Learning, History, Culture – Page 2 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

Purim Celebrations for Young and Old Sunday

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come and celebrate Purim this Sunday with event programs for young and old.

The Dubi Club for children aged 3 to 7 will stage a great program with skits, games, songs and other fun activities.

At the same time Bnei Maskilim invites you to a reading of the Book of Esther, tzedakah and mishloach manot, and the traditional potluck feast.

Everyone is welcome.

Time: 12:00 noon, Sunday, March 24
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Don’t forget your masks and costumes!

Please note: registration is required for the Bnei Maskilim event. Please send an email to viljamas@lzb.lt.

2024-03-212024-03-21

Lithuanian President Unveils Renewed Plaque Commemorating Jacques Lipchitz in Paris

March 13, 2024

As part of his visit to Paris Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda attended Tuesday in Boulogne-Billancourt the unveiling ceremony of the renewed plaque to Jacques Lipchitz, a Litvak and one of the most prominent cubist sculptors.

At the ceremony Nausėda said despite the fact he lived and worked in Paris, Lipchitz never forgot Vilnius, Lithuania or Lithuanian artists, to whom he referred to his letters as his “dear fellow countrymen,” and whom he mentored and supported when they fled to the West.

“Today we remember Lipchitz with gratitude as ‘the sculptor from Lithuania,’ a great artist who drew on his roots, his love for Lithuania and Lithuanian folk-art to create timeless masterpieces for the whole of humanity,” Nausėda said.

Full press release here.

2024-03-202024-03-20

Kupiškis’s Righteous Gentiles Remembered

The Kupiškis regional government staged an event to remember local Righteous Gentiles on March 14, the day before the official Lithuanian day of remembrance, called “Remembering the Rescuers of Jews from the Kupiškis Region.” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman and Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein attended.

Also attending were Virginija Bunevičiūtė, assistant for cultural projects at the Israeli embassy, and the Lithuanian prime minister’s advisor on cultural affairs Gabrielė Žaidytė, grandson of Righteous Gentiles Vidmantas Markevičius and others.

Participants visited the graves of Markevičius’s grandparents Elena and Juozapas and he spoke about their lives there. On October 10, 1991, they met Sholom Sherenzon, whom they had rescued from the Holocaust, in Israel.

2024-03-20

Remembering the Righteous Gentiles of Švenčionys

Lithuania marked the Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews on March 15, added to the list of Lithuanian commemorative dates in late 2022. The Nalšia Museum held an event to celebrate this day.

Museum director Nadežda Spiridonovienė led the event and in her opening speech spoke about the facts of the Holocaust in the Švenčionys region and the title of Righteous Gentile awarded by the Yad Vashem Institute to non-Israelis who rescued people from the Holocaust.

Lithuania’s parliament chose March 15 as the day of remembrance in honor of Ona Šimaitė, the first Lithuanian to be awarded the title of Righteous Gentile on March 15, 1966.

2024-03-20

Discussion: Why Are Lithuanians Ashamed of Righteous Gentiles?

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai discussion club will hold a discussion on the unusual topic “Why are Lithuanians ashamed of their Righteous Gentiles?” at 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 21.

This is a question which Lithuanian politicians, public figures, media and the Church have been avoiding for 33 years now. While the LJC has been calling for years for monuments to commemorate rescuers of Jews at appropriate locations in Vilnius, there has been little or no support for this from outside the Community. Will this ever change?

The discussion will touch upon another topic as well: what went into forming the morality of those who chose to rescue Jews from the Holocaust? After all, most Lithuanians remained passive observers.

Participants include historian Egidijus Aleksandravičius, historian and former minister of culture Darius Kuolys and LJC chairwman Faina Kukliansky. Arkadijus Vinokuras will moderate.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Thursday, March 21
Place: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius

The discussion will be streamed live via facebook: https://shorturl.at/cnzS3

2024-03-20

Purim in Panevėžys

Dear members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community,

Greetings on the up-coming holiday of Purim. We kindly invite you to come celebrate it together with us at the Panevėžys Jewish Community starting at 2:00 P.M. on March 24. Please indicate your intention to attend (because we need to know how much of what kinds of food to purchase) by sending an email or by calling.

Chairman: +370 61120882, genakofman@yahoo.com
Administrator: +370 61017608

2024-03-20

Condolences

Dmitrijus Zaičikas passed away March 16. He was born in 1928. He was a member of the Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to his widow and children.

2024-03-18

Day of Rescuers Commemorated in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai Jewish Community together with teachers and students from the Gegužių school in Šiauliai commemorated the Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews at Righteous Gentile Square in the northern Lithuanian city March 15.

2024-03-18

Hebrew Language for Advanced Students

Our announcements about Hebrew language lessons always attract a lot of attention. The study groups formed in early December have acquired basic knowledge and resulted in many friendships as well. There are those, however, who already have the basics of Hebrew and want to advance more quickly. With that in mind, we’re organizing a Hebrew discussion club which will allow more advanced students to learn much more and which should be a lot of fun as well.

Time: 8:45 A.M., Sundays
Place: Kraševskio street no. 5, Vilnius

Registration is required: ruthreches@gmail.com

P.S. Remember, language learning not only enriches and expands your horizons, it also prevents Alzheimer’s.

2024-03-18

Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews Commemoration at Choral Synagogue

March 15 is the Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews, commemorating the historic deeds of noble Righteous Gentiles who saved a remnant of Lithuania’s Jewish population from the Holocaust. If not for them, there would be no Litvaks left in Lithuania.

“Time is ruthless. Every year there are fewer and fewer rescuers and Holocaust survivors left, but the memory of what they experienced and survived can never be forgotten. Let’s celebrate that our children, for now, are able to learn about history from the lips of eye-witnesses, and not just from textbooks. Let’s do everything we can to insure these stories are passed on to our children, grandchildren and the generations to come,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, whose family was also rescued by good people, said.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come remember the rescuers and to thank them for their courage and humanity.

Time: 12:00 noon, Friday March 15
Place: Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, Vilnius

2024-03-14

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 5:52 P.M. on Friday, March 8, and concludes at 7:05 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sunday the 11th of March is Restoration of Lithuanian Independence Day with government and municipal offices and many businesses closed as well. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic voted to declare Lithuania independent of the Soviet Union, annulling Lithuania’s annexation by the USSR during World War II. March 8 is also International Women’s Day.

2024-03-082024-03-08

Purim Carnival

The Lithuanian Jewish Community, the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium and the Vilnius Religious Jewish Community invite you to a celebration of Purim, the happiest holiday on the Jewish calendar.

The program includes the traditional Purimshpil, an appearance by the Shmeikhl choir, the debut of a musical group made up of students, African drumming, a quiz, the costume carnival contest, DJs and other fun stuff, with the indefatigable Michaelas Frišmanas as master-of-ceremonies.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Friday, March 22
Place: Legendos Klubas, Kalvarijų street no. 85, Vilnius

The costume theme is legends of film. Cost for adults is 30 euros. Cost for children aged 7-18 is 20 euros.

Tickets available here: https://topticket.lt/lt/event/PURIM-2024

2024-03-082024-03-14

Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews Commemoration at Vilnius Jewish Public Library

The Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community and the Vilnius Jewish Public Library will hold a discussion on those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust, and what would happen if the Holocaust were repeated. The discussion happens at 6:00 P.M. on Tuesday, March 19, at the Vilnius Jewish Public Library at Gedimino prospect no. 24 in Vilnius. The discussion is intended to mark March 15, the Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews, included on the official state calendar of commemorative days in 2022.

2024-03-082024-03-08

Condolences

We are deeply saddened to report the death of Rimas Timunas. He was born in 1952. A renowned theater director, he staged Grigoriy Kanovitch’s “Nusišypsok mums, Viešpatie” and popularized Litvak culture on the Lithuanian and world stage. He passed away in Italy from lung cancer.

2024-03-072024-03-08

Judaica Research Institute: Yiddish from Georgia

The Judaica Research Institute at the Martynas Mažvydas Lithuanian National Library invites the public to a concert called “Yiddish from Georgia” to be held on the third-floor atrium starting at 6:00 P.M. on Monday, March 18.

