The Sabbath begins at 6:18 P.M. on Friday, March 13, and concludes at 7:14 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 6:00 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:18 P.M. Tuesday, March 17, is St. Patrick’s Day (March 16 in Labrador and Newfoundland).
The Sabbath begins at 6:05 P.M. on Friday, March 6, and concludes at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:47 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:05 P.M. Sunday is International Women’s Day. Wednesday, March 11, is Lithuania’s Day of Restoration of Independence, a national holiday marking the act passed by the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet on March 11, 1990, restating the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
The Ilan Club is pleased to announce a pottery class for children aged 4 to 12 and their parents. The cost is €10 per lesson, but the first class on Saturday, March 7, is free. To register, send an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
Time: 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., Saturdays (first class March 7)
Place: Ilan Club, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture series and discussion club with a discussion of Purim symbols, traditions and the deeper significance of the Jewish holiday. To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, March 5
Place: internet
The Palanga Jewish Community invites you to visit an exhibit of photographs called “Jews of Palanga: An History in Photographs” at the Palanga Youth and Volunteer Center, Vytauto street no. 110, Palanga, opening March 3 and running till March 31.
With more than 20 authentic period portraits of interbellum Palanga, the exhibit tells the story of the Palanga Jewish community’s daily life, urban spaces and communal and cultural sites integrated in the landscape of the Lithuanian seaside resort town.
The exhibit is a joint project of the Palanga Jewish Community and the Palanga Youth and Volunteer Center. Mindaugas Surblys is the curator.
The Sabbath begins at 5:51 P.M. on Friday, February 27, and concludes at 6:46 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:33 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:51 P.M. Purim begins at sundown on Monday, March 1 and continues through Tuesday, March 2, extending into Wednesday in Jerusalem and other cities in Israel which were walled during the time of Joshua.
Publisher Alma Littera will present “Dainos iš mėlynos užrašinės” [Songs from a Blue Notebook] at the Vilnius Book Fair Friday.
The book tells the story of the family of the author, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky.
Covering three generations of Litvaks, the recorded memories move from her grandparents who miraculously survived the Holocaust, her parents in the concentration camps to the youngest generation, Faina and her sister Sulamita, the generation of Jews who came out of survivors of the Holocaust.
Readers say the book reads like a film with one frame following another painting a moving picture of the Jewish spirit: culture, heritage, traditions, holidays, cooking, children’s games and communal life. It’s also about a people who were condemned to death who, despite the great love of their families, carry grief from generation to generation, but also boundless courage, resolution, energy and an unstoppable ability to take joy in those things which make up daily life.
“Sometimes people ask me why I spend so much energy on the status of Jews in the world and history, especially since the majority of my people are gone. My only answer is, to safeguard their memory. We no longer have our parents’ candelabra which held the Sabbath candles in every Jewish home. All we have left is memory and respect,” Faina Kukliansky said.
The public is invited to the presentation with Faina Kukliansky who will sign books from 1:30 to 3:30 P.M. on Friday and from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. on Saturday in Hall 5 at the Alma Littera Stand at the Litexpo pavilion in Vilnius. The Vilnius Book Fair starts Thursday.
Members of the Dubi and Ilan Clubs and their parents are invited to take part in a Purim workshop in preparation for the upcoming holiday. We’ll make masks and hamantashen along with many other fun and interesting activities. Registration required by 12 noon on Friday by sending an email to levickajasimona@gmail.com.
Time: 1:00 P.M., Saturday, February 28
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community is staging the musical a Modern Story of Esther to celebrate Purim and invites you to attend. It happens at 6:00 P.M. on March 3 at the Laiptai Gallery in Šiauliai. Students under professors Sabina Martinaitytė and Audronė Eitmanavičiūtė from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas will perform. The event is free and open to the public. Purim is March 3.
Natalja Cheifec’s internet discussion club continues Thursday. To register and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, February 26
Place: internet
Author Małgorzata Quinkenstein will speak at a presentation of her book “Stronger than Fear” at the Lithuanian Jewish Community. The book features 36 portraits of Righteous Gentiles from France, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and other countries and testimonies from rescued Jews. The interview with Quinkenstein is to take place in Polish with simultaneous translation to Lithuanian. Registration is required, click here.
Time: 1:00 P.M., Friday, March 6
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
The Sabbath begins at 5:36 P.M. on Friday, February 20, and concludes at 6:33 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:18 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:36 P.M.
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will hold their annual congress at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius on March 8. The agenda includes an annual report from the president, the annual report from the revision commission, election of executive board members, changes to rules and regulations and other topical issues.
You’re invited to an evening of music by Markas Volynskis and friends. Vocalists Marija Duškina and Rima Šechter, pianist and composer Vitalijus Neugasimovas and Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom will perform in homage to Volyniskis. The concert is being organized by writer and director Žaneta Berlin. Snacks and surprises to be provided. To register call Liza at +370 684 73592.
Time: 5:00 P.M., Sunday, February 22
Place: Vilnius Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman and Kupiškis social care home director Rolandas Paltinas signed a cooperation agreement in Panevėžys February 10. The point of the agreement is to increase cooperation and mutual help in integrating people with disabilities into the community and encouraging care home residents and staff to learn about Lithuanian Jewish history and culture. Both parties agree to share information and experience, to take part in events sponsored by the other party, to carry out joint projects and to promote one another’s events and projects.
Lithuanian Jewish Community members are invited to a special Sabbath celebration with a performance by the Israeli actress Tatyana Khazanovskaya of “Wandering Stars,” a play by Nina Michoels based on the novel by Sholem Aleichem. The play will be in Russian. The cost is 10 euros and registration is required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt. The event will last about 75 minutes.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, February 20
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
The Sabbath begins at 5:32 P.M. on Friday, February 13, and concludes at 6:19 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:32 P.M. Friday is World Radio Day and Saturday is International Book Giving Day and Valentine’s Day. Monday, February 16, is a state holiday in Lithuania, Restoration of the State Day, originally celebrated in the interwar Republic of Lithuania marking the declaration of Lithuanian independence on February 16, 1918. Monday is also Washington’s Birthday in the United States, commonly known as Presidents’ Day and originally intended to combine the celebration of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Tuesday is the Lithuanian holiday Uzgavenės and the Chinese New Year, the year of the Red/Fire Horse.
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture series with the fifth instalment on raising children according to the principles of the Torah.
To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, February 12
Place: internet
The Sabbath begins at 5:07 P.M. on Friday, February 6, and concludes at 6:06 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:49 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:07 P.M.
The Dubi Club for children aged 4 to 6 will meet at 1:00 P.M. Saturday. Guide Milana Rozovskaja has prepared a set of educational and creative activities.
The Ilan Club for children aged 7 to 13 will also meet at 1:00 P.M. Saturday.
Time: 1:00 P.M., Saturday, February 7
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius