Our teachers

From time to time, we bring rabbis’ essays to life with the help of artificial intelligence.

I was born in Budapest in 1974. I started my Jewish studies in 1998 and 2 years later it became clear to me that I would like to become a rabbi. During my studies in the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies I was practicing in Székesfehérvár, in the Hunyadi tér synagogue in Budapest, in the synagogue of the University and in the synagogue "Nagy Fuvaros Utca". After receiving my smicha and degree in 2005 I had become the rabbi of the synagogue "Nagy Fuvaros Utca" until 2010. Between 2010 and 2013 I was the rabbi of the "Dózsa György út" synagogue and from 2013 until 2020 I led the synagogue of the University of Jewish Studies. In 2021 we created the independent community of the T12 Beit Midrash in the Israeli Cultural Institute in Budapest. At the same time I'm also serving as the rabbi of the synagogue in Székesfehérvár.

I live with my wife Viktória and I have 2 daughters Dorka (21) and Lili (9)

Gábor Balázs earned his PhD in 2003 at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, in the field of Jewish philosophy. His doctoral dissertation examined the relationship between religion and morality. He is currently Rector of the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies (OR-ZSE).

His previous positions include serving as Director of the Masoret Avot Orthodox School, Director of the Israeli Cultural Institute, and Head of Jewish and Israel Studies at the Lauder Javne School. As part of his communal involvement, he also served for nearly eight years as Vice-President of the Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary.

His main areas of interest and research include medieval Jewish philosophy, theories of modern Jewish and Israeli identity, the challenges posed by the postmodern era to the philosophy of religion, contemporary ethics, and political philosophy. He regularly gives academic and public lectures on Judaism and Israel and plays an active role in Jewish community education.

Communications professional with experience in government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. Active in the Hungarian book market for more than ten years, currently serving as Chief Operating Officer of Open Books Publishing, responsible for both the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the company.

Since his teenage years, he has been active in Jewish community life: he led the Hasomer Hacair youth movement, worked in Szarvas International Jewish Youth Camp, as well as on projects of the Jewish Agency (Sochnut) and the Joint Distribution Committee, has participated in the work of the World Jewish Congress for 20 years, and serves as an elected delegate to the World Zionist Congress.

Within MAZSIHISZ, he works for transparent and professional governance, while in Sopron, he is dedicated to reviving Jewish communal life. He considers it essential that the synagogue should function simultaneously as a spiritual home, a community centre, and a place of lifelong learning.

Ági Erdős works as an editor at the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, a British academic publisher specialising in Jewish studies. She completed her university studies in Hungary and later studied at yeshivas in New York and Jerusalem.

She currently lives in Paris and is a first-year doctoral student at OR-ZSE, where her research focuses on the role of Jews in the Hungarian wine trade.

I was born in 1974. I have a philosophy degree from ELTE. For several years, I taught the history of philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of education to social work, pedagogy, and theology students. After 18 years, I left teaching and am currently running a small business. Therefore, I consider it an honour to participate in the work of T12 Beit Midrash.

Honorary University Professor at OR-ZSE
Department of Biblical and Talmudic Studies

Professor at OR-ZSE
Head of the Doctoral School
Department of Cultural and Intellectual History

Miksa Gáspár was born in 2000, in Budapest.

He completed his BA degree at Bard College Berlin in Berlin and currently he is a student of the Frankel College and the Hungarian Rabbinical Seminary. Since 2013, Miksa regularly leads religious services and teaches in Hungarian and German communities.

He wrote his bachelor thesis on Jewish young adults religious and communal engagement. Currently, he is mostly interested in the intersectionality of the social sciences and religious studies as well as the diverse spectrum of practices in different Jewish communities.

I was born in 1969 in Novi Sad. I completed my university studies in Budapest. My current highest qualification is an Expert in Comparative Religion and Applied Religious Culture (MA).

I became deeply engaged in Judaism during my university years at the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies in Budapest. Religion is present in my life not only as a way of living, but also as a subject of daily study. It is important to me to pass on what I have learned to both the community and my four-year-old granddaughter, Zoé.

“I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most of all from my students.” (Rabbi Hanina)

I spent a great time of my childhood at the kosher kitchen of my grandmother, and from there I absorbed yiddishkeit. The last several years I have been searching for my real place within the Jewish communities in Budapest, that is how I found T12. I would like to be a useful and agile member of the community.

In my private life I work as a teacher. I worked for many years in the Jewish School at Wesselényi Street. Now, I prepare myself for the PhD course of the University of Jewish Studies, in Budapest, where I will write my dissertation with the title: "Dramatic elements in the Jewish Liturgy"

Associate Professor
Vice-Rector for Education at OR-ZSE
Department of Jewish Studies

Ákos Kurucz is a lawyer, rabbi, and senior lecturer at OR-ZSE.

He graduated from the University of Szeged in 2005 and was appointed as a judge by the President of the Republic in 2012.

Alongside his legal career, he continued his religious studies and received rabbinical ordination in 2022.

