By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

The Yeshiva was started by Rav Yonasan Steif zt”l, It was called Tiferes Bochurim and it catered to young men in the war years in Budapest – young men who had no other opportunity to learn. Rav Yonasan Steif zt”l was one of the last appointed Dayanim in Budapest and he created and guided this remarkable institution.

Many of the young men who attended were refugees from other cities in Hungary. The anti-Semitic laws created a great scarcity of food all over the land, and many young men made their way to Budapest.

The Rebbeim who taught at Tiferes Bochurim were Chasidish and they lovingly taught their talmidim Gemorah. They met in the Jewish communal building in Budapest – above the school. Two floors down was a large hall. Those that attended this Yeshiva recall that at times there were over one hundred Talmidim.

What is sad is that this Yeshiva has been all but forgotten. Only a handful of people remember it. Those that do remember it have very warm feelings for it. They describe it as a second home, a second father and a second family for those that had lost their own. Yet they were so young and now they have aged to the extent that even names are no longer remembered.

The Belzer Rebbe and his brother once spoke at the Yeshiva – when the Yeshiva made a siyum after finishing Meseches Sukkah. It still remains an unexplored area of contemporary Torah history.

If anyone has any more information about this Yeshiva please contact the author at [email protected]