Learning – Page 2 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

Road of Memory Procession in Pabradė

Last Tuesday, September 22, a Road of Memory event and procession took place in Pabradė in the Švenčionys region to mark the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide (actually on September 23). A group of students from the 7th and 8th grades, their teachers from Rytas school in Pabradė and members of the community walked to the Holocaust commemoration site in Pabradė.

The event was organized by the Pabradė Culture Center in concert with the Pabradė aldermanship and chairman Moshe Shapiro of the Švenčionys Jewish Community.

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2026-09-28

Kaunas Jewish Community Accompanies Fayerlakh at Kaunas Concert

The Jewish song and dance group Fayerlakh performed at the Garden of Cultures 2026 event in Kaunas this month which showcases Lithuanian ethnic cultures. Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas and other Community members spoke to the audience as well on Jewish culture and its place in the history of Kaunas.

2026-09-28

Floor of Great Synagogue Inspires Art Exhibition

We know the Great Synagogue in Vilnius was mainly subterranean, because of Christian restrictions limiting the height of houses of prayer of other confessions. Until now, we only had period illustrations of the interior, lost when the shul damaged by Nazi bombardment was demolished by the Soviets in the 1950s. For about a decade now archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority in cooperation with Lithuanian archaeologists from the Department of Cultural Heritage have been excavating the Shulhoyf, and last year, directed by Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority (there from 205) and Justinas Račas and Zenonas Baubonis of the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Salvage Group (at the dig since 2018), they reached the floor of the main hall and uncovered most of the meter-high bimah, the central point in the main hall.

Their discoveries have inspired an exhibit of artworks by Lithuanian Eglė Ridikaitė called Depositions at the St. George the Martyr Church, K. Sirvydo street no. 4, in Vilnius, which opened May 14 and runs till October 3. Admission is from 5 to 10 euros and is payable by card only.

“Eglė Ridikaitė’s exhibition, through an unexpected artistic gesture, weaves together sites of faith, painful historical experiences, and a sense of present vulnerability. With striking clarity, serenity, and simplicity, Depositions unfolds as a silent yet conceptually dense narrative about the city. It invites us to experience, simultaneously, the layered histories of prewar Jewish and Christian Vilnius, while tracing processes of survival and extinction, life and its erasure in memory.

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Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History Exhibit in Pabradė

The first Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History exhibit as part of the Children of the Holocaust: Lighting Up the Shadows of Lithuanian History project took place at the Pabradė Culture Center last week. The exhibit will be a changeable one depending on the decisions and sensibilities of the designers and exhibit item creators. This time the Sabbath table was laden with pomegranates, figs, apples and challa.

Residents of Pabradė in eastern Lithuania, visitors and local students and teachers attended the event. Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro welcomes the attendees, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Sholem Alechem ORT Gymnasium students, moderated by Algis Davidavičius, who discussed local history, memory and modern forms of commemoration. Then visitors learned about Sabbath traditions, sampled traditional dishes and attended a Jewish cloth-dying workshop.

The Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History exhibition is the fruit of a two-year meaningful journey during which brave and knowledge-thirsty students from Vilnius and Palanga and their teachers dove into live research on local Jewish history. The young people conducted tours, creative workshops, celebrated Purim and Sabbath together, marked commemorative dates, visited synagogue and spoke with representatives from the Palanga, Vilnius, Darbėn and Israeli Jewish communities.

2026-09-22

Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invites you to a ceremony to mark the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide at the site of the former first ghetto gates at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, September 23. There will then be a procession to the second ghetto gates.

Time: 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, September 23
Place: Memorial marking gates of first ghetto at the intersection of Traku and Ezero streets, Righteous Gentile Square, Šiauliai

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Droga Dō Concert Series Remembers Jewish Escape Route to Japan

The Droga Dō chamber concert series is dedicated to the memory of the escape route Polish and Lithuanian Jews took to Japan during the Holocaust, and to Japanese ambassador and Righteous Gentile Chiune Sugihara who made it possible, saving thousands of Jews. Dō (Dou, Doo) means “way” in Japanese, as does droga in Polish.

Droga Dō will be performed at the Kaunas State Philharmonic on September 19 with works by Toru Takemitsu, Dai Fujikura, Kishio Kirao, Mieczysław Weinberg, Władysław Szpilman, Aleksander Tansman, Aleksandr Veprik, Joseph Achron and others. For more information, click here. For information in Lithuanian and to purchase tickets, click here.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Saturday, September 19
Place: Kaunas State Philharmonic, E. Ožeškienės no. 12, Kaunas

2026-09-16

Rosh Hashanah at the Panevėžys Jewish Community

A gathering of members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and family, friends and guests celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, last week at the Community building in the northern Lithuanian city with traditional dishes prepared by members. This year the start of Rosh Hashanah coincided with the onset of Sabbath and the celebration began with the lighting of candles and intonation of prayers.

