Bonyhád

One of the first synagogues built in Modern Times was that of the town of Bonyhád, in 1795. According to the legend, members of the Jewish community carved the stones and built the synagogue all by themselves lest aliens get into physical contact with the building. Its outside is not too different from other farmtown synagogues of the time; its interior decoration however is rich in symbols.
The four pillars supporting the roofing of this distinctive eighteenth century four-pillar synagogue divide the interior into nine sections. The middle section is elevated, it holds the Torah reader’s platform (Bimah) thus becoming a sacred space inside the synagogue. The community of Bonyhád was most probably well aware of the synagogue building practices of communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Polish regions where synagogue interiors were similar. In the Zohar, the book of medieval Spanish Kabbalists, the four pillars of the bimah appear as the representation of the four legs of the divine throne, thus connecting the mundane with the heavenly. The Torah Ark, towards which the congregation turns when praying, located along the Eastern wall of the synagogue is the other point of gravity of the building. The picturesque mist or clouds surrounding the Tablets of the Ten Commandment is an important element of the ornamentation of the Torah Ark as it refers to the words of the bible and through them to God’s omnipresence as saying: „Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus, 40:34-35). The Torah Ark in the synagogue of Óbuda is painted with similar clouds. The pillars, the bimah and women’s sections all attest to the cultural links to the builders of Moravian synagogues. This had to do with the fact that most of the founding members of the local Jewish community came to Hungary from Moravia. One of the first rabbis was Wolf Boskovitz who came to Bonyhád from Óbuda, however, his name and family history unambiguously point to Moravian descent.
The Bonyhád Jewish community was split in the second half of the nineteenth century into two communities, the modernizing Neologues and the more traditional Orthodox. The synagogue built in 1795 was used by the Neologues, while the Orthodox community had a new synagogue built. The Bonyhád community counted 1200 before World War II and only 200 survived the Holocaust. Majority of the survivors emigrated to Israel and the United States between 1949 and 1956. The two communities were soon closed. Today, the Neologue Temple is a paints warehouse, whereas the Orthodox Synagogue is a furniture depot.