Once inside, we walked towards the front of the sanctuary and sat down among a group of about 60 people. Fortunately, Mom and I didn't have to go to the upstairs gallery; we sat across the aisle from Tibor (who provided color commentary) and watched the Torah service. People were very welcoming; a man behind Tibor spoke with him and was very helpful in answering Tibor's questions. The beautiful voice of the cantor was complemented by an organ and choir. After the service ended, we joined others in going behind the bimah for challah and wine. We had a chance to see the beautiful Persian carpet on the bimah and a huge walk-in ark, filled with Torahs from destroyed synagogues throughout Hungary.
We left the synagogue, gathered our cameras, and walked past a Holocaust memorial shaped as a tree. Tibor contributed three leaves in memory of family members to the memorial, an effort organized by a childhood friend.
Walking down Dob Utca (street), we met up with a young man who was well dressed and friendly. Tibor asked him where his old school was, and the man pointed it out and walked with us. He also approached two young women from Philadelphia who were looking for a place to eat, even though they were not modestly dressed. The school was behind the Kacinsky Street Orthodox synagogue, and Tibor remembers sneaking in during recess to eat food at weddings that were held under the chupah in the courtyard.
Although we were carrying our purses, we were able to have lunch at the Kosher restaurant in the complex - fish, egg and vegetable salads, and cholent. There were other people there enjoying lunch and singing songs after the meal. Since we couldn't pay for our lunch on Shabbat, we went back on Sunday to settle up - and the waitress seemed happy that we came back!
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