The Yiddish quartet was form by Georgian actress Ana Sanaia in 2022. Receiving great acclaim, Sanaia made the quartet part of her mono-drama Martokina in 2023. That same year, with several other talented musicians including Tamar Rtveliashvili, Ioana Navadze and Aleksandra Lortkipanidze, the quartet became part of the Yiddish Theater in Tblisi, also resurrected by Sanaia after more than a century of absence.

The quartet is vocalist Salome Bakuradze, musician Maria Elene Bezhashvili, actress Sofia Akhuashvili and actress and director Ekaterine Kato Sharikadze, and are well known to radio and television audiences in Georgia. While none of them are Jewish, they all feel a deep and abiding respect for the Georgian Jewish heritage and share an understanding of the contribution the Ashkenazi who spoke Yiddish made in bringing Georgia into Europe.

The program includes songs in Yiddish and Georgian. Lasha Shakulashvili, a lecturer in Yiddish language and culture at Tblisi State University, will also speak on Yiddish culture in Georgia and its connections to Litvak culture.

2024-03-062024-03-07

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

Photo: Deborah Feldman by D. Umbrasas/LRT

Lithuanian State Radio and Television has featured another Jewish author who appeared at the Vilnius Book Fair last month, Deborah Feldman, author of “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots,” under the headline “Author of Bestseller ‘Unorthodox’ with Litvak Roots: My Grandmother Is the Only Reason I’m Not Crazy” [Lietuviškų šaknų turinti bestselerio „Neortodoksiška“ autorė: močiutė – vienintelė priežastis, kodėl neišprotėjau].

Feldman recounts trying to sell her book to a publisher, and their response that it was a Jewish story, and why would it be interesting to non-Jews?

The American-born German author grew up in the close-knit Hassidic community of Satmar in Brooklyn, New York. She travelled to Lithuania to launch the Lithuanian translation of “Exodus, Revisisted,” the sequel to “Unorthodox,” at the Vilnius Book Fair. The Lithuanian translation was published by the Baltas Publishing House.

The New York Times bestseller “Unorthodox” tells the story of a young Jewish woman who extracts herself from an ultra-conservative community and has attracted readers around the world. It was made into a Netflix mini-series of the same name and was nominated for 8 Emmy awards.

Full article in Lithuanian here.

2024-03-062024-03-06

Righteous Gentiles Commemoration at Tolerance Center

The Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will hold an evening of literature and music to commemorate the Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews from the Holocaust, happening at 5:00 P.M. on March 17. The Tolerance Center is located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.

The first half of the program is dramatic readings of prose and poetry by Lithuanian actors Vladas Bagdonas and Dalia Michelevičiūtė with musical accompaniment by Petras Vyšniauskas on saxophone and Arkadijus Gotesmanas doing percussion.

The second part of the program includes reflections on the rescue of Jews by Lithuanian artists and public figures. Gotesmanas will talk about how his father escaped being murdered at Auschwitz. Director Gintaras Varnas, poetess, playwright and actress Daiva Čepauskaitė and teacher and writer Vytautas Toleikis will also share their thoughts in a discussion moderated by writer Donatas Puslys.

The event is intended to mark the second Day of Rescuers of Lithuanian Jews, proclaimed an official day of commemoration by the Lithuanian parliament, to fall on March 15 every year.

2024-03-062024-03-06

NAALE International Exchange Student Program with Israel Coming to LJC Sunday

A representative from the NAALE Elite Academy will give a presentation this Sunday at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius for adolescents who want to study in Israel.

The NAALE program provides an opportunity to young people with Jewish roots to receive scholarships and attend from 3 to 4 years the best high schools in Israel.

The program was established in 1992 by the Progressive Education Association in cooperation with the Israeli Education Ministry and the Jewish Agency. Initially it was intended for children from families repatriating to Israel, but a decade later expanded to include all talented Jewish adolescents from around the globe, giving them the chance to get the best high school education and a priceless tool in aspiring after their future goals. NAALE Elite Academy also helps Jewish young people make a strong connexion with their Jewish roots and friendships to last a lifetime.

NAALE project leader Igal Brantman will give the presentation and answer all questions from the audience.

Time: 9:30 A.M., Sunday, March 10
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Registration is required by sending an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or by calling +370 672 50699. We hope to see you there.

2024-03-06