The Panevėžys Jewish Community held a second seder in April, the most important part of Passover. Adults, children and guests gathered and learned about Passover traditions. The Haggadah was read. The table was set with all the traditional dishes recalling the bitterness of slavery and the difficult wandering in the desert.
The Kaunas Jewish Community gathered for their annual Passover seder. There were lots of smiles, fun conversation, intriguing music, delicious food and a Passover quiz which turned heads.
“Greetings to all still celebrating Passover and Easter. May the nice spring breeze take far awa if not all, then as many of our pressing worries as possible, so that together with nature waking up, so too would our flowers of love, fellowship and peace bloom,” Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas wished the gathering.
The Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh performed at the Adomas Mickevičius Public Library in Vilnius on March 30. They were invited to perform there by the library’s Song Club who wanted to learn more about Jewish song and whose members had bilingual lyric sheets in Lithuanian and Yiddish. Borisas Kizneris began on violin, demonstrating popular Yiddish songs, and invited the audience to join in, which they did. After the music, Fayerlakh director Larisa Vyšiauskienė spoke about Passover. Matzo was distributed to all attendees.
Photos by Mindaugas Masaitis
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 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 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 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 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.
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 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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.