"Masses in Hungary Thirsting for Rabbi Zamir Cohen's Lectures"

"I was born 52 years ago in Hungary, in a small town with almost no Jews," begins Moshe Cink with a heavy Hungarian accent, unveiling his life's journey from being distant from Torah and mitzvot to returning to faith, translating, and spreading Rabbi Zamir Cohen's lectures in Hungary.

"My grandparents were religious, but my parents were only traditional. We heard about the holidays at home, but not much more. We did, however, celebrate brit milah and bar mitzvahs on time. During the communist era in Hungary, this was a significant achievement, as it was taken for granted. But my family kept these traditions very strictly.

"At 23, I moved alone to Budapest, Hungary's capital, to meet more Jewish friends and live in a Jewish community. Naturally, there are many more Jews in Budapest than in the city I was born in. A few years later, I immigrated to Israel, obtained a degree in business administration, and then married a girl of Iraqi descent. Our daughter, Shira, was born shortly after. In those years, I was somewhere between secular and traditional, mainly observing the holidays.

"Sadly, our marriage wasn't as it should be, and we found ourselves in a very difficult and sad situation that ended in divorce. It was not easy, and I had no choice but to leave Israel. I returned to Hungary, emotionally shattered. Leaving behind my only daughter, I went through a very tough period, both mentally and financially, literally at rock bottom, perhaps even beneath it."

Moshe Cink

From One Extreme to Another

Shortly after returning to Hungary, as Cink recounts, his mother passed away, leading him to recite Kaddish at the local synagogue. After prayers, the synagogue’s rabbi invited him to stay and learn a bit. At the time, Cink was unaware this would transform his life completely. "I accepted the rabbi's invitation and stayed for a while after the prayers to study with him a bit. I discovered so many good and interesting things in the Torah that I suddenly felt a desire to learn more and more. Thus began my journey of returning to faith.

"The process was very slow. For example, related to keeping Shabbat, one Shabbat I decided not to turn on the TV. The next Shabbat, I didn't touch the computer. After a year-long process, I fully kept Shabbat. Importantly, returning to faith helped me in all aspects, but particularly mentally. On top of all this good, I soon met my second wife, and *Baruch Hashem*, we married. We have a wonderful son, five and a half years old. Seven years ago, I also started working at the Chabad House here in Budapest, and I am the secretary to Rabbi Raskin."

How did your connection with Hidabroot start?

"I have a friend named Oded who works with me at the Chabad House. One day, he suggested I listen to an interesting lecture. It was a session by Rabbi Zamir Cohen shlita on relationships. He had stumbled upon the Hidabroot site half accidentally while searching for an answer to something. When I heard the lecture, I understood there was something very special here. Furthermore, I felt and knew I needed strengthening in relationships and that there was much knowledge I didn’t have. I started to listen to more of the Rabbi's lectures on relationships.

"So enthusiastic and understanding of how powerful it was, I decided to translate it into Hungarian. I was eager to allow many people to benefit from this important material. Initially, I thought to translate it just for my wife and me, but on second thought, I realized that since I was investing so much, it was worth sharing it with the public. I took the project very seriously because as I spoke to many people about the topic, it became clear that many people are struggling with relationship issues.

"Then something happened that I feel was undoubtedly tremendous divine providence. A very nice man named Yossi Vekert visited the Chabad House. He was a tourist and asked me to help him find an apartment, rent a car, and other things tourists need.

"While we were talking, he asked me what I do for a living. Without thinking, I took out the papers on which I had translated Rabbi Zamir's lectures from my bag. He was pleased to see what I had done, said he knew the Rabbi personally, and asked if I wanted to talk to him. I said I would be very, very happy, and indeed, a few days later, I spoke with the Rabbi on the phone."

According to Cink, he told Rabbi Zamir that he was translating his lectures into Hungarian with the intention of publishing them as a book. "After the conversation with the Rabbi, *B'ezrat Hashem*, I was able to arrange donors for the entire project and invited the Rabbi to the book launch in Hungary. This was exactly a year and a half ago. The Rabbi also gave several lectures during his visit. When the Rabbi was here, we met and talked several times, and I truly felt I needed to engage more with the topic of relationships. The situation is not good. Unfortunately, I noticed that many families are falling apart, both among Jews and non-Jews, and knew that the knowledge I had could really help."

"Then," says Cink, "I seriously started working on the subject. I began guiding couples and delivering lectures. Besides that, I also established an organization called 'The Golden Key to a Happy Life.' Under this organization, we conducted many lectures. Shortly after the organization was established, I invited Rabbi Zamir again, and fortunately, he came. This time it was much more serious. We organized three lectures for the Rabbi, and many non-Jews also came to listen. They too thirst for this knowledge. Masses of non-Jews in Hungary are thirsting for Rabbi Zamir Cohen's lectures.

"Moreover, it's very interesting - no one knows the exact number, but it's estimated that there are one hundred thousand Jews in Hungary. It's one of the largest communities in Europe. I believe there are more because many people don’t even know they're Jewish. For example, a few years ago, a guy who established a neo-Nazi party here in Hungary discovered one day that he is Jewish."

Knowledge That Saves Families

"The current phase I'm in regarding spreading the light and tools that Rabbi Zamir teaches about relationships," says Cink, "is that I saw fit to write a program for the Hungarian Ministry of Education, to include these contents. In Hungary, the concept of family unity and integrity is very important to both citizens and the government. This is one of the reasons that, thankfully, the Ministry of Education approved the idea in principle, and I received their approval that the concepts will be integrated into the education system. This is exciting because this knowledge can really save families.

"I aim to expand the matter and teach people in Hungary additional things. Everything discussed on Hidabroot, simply in Hungarian, for Jews and non-Jews. How to live a happy life, how to get rid of anxieties, how to achieve joy, peace, and more. These are the plans for the future, and *B'ezrat Hashem*, I hope to succeed in them at least as we have succeeded so far with the issue of relationships."