The Sabbath begins at 6:46 P.M. on Friday, September 27, and concludes at 7:55 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Vilkaviškis Unveils Statue to Litvak Ballerina Sonia Gaskell
The western Lithuanian town of Vilkaviškis is to unvei a public sculpture Friday commemorating native Sonia Gaskell, a world-class ballerina who went on to teach ballet in Paris and the Hague, according to Lithuanian state television LRT. Gaskell was born in Vilkaviškis on April 14, 1904, and died in Paris on July 9, 1974.
The statue by sculptor Lukas Šiupšinskas is located in a square in front of the Vilkaviškis Children’s and Youth Center near where Gaskell is believed to have been born. She was originally named Sarah. Vilkaviškis reportedly also has a small museum dedicated to the details of her rather amazing life which includes making aliyah to Palestine and returning to Europe before the Holocaust. Vilkaviškis, aka Vikovishk, had a Jewish population which hovered at about 50% compared to the Christian population, sometimes reaching 60% and falling back to 45% just before the Holocaust. William Shatner’s maternal grandmother was born in Vilkaviškis, as were Aharon April, Jonas Basanavičius, Vincas Kudirka, Miriam Markel-Mosessohn and Galina Shurepova.
Earlier LRT reporting in Lithuanian on Sonia Gaskell here.
Remembering the Holocaust Victims in Švenčionys
Traditionally there is a commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust in Švenčionys held the first Sunday in October. We remember the Jews tortured and murdered, and those imprisoned in the ghetto set up in the town square and later murdered at nearby Platumai village. You are invited to attend the commemoration this year on October 6.
Program:
11:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. Remembering the victims in a gathering at the Menorah statue in the central park
12:30 P.M. Paying respects to the victims at the mass murder site in Platumai village approximately 13 kilometers to the west of Švenčionys
Opera Arias at Cvirka Park Saturday
The Cvi Park Israeli street food kiosk and performance space will host a performance Saturday by vocalists Julija Stupnianek-Kalėdienė and Vakarė Banuševičiūtė with Giedrė Muralytė on piano of opera arias, duets and songs by Italian, French and Lithuanian composers. The kiosk is located in Petras Cvirka Park across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius. The music starts at 2:00 P.M. on September 28. The events is free and open to the public and food will be available for purchase from the kiosk.
Natalja Cheifec Lecture Series Continues
Natalja Cheifec’s #ŠALOM club invites you to a zoom meeting at 5:30 P.M. on September 26 featuring an intriguing account of Jewish life and traditions. Receive zoom credentials by registering and don’t forget to include your questions of interest on the registration form.
Register here: https://forms.gle/BTA6PZpaHLmKfM969
Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club Annual Sporting Spectacular
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club is holding its annual sporting spectacular for athletes, family and friends. This year’s program includes a number of branches of sports and new challenges.
The event is free to all who register and to approved contestants. The program includes volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, soccer, chess, orienteering and a krav maga class with a professional trainer. Snacks and drinks will be served as well.
The celebration begins at 12:00 noon and carries on till 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 29.
To register, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlBOoVrQUbr4RtJF2g-dLs93YtS87uBREjgIYnDA6xyMYlyA/viewform.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:04 P.M. on Friday, September 20, and concludes at 8:13 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Picnic on Sunday
The Cvirka Park Israeli street food kiosk and performance space across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community will host a picnic this Sunday with food and beverages on sale, chess matches, badminton and ping-pong. Čižas, Puppystyle, Kajus, Zemenu, Herman Drowning and Ryo Ishimoto.will perform music. So far the weather looks good.
Evening to Remember Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė in Kaunas
The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to an evening to remember Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė at the Vincas Kudirka Public Library, A. Mapu street no.18, Kaunas at 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 19.
Author of a biography in Lithuanian and researcher Rimantas Stankevičius will speak at the event hosted by the historian Linas Venclauskas. Rokas Makštutis will provide musical accompaniment.
Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews in Panevėžys
You’re invited to attend a commemoration of the Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews to be held in in Panevėžys, Lithuania, starting at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, September 23.
Program:
1:00 P.M. Opening ceremony and wreath-laying at “Sad Jewish Mother” statue on Memory Square on Vasario 16-osios street.
1:30 P.M. Trip to mass murder site in Kurganava Forest.
2:00 P.M. Trip to Holocaust memorial site in Žalioji Forest.
3:30 P.M. Screening of Yad Vashem film about the Holocaust at Panevėžys Jewish Community
Please indicate your intention to attend by calling the chairman of the Panevėžys Jewish Community at 8 611 20882 or the administrator at 8 610 17608.
Holocaust Commemoration at Ponar
September 23 is the Day of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide and the Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to attend a commemoration ceremony at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius to remember the more than 70,000 people murdered there.
There will be a bus to ferry participants from central Vilnius to the memorial complex and back. Those wishing to ride the bus are required to register by sending a request to info@lzb.lt including your name and contact information. The bus will leave promptly at 12:15 P.M. on September 23 from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium at Kraševskio street no. 5 in Vilnius and will not wait for late arrivals.
