The Converts Who Stood With Am Yisrael Until the End

A powerful and moving story was once shared in Yated Ne’eman, revealing the incredible faith of a whole village of righteous converts in Hungary. These men and women discovered Judaism on their own and ultimately gave their lives rather than turn away from the truth they had found.

The story begins in a small Hungarian village called Nolbazd-Ujfalu. For generations, its residents were not Jewish, but they respected the Torah and honored the Jewish people. These villagers observed Shabbat and lived with deep respect for Hashem. For over 250 years, they longed to convert but were held back by government laws that banned conversion.

This community began forming in the 1640s. Many of them were from noble families. They believed in the Tanach, the Jewish Bible, and completely turned away from Christianity, rejecting the New Testament. At its peak, this unique community had nearly 20,000 members. One of them was a Hungarian prince who even used his high position to publicly support Shabbat and the holiness of Torah.

Empress Maria Theresa of the Austro-Hungarian Empire saw these “Sabbath-keeping Christians,” known as Sabotniki, as a threat. She ordered them to be persecuted. In 1738, this persecution worsened. Many fled to Turkey, where they were finally able to convert to Judaism openly. Those who stayed behind were put on trial, had their property taken away, and some were even executed. Although the community’s numbers declined, a core group remained and continued to live with Jewish practices.

They prayed using Hebrew prayers translated into Hungarian, kept Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and married only within their group. They lived like Jews even without formal conversion.

They Accepted Their Fate With Joy

A turning point came in 1868 when Emperor Franz Josef came to power. He allowed the villagers to officially convert and live openly as Jews. Rabbi Moshe Sofer, the son of the Ktav Sofer, along with other respected rabbis, converted around 200 villagers. The community accepted Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Hirsch as their spiritual leader and began living fully as observant Jews.

Once news of the mass conversion reached the authorities, the entire community was called before the court. The judge questioned them. Why had every person, from the youngest child to the oldest elder, chosen to convert? Had they been influenced or pressured by the local Jewish population?

After a long investigation, the villagers made it clear that they had reached this decision on their own. They wanted to be part of the Jewish people out of deep conviction. The judge finally ruled that they could remain in the Jewish faith, but on one condition. They had to give up all their wealth and property to the royal treasury.

The villagers didn’t protest. They accepted the decision with happiness. They loaded up all their belongings, blankets, furniture, jewelry, and money onto wagons and presented them to the judge.

The judge, moved by what he saw, came out smiling and said, “In the name of His Majesty Franz Josef, you are permitted to keep the faith you have chosen. Take your possessions back. The earlier ruling was only to test the sincerity of your commitment. Now that your hearts have been proven true, return home in peace and serve Hashem as you wish.”

“They Chose Death Over Giving Up Their Faith”

Years later, during the Holocaust, this community would once again be tested and this time in the harshest way. In the Olat HaChodesh journal, Rabbi Dov Ber Schwartz of Brooklyn shared the story of what happened next.

“For more than seventy years, these converts lived lives of Torah, simple faith, and love for mitzvot. They raised their children with deep Jewish values. They prayed from the heart and served Hashem with joy,” he wrote.

But when the Nazis came, their fate took a terrifying turn. The villagers were summoned by the Gestapo and offered what seemed like a way out. Since they weren’t born Jewish, the Nazis told them, they could return to the Hungarian nation and avoid the fate of the Jews. If they were willing to give up their Jewish identity, they would be spared.

But the villagers refused. They chose to remain with the Jewish people. They would rather die with Am Yisrael than live as gentiles.

And so they did. They were sent, along with their Jewish brothers and sisters, to the Auschwitz death camp. There, they perished together in the Nazi crematoria, their souls rising up in a public sanctification of Hashem’s name.

“I Met One Who Survived”

Rabbi Schwartz added a personal memory. “I was once privileged to meet a single survivor from that remarkable community. His name was Yitzchak ben Avraham. He had been far away from the village during the deportation and had escaped the horror. His parents were already Jewish by the time he was born. He later served many great Torah scholars and was known for his careful observance of mitzvot.”

The Mohel Who Called Them “The Souls I Made in Israel”

Today, a powerful piece of this history is still with us. The Kedem Auction House is currently offering a rare and precious item: the personal circumcision ledger of Rabbi Moshe Sofer, son of the Ktav Sofer. In this handwritten journal, he recorded every brit milah he performed between 1865 and 1919.

This includes the circumcisions of the righteous converts from the village. In his notes, Rabbi Moshe referred to them lovingly as “the souls I have made in Israel,” echoing the words of Avraham Avinu. He often gave them names connected to his own ancestors like Moshe, Avraham, Shmuel, and Binyamin.

Some of these britot were performed under very difficult circumstances. One entry describes how he got lost in a thick forest on the way to a distant village for a brit milah. He later wrote that he believed he was saved in the merit of the Angel of the Covenant.

These handwritten pages offer more than historical records. They carry the memory of a community that gave everything for the sake of truth.