Announcements

Lecture on Hebrew Evolution, Revival

Lecture on Hebrew Evolution, Revival

The Fascinating and Multifaceted 3,300-year Evolution and Regenesis of Hebrew

The Vilnius Jewish Public Library invites you to a lecture by professor Ghilad Zuckerman called “The Fascinating and Multifaceted 3,300-year Evolution and Regenesis of Hebrew” in English with simultaneous Lithuanian translation.

After centuries as a liturgical and literary medium, Hebrew underwent a dramatic transformation in the modern era. The lecture will shed light on its unprecedented revival in the early 20th century driven by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and others who saw language as central to cultural and national identity.

Professor Zuckermann will lead us on a journey through the history of Hebrew from its emergence after the conquest of Canaan, through its prominence during the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah, to its decline and [alleged] eventual disappearance as a spoken language by AD 100 (2nd century CE).

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Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:32 P.M. on Friday, May 23, and concludes at 10:53 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 9:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:32 P.M. Sunday is Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day. Monday is Memorial Day in the United States.

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Righteous Gentiles from the Čiurlionis Family

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Righteous Gentiles from the Čiurlionis Family

As part of the Year of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, the Lithuanian artist and composer, the Kaunas Jewish Community presents two events June 2 to celebrate the Righteous Gentiles in his family.

At 4:00 P.M.a plaque will be unveiled commemorating Čiurlionis’s wife Sofija, daughter Danutė and son-in-law Vladimir Zubov, all people who rescued Jews. The plaque will be located on the building which houses the memorial apartment once occupied by Sofija. The address is Žemaičių street no. 10, Kaunas.

At 6:00 P.M. Vyautas Magnus University will host a concert dedicated to Sofija, Danutė and Vladimir at their Great Hall (Gimnazijos street no. 4, Kaunas) featuring music and recollections by pianist Rokas Zubovas and his wife Sonata, pianists and organists who have received the Čiurlionis prize, Kaunas Jewish Community member Robertas Lozinskis and Vytautas Magnus University’s own choir Vivere Cantus.

These events are free and open to the public.

Litvak Identity Museum Hosts YIVO Retrospective

Litvak Identity Museum Hosts YIVO Retrospective

The Chwoles Gallery within the Litvak Identity Museum will host a YIVO exhibit called “Stories of Vilnius” to mark the YIVO’s 100th anniversary. The opening is on May 21 and will run till December 28.

Time: 6:00 P.M., May 21
Place:Litvak Identity Museum, Pylimo street no. 4a, Vilnius

Sholem Aleichem School Offers Day Camps

Sholem Aleichem School Offers Day Camps

The Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium is offering day camps for first to fourth grade students from June 9 to 13 and again from June 16 to 20 with nature outings, educational games and many other activities. The first session is called “Around the World with a Backpack” and the second is “Finding Adventure in the City and the Woods.”

Registration is open till noon on June 1 by filling out the form here. For more information, call Vaiva Seliavienė at 370 613 37709 or write: vaiva.seliaviene@gmail.com.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:21 P.M. on Friday, May 16, and concludes at 10:37 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 9:03 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:21 P.M. Lag b’Omer begins at sunset on Thursday and ends at sundown on Friday. Parts of Canada celebrate Victoria Day Monday.

Judaism and Paganism: Not Totally Polar Opposites

Judaism and Paganism: Not Totally Polar Opposites

Michael Strmiska, Phd., will deliver a talk about the points of contact between Temple and Rabbinical Judaism and Classical Paganism at the Vilnius Jewish Public Library next Wednesday.

He plans to present striking parallels shared by the two religious traditions which haven’t been considered related since Justin the Apologist, later Justin the Martyr’s times, commonly called pre-Christian Paganism and simply Judaism. He will present common aspects of both which overcome the popular perception Paganism is polytheism and Judaism is mono, and never the trwain shall meet.

His talk will include discussion on the marginalization and also the survival of both traditions through the course of history, the view both traditions take regarding Nature, conceptions of the feminine divine and the traditions both schools share at their mystical extremities.

This perhaps provocative lecture could serve to foster greater understanding of how these two religions are able to intercommunicate in surprising ways. Both Paganism and Temple Judaism together form the context in which the fathers of the Early Church operated.

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Hazamir Choir from Helsinki to Perform

Hazamir Choir from Helsinki to Perform

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to host a concert by the exceptional Jewish choir Hazamir from Finland. The choir has existed for more than 100 years (founded in 1917) and has performed Jewish music or audiences in Europe and America, and has even appeared on MTV. Their repertoire includes traditional songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, but also Swedish, Finnish and more recently Russian as well. This will be their only appearance in Vilnius during this tour.

Registration is required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

Time: 2:00 P.M., Sunday, June 8
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Lecture on Early Jewish Photography in Lithuania

Lecture on Early Jewish Photography in Lithuania

The Vilnius Picture Gallery and the Lithuanian Museum of National Art will host a lecture by Dainius Junevičius called “Early Lithuanian Photography: Jews on Both Sides of the Lens” at the picture gallery at 5:30 P.M., Tuesday, May 20. The event is free and open to the public.