Time: 2:00 P.M., September 23
Place: Ponar Memorial Complex, Agrastų street no. 15A, Vilnius district
Sydney Jewish Museum Cancels Lithuanian Holocaust Event
The Sydney Jewish Museum in Australia has taken down from their webpage an announcement for an event called “Remembering the Holocaust in Lithuania” without explanation.
The event had been scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on September 29 and was billed to include USHM resident historian and professor emeritus Konrad Kwiet and Lithuanian ambassador to Australia, former ambassador to Israel and South Africa Darius Degutis who was supposed to speak on ongoing efforts to insure the Holocaust be properly remembered and commemorated in Lithuania at the current time.
Sources close to the Museum said ambassador Degutis’s appearance had been cancelled due to the Lithuanian state’s ongoing Holocaust distortion and a recent finding from the Lithuanian Genocide Center exculpating Lithuanian Nazi leader Kazys Škirpa.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:22 P.M. on Friday, September 13, and concludes at 8:31 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Win Two Tickets to Valeria’s Klezmer Chariot
Valeri’a Klezmer Chariot from Sweden is holding their premiere concert in Lithuania in Vilnius. The band’s repertoire runs the gamut of musical genres, blending klezmer with jazz, funk and Balkan rhythms. The band includes Valeria Conte doing lyrics and clarinet, Sara Fridholm on accordion, Stian Grimstadt on tuba and Tomas Norberg on drums.
Lithuanian Jewish Community members have the unique opportunity to win two tickets to the concert by going to https://rb.gy/sxmpm5 and indicating their name and the name of their other preferred concert goer. Winners will be announced Saturday. Other LJC members will receive a discounted ticket price of 15 euros by registering here. Tickets can also be purchased at Bilietai.lt with the first 30 tickets going for 39 euros.
For further information, media contacts and etc. call any of the following numbers:
+370 677 00699, +37064536403, +370 61801331, +370 671 76502.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Sunday, September 15
Place: Third floor, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Dance Symphony from the Jeursalem of the North
A music and dance play based on Jievaras Jasinskis’s “Symphony from the Jerusalem of the North” is returning to the stage for two performances.
Time: 6:00 P.M., September 19
Place: Alytus Town Theater, Alytus, Lithuania
Time: 6:00 P.M., September 24
Place: Saulė Concert Hall, Šiauliai, Lithuania
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:39 P.M. on Friday, September 6, and concludes at 8:50 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Monday, September 9, is also the Day of the Victims of the Holocaust and of Racial Violence in Slovakia, commemorating the day in 1941 when the puppet government of the Nazi protectorate of Slovakia issued a decree on the legal status of Jews in the country. This decree, known as the Jewish Codex, led to the deportation of Jews from the country, ultimately resulting in the murder of approximately 70,000 Slovak Jews.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:57 P.M. on Friday, August 30, and concludes at 9:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Monday is also Labor Day, an official US holiday with businesses and government offices closed. Monday is also an official Lithuanian holiday marking the start of the school year.
European Day of Jewish Culture 2024
This year’s topic is family.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community is celebrating the European Day of Jewish Culture this Sunday, September 1, with a full day’s program of events, lessons, workshops, discussions and exhibits. All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required for most of the events below.
Here’s the program:
11:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. First Hebrew lesson for the whole family with Ruth Reches at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius. Ruth will soon be forming new classes for studying Hebrew. Register here: https://bit.ly/4g5jZbW
Jonas Šliūpas Museum in Palanga to Host Street Play and Discussion on Yiddish Humor
The Jonas Šliūpas Museum and the Palanga Jewish Community invites you to a day of Jewish culture this Sunday with circus and drama director, street-theater creator and comedian Adrian Schvarzstein from Argentina and Lithuania’s historical dance expert and choreographer Jūrate Širvytė who will present the street-play Arrived.
Arrived was born in Sri Lanka in 2015 and was first performed in Lithuania in 2017 under the title Malina.
Actor and comedian Schvarzstein will follow the play up with a discussion on Yiddish humor at the Jonas Šliūpas Museum. In between the play and the discussion the Palanga Jewish Community and the Bella Toscana bakery are promising to provide Jewish culinary heritage treats to attendees. All events are free.
Time: 2:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M., September 1.
Location: The street-play begins at the Ramybė Café at Vytauto street no. 54, followed by Litvak treats in the courtyard of the Jonas Šliūpas Museum at Vytauto street no. 23a and the discussion at that same location in Palanga.
Righteous Gentiles Exhibit in Šiauliai
The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invites you to an exhibit featuring Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews from the Holocaust in Lithuania. Called “Righteous Gentiles: Not Afraid to Die, They Became Immortal,” the exhibit opens at 6:00 P.M. on September 3 in the courtyard of the Šiauliai Jewish Community located at Višinskio street no.24 in Šiauliai.
The exhibit will cover the life and times of forty Righteous Gentiles in Lithuania who went against society at the time and risked everything, including the lives of their families, to do the right thing.
On September 9 the exhibit moves indoors at the Šiauliai Jewish Community and will run till September 30, with viewing hours from 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Those wishing to make an appointment or seeking more information may call +370 685 47619.