’s memorial house, and the mikveh. On the anniversary of Reb Sajele’s death (yahrzeit in Yiddish), the town still sees a significant number of pilgrims, especially from abroad.

PHOTO:

1. Sukkah on the right-hand side of the picture in the background, later built in, Bodrogkeresztúr, Kossuth utca.

Bodrogkeresztúr synagogue
(Bodrogkeresztúr, Kossuth utca 26.)

The town once boasted with three synagogues, today only the largest one commemorates the once populous Jewish community. Built in 1809 on the Bodrog shore, the former neologue (progressive) temple has five large stained-glass windows ending in a shamrock motive on each side. The building was renovated. Today it houses office of the Aggtelek National Park (Kossuth u. 26.), with original plans to become a tourist center.

Formerly, there were as many as three prayer houses available to the community. Now only one remains: the Neologue synagogue, built in 1906. With its refined appearance, large, clover-shaped windows, and renovated condition, it currently houses the Aggtelek National Park Zemplén Regional Office.

PHOTO:

Bodrogkeresztúr, synagogue, 1906.

Reb Steiner Saje wonder rabbi memorial house
(Bodrogkeresztúr, Kossuth utca 65.)

In 1999, members of the “Kerestir” Hasidic dynasty, established in the United States, repurchased the former residence of Reb Steiner Saje and transformed it into a memorial house. Reb Sajele’s former residence and his ohel (crypt-like, tent structure raised above a grave) in the Jewish cemetery are among the most visited Jewish pilgrimage sites in Hungary. The pilgrimage centre also houses a mikveh (ritual bath).

Bodrogkeresztúr Jewish cemetery
(Bodrogkeresztúr, Dereszla Hill, Felső u. 6.)

Situated on Dereszla Hill, in a picturesque natural environment, the town’s Jewish cemetery is home to several hundred graves. Among them, under a stone-built, iron-gated ohel, Reb Sajele Steiner and his wife rest beneath finely carved and painted tombstones. The core area of the cemetery contains the graves of other formerly renowned rabbis, as well.