The Sabbath begins at 8:39 P.M. on Friday, April 24, and concludes at 9:44 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:21 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:39 P.M. Saturday is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand with observation leading into Monday. Sunday is the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident when one of the nuclear power plant’s four reactors slipped into uncontrolled fission and exploded during a power-down test.
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet discussion club this Thursday with an open discussion format. To register and receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, April 23
Place: internet
The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum has opened up a new museum in Druskininkai dedicated to the life and work of Litvak sculptor Jacques Lipchitz.
Newly-appointed Vilna Gaon Museum director Sergejus Kanovičius welcomed guests at an opening ceremony who included Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Lithuanian MP Emanuelis Zingeris, Lithuanian culture minister Vaida Aleknavičienė and Druskininkai mayor Ričardas Malinauskas.
Lipchitz came from Druskininkai. He was born in 1891 and passed away in 1973 having founded what he called crystal cubism as a genre and leaving a remarkable impression on 20th century art. He gained renown in Paris with a group of artists including Pablo Picasso before fleeing the Nazi invasion for the US, where he continued his work.
Vilna Gaon Museum has a number of geographically-scattered sites including the Tolerance Center, the Green House Holocaust Exhibit and the Litvak Identity Museum in central Vilnius, but also the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius. Their newest museum is located at Šv. Jokūbo street no. 17 in the spa town Druskininkai on the border with Belarus in southeast Lithuania.
Photos courtesy Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum.
The Sabbath begins at 8:26 P.M. on Friday, April 17, and concludes at 9:27 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:08 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:26 P.M. Tuesday is Yom haZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, and Wednesday is Yom haAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.
The Magic of Music Club [Muzikos magijos klubas] as part of a series of musical evenings to educate and delight is pleased to announce a lecture by ethno-musicologist Eirimas Velička in Lithuanian called “Žydų muzika: nuo liturginės tradicijos iki klezmerio ir minimalizmo” [Jewish Music: From Liturgical Tradition to Klezmer and Minimalism]. The presentation will include recordings of Yemeni Jewish liturgical music, followed by a klezmer performance by Giora Feidmanas on clarinet. Minimalist composer Steve Reich’s Tehlim, or Psalms, is the capstone of this evening of music. The audience will also be invited to learn two Hassidic songs.
Tickets start at 20 euros and are available here.
Time: 4:00 P.M., Sunday, April 19
Place: Magic of Music Club, Šv. Stepono street no. 10, Vilnius
We had a tremendous response to our children’s drawing contest Passover through the Eyes of Children. Every entry demonstrated talent and attention to detail. Thank you to all participants and to their parents for fostering love of Jewish traditions in their families. Every artist will receive a box of chocolate-covered matzo. See below for a selection of works submitted.
The Sabbath begins at 8:12 P.M. on Friday, April 10, and concludes at 9:12 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 7:54 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:12 P.M. Sunday is Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic Easter. Tuesday is Yom haShoah.
A March of the Living event will take place in Vilnius on Sunday to mark Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on Tuesday, April 14, this year.
Those wishing to join the procession should gather at Rūdninkų Square at 4:00 P.M. to begin walking by 4:30 P.M., ending at Kudirka Square outside Government House at 5:00 P.M. Sunday. The march will have a police escort. Feel free to bring Israeli flags and other flags and banners appropriate for commemorating six million Holocaust victims.
The Sabbath begins at 7:59 P.M. on Friday, April 3, and concludes at 8:57 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 7:41 P.M. and completed before sunset at 7:59 P.M. Sunday is Easter. Passover ends on Wednesday in Israel and Thursday elsewhere.
Children are invited to submit their drawings on any subject connected with the Passover story until April 7. Please write your name on your drawing or have your parents do it, and send a digital copy to info@lzb.lt. Participants will receive a box of special chocolate-covered matzo bread.
Matzo is available in 5 and 10 euro packages in the lobby of the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius, open from 10:00 A.M. till 6:00 P.M. weekdays, except for April 2 and 3.
