Budapest University of Jewish Studies
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The Budapest University of Jewish Studies (
History
19th century
The growing liberal segment in Hungarian Jewish society, known as Neologs, were interested in secularly-educated clergy and their leaders strove to have a modern seminary. Orthodox Hungarian rabbis were very much against a rabbinical seminary. In order to prevent its establishment in Budapest, they sent a delegation to Emperor
Second World War
On March 19, 1944 German troops marched into Budapest (
Just in time before the German invasion, the most valuable manuscripts had been brought into an underground safe. Still, an important part of the library was seized by the Nazis. 3000 books were dispatched to
After the war, Communist era
Immediately after the
Despite the anti-religious policy of the
Being the only place of its kind in the
From 1950 until his death in 1985, Sándor Scheiber was director of the seminary who edited important publications on Jewish studies from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
After 1989
After the
Languages of instruction
Although at the time of the founding of the seminary, religious subjects were taught mostly in German, which was understandable to students from different regions, serious efforts were immediately made to transition most of the teaching into Hungarian. Secular subjects (mathematics, physics, history) were taught in Hungarian from the very beginning, since Jewish intellectuals of Hungary had a good command of the Hungarian language. A number of well-known professors invited to the seminary (in particular, Moses Bloch) signed contracts containing the condition to master the Hungarian language within a few years and begin teaching subjects in it.
During the communist period, almost all subjects were taught in Hungarian; for students from other socialist countries, including from the USSR, other languages could be used in the first courses, in particular Russian, German and English, but students had to learn Hungarian and then take courses in it.
Modern Hebrew was not used or studied until the end of the Communist era, in order to avoid accusations of Zionist propaganda. When reading religious texts in Hebrew, the local Ashkenazi pronunciation was used. Currently, there is a language department, Modern Hebrew is required in all courses of study, and besides that, several other languages are being taught (including Biblical Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, ancient Greek, English).
Currently, courses are taught mostly in Hungarian, and occasionally in English.[1]
Original course of studies
The institute was under the supervision of the ministry of religion, which appointed the teachers upon nomination by the council (consisting of twelve clerical and twelve lay members), of which M. Schweiger was president and Dr. J. Simon secretary, ever since 1877.[
Organization
Currently, the institution is an accredited institution of higher education in Hungary, offering degrees in Jewish Studies on the BA, MA and PhD levels. The catalogue of the library of the institute contains over 110,000 items, including manuscripts, printed books, journals, etc., which are accessible to all in the reading-room.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gotthard Deutsch & Ludwig Blau (Blau Lajos) (1901–1906). "LANDESRABBINERSCHULE IN BUDAPEST (Országos Rabbiképzö Intézet)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger: The Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest, 1877-1977: A centennial volume. Sepher-Hermon Press, New York 1986. ISBN 0-87203-148-9
Bibliography (Jewish Encyclopedia)
- József Bánóczi, Gesch. des Ersten Jahrzehnts der Landes-Rabbinerschule (Supplement to the Annual Report for 1887-88);
- Ludwig Blau, Brill, Sámuel Löw, pp. 27–32, Budapest, 1902;
- S. Schill, A Budapesti Országos Rabbiképzöintézet Története, Budapest, 1896;
- Annual Reports (with literary supplements)
References
- ^ Dr. Bíro Tamás. A personal letter to Dmitry Lytov, 2023-08-31.