Looking at it from any angle, this is a new year. The autumn holidays are gone, it’s high time we thought about what we gained in 5770 – for Teleki tér.
The most-most-most important thing is the enthusiastic team, the community that got formed around the synagogue. With them and for them is there any sense for such a – now – community place to function.
Just at Rabbi Hurwitz put it in his Simchat Torah report post the last year’s Shabbat morning prayer group converted into a community.
And indeed:
A community room was added to the Teleki, from MAZSIHISZ (Hungarian Federation of Jewish Communities) support, and from our own joint efforts, since the amount of the support covered about half of the costs of the revenue so far. The furniture, fixtures, facilities for cooking, tsunt cooker, refrigerator, water heater, microwave, the plates, all are from donations, from offerings of our members.
Incredible gigs and events were held, the kinds this house of prayer has not seen in decades. Was invited to the famous Bostoner Rebbe for a m’lave malke, we held every major holidays, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, Purim, Rosh Hashana, etc. We hog drunk at Purim, and in fact, at Simchat Torah too (respect for exceptions, of course). :)
We established a non-profit organisation to support the Teleki Square Shul The Jakab Glaser Memorial Foundation, (named after are late Uncle Jacob Gláser), which organizes the fundraising, and brings news of the house of prayer now in 3 languages to the world, through web sites it funded and manages (like this one here).
A wonderful small team joined the supporting of the shul, named the Budapest Beyond. This company directed by György Baglyas leads alternative Jewish guided tours in the eighth district showing the remains of the district’s Jewish memories, either for foreign-language speaking visitors or to Hungarians. BB’s Jewish-themed the background is provided by the Bálint Ház. Anna Bálint, and Csaba Gyula Szikra led the groups throughout the summer, through the district up to the Teleki Square. Big cheers to them for this, as through their wonderful PR activities we received a substantial support, from visitors who felt like supporting the shul who, in exchange for a beautiful postcard – from – threw wome money in the Tzedokoh glass.
And a very important fact that shall not get forgotten, thanks to their tours this ancient colour patch of this old District become widely known.
One of the two highest peaks of tourism at Teleki is also connected to the Beyond Budapest, the other is to the pair of two organisations, Mazsike and Kidma (organised by Andrea Deak and Viktor Czech), when at both times there was about 200 people visited the praying house one afternoon.
We formed (perhaps re-formed?) the Teleki Square Women’s Club, which undertook the necessary “woman jobs” associated with community life (organising cooking before the holidays and the kosher kitchen etc) and also carries out educational work, lessons and thematic presentations held every 2 weeks at Teleki Square.
So in general, Teleki Tér Shtiebel is up to the bigest reforming of all times.
A GREAT SHKAYACH TO EVERYONE!