Community member Nerijus Jakštonis, an accomplished trumpet musician, blew a small shofar horn, seen in photographs below. Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman spoke about what the holiday means and the ten-day period before Yom Kippur for self-reflection, taking responsibility for one’s past and future actions and reconciliation.

2026-09-16

Fayerlakh Coming to Vilnius

Last weekend the Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh delighted the audience at the Kaunas Gardens 2026 festival in Kaunas with the collective’s unique program of Jewish music and movement. They’re scheduled to perform again next Sunday, September 20, in Vilnius at Kudirka Square outside Government House in central Vilnius as part of the Ethnic Fair held annually along Gediminas prospect. The concert starts at 2:00 P.M. Sunday and is free and open to the public.

2026-09-16

Rosh Hashanah Greetings from Rebbe Herschel Gluck

B”H

This Friday–the 11th of September–evening, at sunset when Rosh Ha’Shonoh begins, we usher in a New Year.

In Judaism a New Year is not just a new cycle of time, it represents a unique, unparalleled, new spiritual entity, with unprecedented fresh opportunities for each and every one of us. As reflected in our prayers on Rosh Ha’Shonoh ” …This day is the Beginning of Your work” (actions). This year in our calendar is 5787. 87 is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for fine-gold “poz” (pei zayin), reminding us that this year we have an exceptional golden opportunity, for positive, constructive change and transformation.

The holy Master of the Good Name Rebbe Yisroel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), teaches us that nothing in the world, even the seemingly most insignificant thing, is random. Everything without exception is Guided by Divine Particular Providence. It follows that everything we see or hear in the world, contains a moral and spiritual lesson for us, also as an individual. It follows, that the fact that Rosh Ha’Shonoh this year begins on and follows “11th of September” must be communicating a timely inspirational teaching and life-lesson to us. “11th of September” reminds us of, and represents, destruction. Rosh Ha’Shonoh is about “Binyan Ha’Malchus,” Building a new and fresh, better world.

However deep the destruction might be, we can rebuild, even better.

This coming year we can and need to utilize the new golden opportunities that are being presented to us, wisely, to build and construct brick by brick, a better self, and a better world for Everyone.

With my very best wishes for a Good, Sweet and Meaningful New Year!
Kesivoh V’Chasimoh Tovoh!
Gut Shabbes! Gut Yom Tov! Shabbat Shalom! Chag Sameach!

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Natalja Cheifec on Yom Kippur

Natalja Cheifec continues her internet lecture series and discussion club with a lecture on Yom Kippur this Thursday evening.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, one of the most important Jewish holidays, celebrated on the tenth day of Tishrei following ten days of repentance after Rosh Hashanah. It is a day of fasting, prayer and reflection on the year past and the year to come, seeking forgiveness for oneself and others. On this day the Book of Life is opened where entries began on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on our fates for the next year.

To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, September 17
Place: internet

2026-09-15

Holocaust Commemoration in Vilkomir

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Israeli ambassador Shelly Hugler Livne and members of the Šiauliai Jewish Community, the Ukmergė (Vilkomir) Jewish Community and Kaunas Jewish Community attended a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust victims at the memorial and mass grave site in the Pivonija Forest on September 6. The United States embassy’s deputy ambassador Dan Hunt and diplomat Emma Locatelli attended, as did Lithuania’s deputy minister for culture Lina Baublienė and others.

After the ceremony participants were invited to attend an exhibit of Righteous Gentiles at the Ukmergė Tolerance Center. Ukmergė Jewish Community chairman Artūras Taicas took the opportunity to announce a new initiative to create an internet archive of historical Jewish passports and identity documents.

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Commemoration of 85th Anniversary of Liquidation of Panevėžys Ghetto

A ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of the liquidation of the Ponevezh ghetto was held in the northern Lithuanian city September 8 with a number of speakers and music.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said they had gathered both to honor the dead and keep memory of the Holocaust alive for future generations.

Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania Shelly Hugler Livne said 85 years is long time in human life but only an instant in terms of historical memory.

Lithuanian MP Ramūnas Vyžintas reiterated the need to safeguard historical memory.