Junevičius is an expert on the history of photography. He will speak on the role Jewish photographers played in early Lithuanian photography from the Jewish owners and photographers of first photo studios in Vilnius to the work of talented photographer Miron Butkovski (1865-1938) who earned the Vatican’s gratitude fir his photos of Vilnius’s churches in the late 19th century, and will also speak about the evolution of photography in Lithuania and in general and the pioneers in other locations in Lithuania.
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His lecture will include demonstrations of the earliest photographs of Jews starting with those from a Russian ethnographic exhibit in 1867 and extending through the Jewish ethnographic field surveys led by An-sky from 1912 ro 1914.

The lecture and slideshow is part of the exhibit “You Shall Not Make an Images” the Vilnius Picture Gallery and YIVO opened March 5 and which will run till September 14. Registration is not required for the lecture and there is no fee for admission..

Time: 5:30 P.M., Tuesday, May 20
Place: Vilnius Picture Gallery, Didžioji street no. 4, Vilnius

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:08 P.M. on Friday, May 9, and concludes at 10:20 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:50 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:08 P.M. Thursday, May 8th is the day 80 years ago Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union (Nazi capitulation was on May 9 Moscow time and Victory Day is always celebrated on May 9 in Russia, Belarus and most other former Soviet republics).

Vilna Gaon Museum Offers Free Entrance on Museum Night in Vilnius

Vilna Gaon Museum Offers Free Entrance on Museum Night in Vilnius

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is staying open late and offering free admission at three of its facilities to celebrate Museum Night on May 17, the night most museums in Vilnius offer free addmission and stay open late. The Litvak Identity Museum, the Holocaust Exhibit at the Green House and the Samuel Bek Museum at the Tolerance Center are offering their own programs including an outdoor café open all evening and new exhibit openings. For more information, send an email to aiste.brusokaite@jmuseum.lt.

Natalja Cheifec on Lag b’Omer

Natalja Cheifec on Lag b’Omer

Lag b’Omer falls on May 16th this year. The holiday lies midway between Passover and Shavuot on the 33rd day of the Counting of Omer. It is mainly celebrated with bonfires lit in the morning but has a number of deeper traditions and practices.

Natalja Cheifec invites the general public to a discussion of the holiday on the zoom platform at 5:30 P.M. on Thursday, May 8.

To receive zoom credentials, click here.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:55 P.M. on Friday, May 2, and concludes at 10:03 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:37 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:55 P.M. May 1 is Labor Day in Lithuania, a state holiday. May 3 is Constitution Day in Poland, also a national holiday.

Israeli Film Week, Everything Free

Israeli Film Week, Everything Free

The Israeli embassy presents the fifth annual Israeli film retrospective from May 6 to 9 at the Skalvija cinema in Vilnius. All films are free and open to the public. All films are in Hebrew with Lithuanian subtitles.

Seven Blessings, 2023: 6:00 P.M., May 6

Here We Are, 2020: 6:00 P.M., May 7

Art of Waiting, 2019: 6:00 P.M., May 8

Shorts Average Story, 2016; Boy, 2023; Black Slide, 2021: 6:00 P.M., May 9

Moishele, Mayn Fraynd

Moishele, Mayn Fraynd

An evening of music dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Filyopov-Jablonskis

Fayerlakh invites you to a special event dedicated to remembering and honoring the late Mikhail Filyopov, one of the most outstanding performers of Jewish music in Lithuania, a man who dedicated his life to music, the stage and culture.

Tickets are available starting from €20.00 here.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Sunday, June 8
Place: House of Polish Culture, Naugarduko street no. 76, Vilnius

Integration and Inclusion Forum

Integration and Inclusion Forum

The Ethnic Minorities Department and the British Council are holding a two-day conference and discussion on integration and inclusion on May 22 and 23 at Novotel Hotel in Vilnius. Those wishing to attend should register by May 15 at www.inforum.lt.

The conference will host experts on minority integration and human rights, media representatives, politicians, members of Lithuania’s ethnic minority communities, foreign speakers and more.

The Integration and Inclusion Forum is part of events to celebrate Lithuania’s Ethnic Minorities Day May 21, which kicks off with an awards event at St. Catherine’s Church in Vilnius at 3:00 P.M. The awards will be given to those who have distinguished themselves through their work with Lithuania’s ethnic minorities.

Special Mother’s Day Program at Ilan and Dubi Clubs Saturday

Special Mother’s Day Program at Ilan and Dubi Clubs Saturday

Instructors at the Ilan and Dubi Clubs have come up with a special program of activities for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend. In Lithuania Mother’s day is marked on the first Sunday in May. Saturday’s club meetings will challenge children and young people to come up with their own programs for celebrating Mother’s Day in the afternoon starting at 1:00 P.M., followed by the arrival of their mothers afterwards at 3:00 P.M.

Registration is required for this meeting of the clubs and the event afterwards. Send an email to levickajasimona@gmail.com.

Times: 1:00 P.M. for club meetings, 3:00 P.M. for mothers’ arrival, Saturday, May 3
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:42 P.M. on Friday, April 25, and concludes at 9:47 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:24 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:42 P.M. Sunday is also World Pinhole Photography Day.