He is a doctoral student at the OR-ZSE Doctoral School. His dissertation examines selected questions concerning the kosher status of laboratory-grown meat.

He is married and the father of three children.

I live in a little village called Feldebrő, near Eger. In addition to/after my studies in economics, I graduated at KJU (Karaite Jewish University), and then I have studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies , where I graduated in 2023 as Denominational (Jewish) community builder. My thesis was written about the identity change of the Karaites. I am currently a student at the same University and study to become a Rabbi.

Szabolcs Makai is a comparative historian of religion, a researcher with a PhD in biology and a background in process engineering. His academic work focuses on the study of religious traditions surrounding family, marriage, and sexuality, with particular emphasis on their demographic consequences. His research combines an interdisciplinary approach with religious historical analysis, a scientific perspective, and systems-level thinking. His career is defined by a deep interest in complex systems and a commitment to critical thinking, which he practices consistently and passionately. His primary goal is to interpret the demographic crisis of Western civilisation in a religious and cultural context and to promote dialogue between the traditions of the past and modern science for the sake of social sustainability.

Dóra is a partner and CEE Managing Director at CMS and Co-Head of the Technology, Media and Communications Group (TMC). She also heads the TMC, Data Protection and Intellectual property (IP) practices, and is a partner in the Antitrust, Competition and Trade practice in the Budapest office.

She is expert in all three sectors of TMC (Technology, Media and Communications) with a special focus on communications, media and all types of regulatory matters, having been general counsel for the largest telecommunications provider in the region.

Dóra is the Co-Chairman of the Regulatory & Ethics Committee of the Hungarian AI Coalition. She is also a member of the Digital Civil Code Review Working Group, being the only outside counsel in the team. She is the first and only lawyer to be a member of the co-regulatory committee between the local telecommunications’ regulatory authority and the Association of Hungarian Content Providers. Dóra is a member of the International Board at Global Telecom Women's Network (GTWN). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of UNICEF Hungary.

Sára Ránki is a teacher and linguist. Her research focuses on forensic linguistics and, more broadly, on all aspects of text and language.

She teaches at a secondary school and also works as a part-time lecturer at OR-ZSE. In addition, she works as an independent expert.

I was born in Budapest in 1965. I graduated the College of Catering Trade and Tourism in 1987. I am an entrepreneur active majorly in the watch business. Presently, I live in Slovakia with my wife and 2 daughters Katika and Sárika.

I started my studies of Judaism app. 30 years ago, and since then I try to spend more and more time with it. In the communities I regularly visit I am sometimes invited to be a shliach tzibur or to give lectures.

She was born in Budapest in 1977. Her broad interests in the social sciences led her, after graduating from high school, first to study German language and literature and then theology (Pázmány Péter Catholic University). Over the years, her passion for continuous self-education in religion, philosophy, and languages has remained. This ultimately culminated in her studies in Jewish Studies. During the 2024–25 academic year, she was a student at MAHARAT, a modern Orthodox women’s yeshiva in New York. Then, in the fall of 2025, she began her studies at ORZSE. Her hobby is learning foreign languages. In addition to intellectual pursuits, her other area of interest is health sciences. She earned a degree in physical therapy from the University of Pécs in 2015. She has worked as a physical therapist in several locations across Europe. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

It is essential for me that the visual environment of the Jewish communities should show the same values as what they follow in their decisions and ceremonies. I believe that it has been like that throughout the previous centuries; this is why identifying and interpreting Judaism's visual and material heritage became my main research topic.

My job fits this: I have been working at the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives for over 25 years, presently as the institution's director.

In my previous life, I was a literary critic and journalist. I now serve as the religious leader of the Bét Orim community and am the father of an eleven-year-old child; these two roles fill my life.

For several years, I wrote and edited the newsletter of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives.

I have lived in Kibbutz Palmachim, Pécs, Novi Sad, and in Óbuda, from Rómaifürdő to the border of Újlak.

Secretary General of the Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary (MAOIH), and a sofer (scribe of Torah scrolls).

From a young age, he became deeply committed to religious Judaism. He devoted himself to addressing the immense void in Jewish religious life caused by the Holocaust and by the destruction wrought during the atheist communist regime.

He pursued his studies in Jerusalem at the Ohr Somayach and Belz yeshivas, after which he returned to Hungary. Since then, he has worked continuously to ensure the framework necessary for maintaining religious Jewish life.

He considers education, and Jewish education in particular, to be one of his principal missions. Several years ago, he was elected Secretary General of MAOIH, where his responsibilities include ensuring the religious conditions and infrastructure necessary for sustaining Jewish life in Hungary.

He is a recipient of the Silver Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, Civil Division.

He was born in Budapest in 1966.

I was born in Budapest in 1985. I spent my university years in England and Budapest, where I studied economics and social sciences. After a brief stint in business, I founded Milestone Institute in 2011 with two friends, a progressive education centre that I co-managed for many years. After years in education and business, I turned more actively towards Judaism. Currently, as a rabbinic candidate, I lead the Lauder School parent community, and study regularly with smaller congregations