I Remember...

...When I was a little boy, my parents took me there for the very first time. I didn't like the place at all.

 

It was dark, gloomy; the lingering smell of crumbling plaster and mildew was in the air. I didn't understand why everyone's eyes were filled with tears.

 

Later when I understood all too well, I went back whenever I could to say Kaddish for my grandparents. They didn't come back from Auschwitz, along with the other 600 thousand Hungarian Jews who perished during the Holocaust. Challenging the watchful eyes of the ever-present Secret Police, I went there with my family and friends to demonstrate that we belonged there rather than Communist Party meetings.

 

The location was Budapest, Hungary. The place, the Dohany Street Synagogue.

 

In 1979 I left Hungary seeking political, religious and artistic freedom.

 

The next time I saw her was a few years ago. I couldn't believe my eyes! She was gorgeous and probably looked better than when she was born in 1859. Her breathtaking beauty made me fall in love.

 

In my adopted home of the United States I became a successful architectural photographer, yet my Hungarian Jewish roots predestined me to photograph this magnificent Palace of Prayer. I am close to finishing a book about her, and I am dedicating the images to the community that groomed me.

 

When I returned to the U.S. from that journey into my past, I learned that there is a smaller sister of the Dohany Street Synagogue in New York City called the Central Synagogue. Soon after I photographed it, I was struck with another obsession: To document the architecturally and historically significant synagogues in this country. I have already photographed over seventy Temples, and eventually I would like to publish a book about them. This exhibition is a preview of my two book projects.

 

I would like to dedicate this show to my late father Endre Regos, who first introduced me to the Dohany Synagogue. Despite all of the tragedies, hardship and persecution he endured in his life, he never lost his faith and always remained a mench. He was, is and will always be my guiding star. I also want to pay tribute to my grandparents Adel and Zsigmond Rosenthal who I never had the opportunity to meet.

 

I want to thank the Angel Orensanz Foundation, the Eldridge Street Project , and The Lower East Side Conservancy to sponsor this exhibition.

Also many thanks to the rabbis, executive directors, administrators and maintenance staff who permitted me to create these photographs. Without their consent and cooperation, this project would have been impossible.