Budapest's Jewish community reopened the historic Wagon Drivers' Synagogue in October 2026 as a house of prayer run entirely by teenagers, in what may be the first synagogue of its kind anywhere in the world.
Established in 1870, the building on Dessewffy Street in the city's Sixth District served as the central synagogue for Budapest's Orthodox community after the Communist era until it closed in 2014. After extensive refurbishment, it has now reopened its doors exclusively for Jews under 18, with teen officers, board leaders and event organizers holding the reins, according to The Jerusalem Post.
A minyan of teens, two weeks after opening
The opening ceremony, held just before Rosh Hashanah, drew 200 teenagers. Rabbi Tzami Bassman, the community's youth emissary and the oldest regular worshiper in the room at just over 30, described the scene.
“It was really, really incredible. We had a teen blow the shofar, a teen carrying the Torah, and teens cutting the ribbon. It was special and moving,” Bassman told the Post.
Just two weeks later, the synagogue drew a full minyan of teenagers for Kol Nidrei, the solemn opening of Yom Kippur. The teens also built a sukkah in the courtyard. Every Thursday night, the shul now hosts a learning program attended by 70 to 80 teens, including Hebrew, Hungarian and Russian classes; the Russian classes serve families who fled Ukraine during the war.
Bassman, an American-born Chabad emissary, splits his time between the sanctuary and his Chabad-mobile visits to local stores, where several of the teens and their parents first met him. He and his wife are also active on social media, which brought in more families. Plans include a kitchen and a lounge area with couches and games.
Why this matters for the Jewish future
At the ceremony, Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, president of the Budapest Orthodox Rabbinate, framed the project as a matter of survival and continuity.
“These young people represent the future of Hungarian Jewry,” he said. “It is deeply moving to see that they are not satisfied merely learning and participating, but are eager to assume active responsibility for shaping Jewish life.”
Oberlander stressed that young people must be active leaders and decision-makers, not merely passive participants in communal life. That principle guided the entire design of the project: as The Jewish Chronicle reported, the goal was never simply another minyan for young people, but a place entirely led and run by them, where every young person who walks through the door feels the place belongs to them.
The synagogue will be operated going forward by the C-Teen youth organization, with full funding and logistical support from the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, EMIH. Israel National News and other outlets have noted that the shul is believed to be the first of its kind in the world, placing daily operations directly in the hands of young Jews under 18.
From ashes to renewal: 150 years of Budapest Jewry
The Wagon Drivers' Synagogue takes its name from the working-class Jewish carters who built and filled it in the 19th century. It survived the Holocaust, which destroyed roughly two-thirds of Hungarian Jewry, then endured decades of Communist suppression when Jewish life was driven underground. Its closure in 2014 marked another quiet chapter of decline; its reopening at the hands of teenagers marks the opposite.
The renewal carries echoes of an older promise. The prophet Joel declared that the spirit of God would be poured out on sons and daughters, and that the old would dream dreams while the young would see visions. In Budapest, the visions now belong to 15-year-olds organizing Shabbat services.
For the Jewish state and its supporters, the story resonates beyond Hungary's borders. Jewish continuity in the diaspora has never been guaranteed; it is won, generation by generation, by communities willing to hand real responsibility to their youth rather than merely entertain them. Israel itself was built by young pioneers who reclaimed a language, drained swamps and revived a nation. The teenagers of Dessewffy Street are working on a smaller canvas, but with the same instinct: Jewish identity is not a museum piece, it is a lived inheritance.
Teens leading teens
Bassman noted that the demographic is wide, and that the teens are “primarily not religious.” Many come from non-religious families and do not attend Budapest's Jewish schools. That is precisely what makes the numbers striking: Friday night services, which only just started, already draw between 30 and 50 teens.
Bassman spoke with The Jerusalem Post between sessions helping a 12-year-old boy prepare for his bar mitzvah. He said he is most excited about growing the Friday night Shabbat experience.
“I'm looking forward to growing them and making them really, really special,” he said. “We're really just at the beginning, and we have lots of ideas, lots of plans. With God's help, it will be amazing.”
Frequently asked questions
What is the Wagon Drivers' Synagogue in Budapest?
It is a synagogue established in 1870 on Dessewffy Street in Budapest's Sixth District, which served the Orthodox community after the Communist era and closed in 2014. It reopened in 2026 as a teen-run synagogue.
Who runs the new teen synagogue?
Teenagers hold all officer, board and event organizer roles. The C-Teen youth organization operates it, with funding from the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, EMIH. Rabbi Tzami Bassman serves as youth community emissary.
How many teens attend?
The opening ceremony drew 200 teens, Thursday night learning programs draw 70 to 80, and Friday night services draw between 30 and 50, according to Rabbi Bassman.