First sound of Jewish wedding bells since the Holocaust in Hungary
Viktoria Bedö and Jonah Chaim Fisher we’re married at the Mad synagogue in Hungary. Making it the first Jewish wedding ceremony to be held in the synagogue since the Holocaust.
By ZACHARY KEYSERUpdated: NOVEMBER 11, 2018 14:00Jewish visitors pray in the synagogue in the village of Mad, Hungary, July 21, 2016. Picture taken July 21, 2016. (photo credit: REUTERS/LASZLO BALOGH)
A young Jewish couple were the first two tie the knot at the Mad Synagogue, located in Mad, Hungary, since the Holocaust in 1944, according to the New York Times. On August 30th, Viktoria Bedö and Jonah Chaim Fisher decided to take the plunge in the historic synagogue. The ceremony and ensuing reception can be seen as a sign of their love, but also an act of noncompliance and resistance to the views of Nazi Germany.Bedö and Fisher met in July of 2016, after both were hired to work at Camp Szarvas, an international Jewish summer camp in Hungary. Rabbi Seth Braunstein, who hired them both, officiated the nuptials. The two hit it off almost immediately, what connected them most was their connection to Hungarian Jewish history, and their roots within the country.Bedö grew up in Budapest, in a catholic household, where she converted to Judaism at 17. Fisher grew up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan within a Jewish family.Fisher’s grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. Fisher said his grandfather would have been proud of their return to a place uncelebrated by Jews for so long, and that returning was an act of defiance and pride.The importance and consequence of this ceremony has been celebrated by many scholars of the Jewish community, including Randolph L. Braham, a Hungarian scholar with a focus on the Holocaust in Hungary, according to the report. Scholars have called the occasion, both a heartwarming display of love, as well as a true act of defiance, considering 75 years ago the Jewish people were constricted under the Nazi regime- having to hide their passions, religion, hopes and dreams just to survive.August 30, 2018 will now hold special significance when speaking about Nazi oppression during the Holocaust, due to these two individuals who decided to share their special day and triumph with the larger Jewish community.Regardless of the intentions of the couple, the message is clear, the Jewish people and the spirit of the community 75 years after the worst tragedy in Jewish history has not faltered and will not be discouraged.