The Sabbath begins at 6:46 P.M. on Friday, March 27, and concludes at 7:42 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 6:28 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:46 P.M. Saturday is Yom haAliyah. Sunday is Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of the paschal week. The eight days of Passover begin at sunset, 7:37 P.M., Wednesday, April 1, adjusted for Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Saving Time begins in begins at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday, March 29, in Lithuania. Set your time devices forward one hour, 2:00 A.M. jumping ahead to 3:00 A.M. on Sunday morning.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to invite you to come celebrate Passover together with a seder led by ba’al tfillah (prayer leader) Viljamas Žitkauskas. The public seder will retell the Passover story in music performed by Fayerlakh and prayer. Registration is required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt by noon Wednesday, April 1. The cost is 15 euros for LJC members, 45 euros for non-members and free entry for children 14 and under.
Time: April 4, Saturday
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
The Judaica Research Center of the Lithuanian National Library is launching the book “Dear Jewish Scientific Institute!” April 7. The book is a collection of YIVO correspondence presented in Lithuanian (and presumably English judging from the cover) providing readers a look at the textual legacy of the YIVO and their fruitful work in pre-Holocaust Vilnius.
Judaica Research Center director and editor of the book Lara Lempertienė, historian Juozapas Paškauskas, Yiddish translator Aistė Puidokaitė, English translator Dalia Cidzikaitė and book designer Deimantė Rybakovienė will speak on a panel moderated by Jolanta Budriūnienė.
Time: 6:00 P.M., April 7
Place: Lithuanian National Library, Vilnius
The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come celebrate Passover together, with a musical seder scheduled for April 4. Stay tuned for more information.
The Song Club at the Adomas Mickevičius Public Library in Vilnius is hosting a concert by the Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh at the end of March. Club members will receive instruction in singing Yiddish folk songs in Yiddish, with synchronous texts in Lithuanian and Yiddish, under the tutelage of Fayerlakh veterans. The event is free and open to the general public.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Monday, March 30
Place: Adomas Mickevičius Public Library, Trakų street no. 10, Vilnius
The Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center in Vilnius is hosting an exhibit of works by the late Modestas Saukaitis. Saukaitis was an artist, art and book restorer and interior designer. He curated the first Fluxus exhibition in Lithuania with Gintaras Sodeika. Fluxus was an art movement started by Lithuanian-American artist, writer and filmmaker Jonas Mekas and was loosely associated with Guy de Bord’s Situationist International movement. Saukaitis passed away in 2024. He was deeply interested in Litvak history and his works on exhibit include a tribute to Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė and various takes on Jewish Vilna, with inscriptions in Hebrew and Greek characters, displayed in mirror-reverse for whatever reason. This exhibit is based on a previous exhibit of works by Saukaitis at the Shofar Gallery under the Jewish Culture and Information Center in Vilnius was based on texts by Abraham Sutzkever, the Yiddish poet and Litvak partisan (see below).
According to the host gallery, the exhibition features “verre églomisé works, assemblages, archival Fluxus material and video documentation as well as an overview of the artist’s work in interior design and restoration.” The exhibit opened March 6 and runs till May 23. The gallery is located at Malūnų street no. 8 in the Užupis neighborhood of Vilnius.
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet lecture and discussion club on the topic of Passover this Thursday. To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, March 26
Place: internet
The Sabbath begins at 6:32 P.M. on Friday, March 20, and concludes at 7:28 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 6:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:32 P.M. Depending on your location and local customs, the spring equinox will be marked on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Nowruz, or Persian New Year, happens on the spring equinox and is now celebrated in multiple countries on multiple dates.
Photo by Virginija Valuckienė
Dear members,
The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to invite you to a concert by cellist Valentinas Kaplūnas and friends. The program includes painting and literature as well as music.
Registration is required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
Time: 2:00 P.M., Sunday, March 22
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius