The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come celebrate Passover together, with a musical seder scheduled for April 4. Stay tuned for more information.
Natalja Cheifec on Passover
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
Ponevezh Purim Celebration and International Women’s Day
The Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrates International Women’s Day each year. This year was no exception and a large contingent of women gathered March 8 for a celebration of the day and improving spring-like weather. The common table was laden with special treats including Purim pastry from the holiday a few days earlier. Since they coincided so closely this year, the Community celebrated both at once, starting with a reading of the Book of Esther.
Shavl Celebrates Purim with the Musical “A Modern Story of Esther”
The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community expanded Purim celebrations this year by inviting the general public from Šiauliai and elsewhere with a musical held at the Laptai Gallery of the Šiauliai Culture Center on March 3. The musical was called A Modern Story of Esther based on the text by Itzik Manger and composer Dov Seltzer. The performance space was packed by audience members. The musical itself is a modern version of the traditional purimshpil.
The play was preceded by a presentation by Community member and actress Jūratė Budriūnaitė-Kamrazer on the history, significance and traditions associated with this Jewish holiday.
Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy students performed in the musical, which was followed by traditional Purim treats including homentashn.
The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community thanks musical director Audronė Eitmanavičiūtė, musical conductor Sabina Martinaitytė and their team of talent from Vytautas Magnus in Kaunas. They also thank the Laiptai Gallery for providing the space and making the event such a success.
Natalja Cheifec on Purim
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
Happy Purim
Dear Community members,
A happy and colorful Purim!
Our ancestors taught us a very important thing: to make use of every opportunity to enjoy life. Even as history has been full of challenges, we chose light, unity and joy. Therefore laughter, music and song ring out in our homes and community today.
May your tables be laden with fruit, your friendships be sincere and your hearts open. May there be no lack of homentashn, symbolizing the ear of the vizier Haman who sought to harm the Jews as a reminder to us that evil and falseness never win, but courage, hope and unity do.
I hope the joy of Purim inspires in us strength, a sense of belonging and togetherness and faith in the future.
Hag Purim sameakh!
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
Faina Kukliansky Bio at Vilnius Book Fair
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.
Purim Workshop for Children and Young Adults
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
Natalja Cheifec on the Miracle of Hanukkah, Part 2
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture begun last week on the miracle of Hanukkah in the run-up to the Jewish winter holiday.
What does the Most High do during Hanukkah? Why do Jews gaze at the candle flame during this holiday? What are the doughnuts, sufganyot and Hanukkah gelt all about? Tune in and find out! To receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, December 11
Place: internet
Family Event Waiting for Hanukkah
Hanukkah us more than just lighting the eight candles on the menorah, it’s a time to have a good time with family and friends, a time for children to play and adults to talk. With that in mind we invite you to the Waiting for Hanukkah celebration this Saturday, December 6 starting at 2:00 P.M. at the renovated Bagel Shop café now known as Pylimo 4 located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. We’ll make doughnuts, spin the dreidl, play other games and sing and dance. Registration required by sending a request to levickajasimona@gmail.com.
Sabbath Celebration with Vegetarian Dishes Inspired by Lewando
The team of the fotmer Bagel Shop Café, now called Pylimo 4 (the street address) is pleased to announce a Sabbath celebration featuring vegetarian dishes inspired by Fania Lewando from Vilnius, the author of a vegetarian cookbook published in Yiddish in 1938.
It happens this Friday, November 14. The menu pays tribute to Lewando’s cuisine which reflects Litvak traditions. Participants are asked to donate €22 per diner, but smaller donations are also very acceptable. The point is to celebrate the Sabbath together. To suggest dishes, for more information amd to register, send an email to gut.shabbos.vilnius@gmail.com.
Fayerlakh Performs in Simnas
The Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh performed Sunday in Simnas as the final act in the celebration of the 120th birthday of the synagogue there and of the former Jewish community in the small town.
Members of the audience had the chance to sample traditional Jewish foods and learn more about the shtetl.
Fresh Challa Every Friday
While the café is undergoing reconstruction and will change its name to its address, Pylimo 4, when it reopens, the kitchen is still operating and many have enjoyed its special Sabbath menu. Now the café is offering challa to order for pickup on Fridays. The regular price is 7 euros per loaf, and if you want to donate to the operation, then 10 euros. Your donation will insure an earlier opening of the venue. Orders should be placed by 8:00 P.M. on Thursday each week. Payment and pickups can be done at the café from 4:00 P.M. till 7:00 P.M. on Fridays. To place your order, send an email to gut.shabbos.vilnius@gmail.com. A gut shabes!
Lost Shtetl Museum Opens
The Lost Shtetl Museum, after several years of construction and preparation and missed opening dates, finally opened its doors to the public in Šeduva, Kithuania on September 20.
According to visitors and experts, the museum is unlike any other in Lithuania. A large collection of authentic objects tells the story of the Jewish shtetl Šeduva, but also of all shtetls in Lithuania and the region. Some of the texts and exhibits are funny, and portray situations, trials and tribulations from daily life, love letters, immigration plans and excitement for upcoming holidays.
The museums thematic sections and exhibit items are complemented by tactile and olfactory details which might be ignored at first but provide an overall impression, according to one visitor.
Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue
Rosh Hashanah begins at 6:59 P.M. on Monday and ends at 8:05 P.M. Wednesday. The new Jewish year is 5786. The Lithuanian Jewish Community will celebrate Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius.
Schedule:
Monday
6:30 P.M. Mincha and maariv prayers
Tuesday
10:00 A.M. Shacharit prayer
12:00 noon Blowing of the shofar
12:15 P.M. Musaf with Shmuel Yaatom
2:30 P.M. Mincha
6:00 P.M. Blowing of the shofar
8:10 O,N, Maariv
Come Celebrate Rosh Hashanah
The Bnei Maskilim association, the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Art of Shabbat and the Abraham Geiger college invite you to come celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Rabbinical college student Daniel Zekhry will lead the ceremonies.
There will be the traditional blowing of the shofar horn, traditional Rosh Hashanah foods and blessings and accommodations for vegans.
Everyone is welcome. The cost is 20 euros and registiation is required by emailing viljamas@lzb.lt.
Time: 6:30 P.M., September 22
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva to Open to Public September 20
by Anthea Gerrie, Hewish Chronicle, August 24
The Jews of Šeduva were murdered 84 years ago. Now a new museum will commemorate their shtetl way of life
Eighty-four years ago more than 600 Jews, men, women and children, of the shtetl of Šeduva in rural Lithuania were executed in the forest outside the town. Now the finishing touches are being made to a museum which will commemorate the shtetl way of life which was extinguished in the Holocaust, not just in Seduva or Lithuania, but all over Eastern Europe.
The Lost Shtetl Museum will use cutting-edge technology to recreate the sights and sounds of everyday pre-war Jewish life, based on the history of Šeduva and more than 200 similar small Lithuanian towns, and the thousands more communities in neighboring Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Ukraine which were wiped off the map forever.
Come Celebrate European Day of Jewish Culture with the LJC
Sunday is the annual European Day of Jewish Culture. This year the theme is People of the Book. The Lithuanian Jewish Community has a full day of events planned starting in the morning. Some events require prior registration, see below. Unless otherwise noted, events will take place at the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4. The outdoor Cvi Park space is across the street from there. The Choral Synagogue is located about 300 meters away on Pylimo street as you go towards the train and bus station.
Program:
10:30 A.M. Beginner’s Hebrew lesson with Ruth Reches at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius. Register here.
YIVO Centennial Exhibit at National Library
Marking 100 years since the YIVO was founded in Vilnius, the Martynas Mažxydas National Library in Vilnius will open an exhibit at 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 4, and running till the end of the year entitled “YIVO Centennial: Origins, Journey, Legacy.”
The opening ceremony with keynote speech and a musical performance takes place on the third floor at 5:00 P.M. The action then moves to the 5th floor with a presentation and tasting of Litvak cuisine, culminating in a guided tour by National Library Judaica Center director and exhibit curator Lara Lempertienę.
The event is free and open to everyone.
International Yiddish Courses a Success
The two-week International Yiddish Courses hosted by the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium brought students together from around the world with Yiddish song, excerpts from classical texts, comedy and the lore of Jewish Vilne.
“I would like to thank all the organizers who helped us hold the annual courses. We are so happy that Jewish students from Lithuania and from abroad are studying Yiddish, that they are interested in it as a language, but also as a tradition, partially religious, including food and songs. All this together constitutes Jewish culture which we strive to preserve,” Lithuanian Hewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky commented.