Shas Chevra Lubavitch synagogue, 5 Vasvári Pál street

Source: fortepan.hu

The line of the Vasvári Pál street has taken shape by the end of the 18th century. Originally, it was a part of Hajós street (Schiffmanns Gasse), which lead to Váci road, sometimes called Small Hajós street (Kleine Schiffmanns Gasse). It became a separate street in 1886 bearing its current name, thanks to the developing Andrássy Road.

 
The architect of the Vasvári Pál street synagogue, Sándor Fellner (left), and the current rabbi of the synagogue, Báruch Oberlander (right)
Source: epiteszforum.hu, Wikipedia

The synagogue wedged in-between the apartment houses was built in 1886 for the Budapest Talmud Society (Shas Chevra). The Society was established in 1842 by Ede Fleishman and Gusztáv Taub, with the purpose of "nurturing the memory of the deceased members and founders and the traditions by saying kaddish prayers and giving Talmudic and Biblical lectures". This purpose was approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs in 1852. For this, the Society had an institute, which served as a prayer house, as well, and had a library, which held 2000 books at that time. Twice daily there were Talmud and once Thora lectures, held by the two rabbis employed by the Society. According to the Hungarian Jewish Lexicon, in 1929 these lectures were attended by 100 people on average. Many outstanding Talmudists of the era also contributed to the work of the Society as guest lecturers.

 
Source: jewish-heritage-europe.eu, zsinagogak.hu

In 1830, the religious community of Pest terminated all the synagogues in the city, so everyone could be together, under one roof: the Orczy House (between the current Madách square and Király street, in its place now stands an apartment house planned by Gyula Wälder). The conservatives, of course, did not want to accept this decision, which is probably why they established the Shas Chevra in 1842. Reading the long description of the Society's goals, you may notice that it goes on and on about studying and lectures, and it only sneaks in for half a sentence that the building will also serve as a synagogue: „…the Society sets it as its duty to operate a school - which also serves as a prayer house…”. This gives the impression that the real goal was the creation of an independent community, and to hide this, they put emphasis on being a learning society, which just happens to be a synagogue. This also shows how difficult it was to establish the institutionalized orthodoxy of Pest.

 
Source: zsinagogak.hu

The first rabbi to lead this community was Benjámin Wolf Sussmann-Szofér (1826–1898), who had served as rabbi in many other communities before he was appointed to the position in Shas Chevra. The Shas Chevra was in Szerecsen street (currently Paulay Ede street) at first, in the house of the founder Ede Fleishman. Later in 1887, when the construction of the great synagogue of the Society was finished, it moved to 5 Vasvári Pál street. The still functioning building was completely under the ownership of the Society back then, serving their purposes.

 
Source: zsinagogak.hu

The rise in the numbers of students made it necessary to create a new classroom in the building. Twenty-thirty young Talmudists received scholarships from the Society. The two-story synagogue was built as per the plans of Sándor Fellner, combining the early art nouveau with the neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance styles. The synagogue has an arched brick facade of orange and yellow striped brick topped by the tablets of the 10 Commandments.

The synagogue is connected to the U-shaped apartment house around the courtyard, where the members of the Talmud Society and the rabbis of the synagogue had lived. One of the former members, Mrs. Somogyi, who died at the age of 107, said that the first floor apartment of the rabbi has direct access to the synagogue. In the place of the current kitchen was the Sukkot tent: the ceiling was movable with ropes on pulleys.

 
Source: zsinagogak.hu

After the World War, the community got smaller and smaller, and the building was getting more and more dilapidated. Many renovations has gone down since the regime change: in 1993 there was a complete renovation, in 2004 the benches were renewed, in 2011 the courtyard was redone and it got a decorative paving, and the electricity system and the restrooms were upgraded during the interior works. The synagogue is a district of the Jewish Religious Community of Budapest.

Source: zsinagogak.hu

In 1994, the community of the synagogue asked Báruch Oberlander rabbi to accept the position of spiritual leader of the community. Through his work, the life of the synagogue flourished and became one of the centers of the Hungarian Jewish renaissance. In 2003, Slomó Köves was ordained here. Continuing the traditions of Budapest Talmud Society, the synagogue holds the only yeshiva (talmudic college) of Hungary, the Pesti Yeshiva. Hungarian and foreign bochers (students) study here and prepare for their rabbinical exams. There's also a Chevra Misnajot (Mishnah study group), where every day after the morning prayer, they study Mishnah in memory of the deceased.

 
Source: historicsynagogueseurope.org, MESZL

Sources: zsido.com, jewish-heritage-europe.eu