Sister Leonora Kasiūlytė from the Congregation of the Sisters of God’s Providence told the story Marija Rusteikaitė, the nun from the Panevėžys area who rescued 15 Jews including children.

2026-09-10

Litvak Delegation Visits Panevėžys

A delegation of about 30 Litvaks living in Israel are visiting the northern Lithuanian city Panevėžys, or Ponevezh, and have met with the mayor of the city, Loreta Masiliūnienė. For many of the visitors the trip is very personal, an opportunity to visit where their parents, grandparents and forefathers lived and died.

Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel Grisha Deitch sat with mayor Masiliūnienė at city hall in front of the rest of the Israeli delegation and they discussed the history of the Ponevezh community, securing its future and ties with Litvaks abroad.

A memorial ceremony will be held at the monument marking the gates of the Panevėžys ghetto will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, September 8, followed by a walking tour of Jewish sites. Later the delegation and others will visit the mass murder site in Kurganava Forest where about 8,000 Jews were murdered, and the mass murder site in Žalioji Forest, where about 5,000 Jews were murdered.

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Vilnius Jewish Public Library Showcases Encyclopedic Vilnius Book

Last week the Vilnius Jewish Public Library recognized Irina Guzenberg and Henrik Agranovski’s impressive and encyclopedic book Vilnius, the result of more than 30 years of research, published in English and Russian.

The book is both a short encyclopedia and a chronicle of Yerushalayim d’Lite, the Jerusalem of Lithuania, Vilnius. Israeli ambassador Shelly Hugler Livne, Lithuanian deputy foreign minister Kristupas Vaitiekūnas, a large contingent from Beit Vilna, Lithuanian Jewish Community members and academics from Lithuania, Israel and the USA attended to book presentation.

The book was previously published as a much shorter version of Jewish sites in Vilnius for tourists and others. The larger volume goes into much greater depth about the sites and histories.

2026-09-07

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Love with Concert September 8

The Kaunas Jewish Community is celebrating this year’s theme for the European Day of Jewish Culture, love, with a free concert. A new installment in the Dance Me Back to the Future called Erev Shel Shoshanim, Evening of Roses, is a two-voice musical dialogue featuring Hebrew love songs and operatic arias.

Katya Kov is the organizer with support from Pasaka and the Create Culture Group in cooperation with Cvi Parkas. Supporters include the Goodwill Foundation and the city of Vilnius.

“The title Dance Me Back to the Future combines Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Time and Robert Zemeckis’s film Back to the Future,” she explained. “Together, they open a path between the past and the present, following Lithuanian and Litvak history and stories, recollections and cultural ties which travel from generation to generation and find new voices today,” she said.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, September 8
Place: Mikas and Kira Petrauskas House, K. Petrausko street no. 31, Kaunas

2026-09-07

Smotkins Visit Panevėžys

Eugene Smotkin, 72, currently lives in Puerto Rico and works in renewable energy. He and wife Linda recently visited Panevėžys whence his family comes, and visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community where they were warmly received by chairman Gennady Kofman. They visited the mass murder sites in the Žalioji Forest and Kurganava Forest together.

Eugene Smotkin said his father Morris was 16 when his uncle, Rabbi Meyer Kimmel, arrived in Ponevezh. He took Morris to New York where he entered yeshiva, then enlisted in the army. Morris knew five languages and during his service he interrogated captured SS officers, collecting intelligence on Nazi Germany.

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Book Presentation in Palanga

“I never wanted to write a book about myself. My goal was to tell the story of post-war Jewish life, and the example I know well is our family,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said Friday at a reading room in Palanga where she presented her book Dainos iš mėlynos užrašinės [Songs from the Blue Notebook].

She spoke about her family’s story, including stories about the post-war reality, and the childish fears and joys which sometimes last a lifetime.

“Don’t be surprised if I cry. My whole family got teary-eyed reading this book,” she cautioned.

Her book about her parents, grandparents and cousins, their experiences and fates, was more than an autobiography. It’s a portrait of three generations of Litvaks, the story of how they carried on after the Holocaust and learned to take joy in life again, while always carrying inside the unfathomable tragedy.

2026-09-03

European Day of Jewish Culture

The European Day of Jewish Culture enters its 22nd year this Sunday, September 6, with this year’s theme love. In Judaism love is more than romantic emotions, it’s the connection between cultures and communities, linking the past with the present and people with generations.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to celebrate the European Day of Culture with us with a special program of events.

Program:

11:00 A.M. Ruth Reches will deliver an introductory Hebrew lesson at the LJC. Registration required before 5:00 P.M. Friday by clicking here.

2026-09-03