News

Pivonija Massacres Eighty-Four Years Later

Pivonija Massacres Eighty-Four Years Later

The 84th anniversary of the mass murder of the Jews of Vilkomir (Ukmergė) in the Pivonija Forest jut outside the town was commemorated on the first Sunday in September, the traditional date selected for honoring these victims of the Holocaust.

The entire Jewish population of Vilkomir and surrounding villages was exterminated ruing three mass murder operations in 1941. A sole survivor hid in the forest and later told the tale to the world.

Pivonija is the third-largest Jewish mass murder site in Lithuania after Ponar and the Ninth Fort.

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Lithuanian and Jewish Communities Meet in Los Angeles County

Lithuanian and Jewish Communities Meet in Los Angeles County

The Lithuanian Consulate and Lithuanian consul Sandra Brikaitė hosted an evening called “History, Heritage and Diplomacy” earlier this mont, bringing together the Lithuanian-American community, the Lithuanian Jewish Community, the local Valley Outreach Synagogue, diplomats and other interested parties.

The Lithuanian Consulate is located in Calabasas in the southwestern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.

Consul Sandra Brikaitė, Valley Outreach Synagogue Rabbi Ron Li-Paz and Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky all spoke at the event and all three discussed together the deep roots of Litvak culture, the Holocaust and Righteous Gentiles, among other things.

“The Jewish heritage is part of the soul of Lithuania,” Brikaitė said.

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Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:00 P.M. on Friday, September 5, and concludes at 8:53 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 7:42 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:00 P.M. Saturday is the Hungry Ghost holiday in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

Come Celebrate European Day of Jewish Culture with the LJC

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.

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YIVO Centennial Exhibit at National Library

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.

French Documentary on the Great Synagogue

French Documentary on the Great Synagogue

The French Institute will show a documentary film by Loïc Salfat on the history of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius at 5:30 P.M. on September 10. The French Institute is located at Didžioji street no. 1 in Vilnius.

The film includes ancient lore regarding the synagogue complex and the Vilna Gaon, damage from bombs during WWII, removal by Soviet authorities after the war and archaeological digs over the last several decades there. The French film has English and Lithuanian subtitles.

The event is free but registration is required by filling out the form here.

The screening of the documentary is part of an educational program called “Make No Idols,” For more information about that program in Lithuanian, click here.

Free Klezmer Concert at Government House

Free Klezmer Concert at Government House

The Rakija Klezmer Orkestar will perform a free concert in the square in front of Government House in Vilnius at 5:00 P.M. on Friday, September 5, as part of the city’s Vilnius Days celebrations and the Cities Embracing Jewish Heritage project. For more information, click here.

Remembering the Unknown, Experiencing the Non-Existent

Remembering the Unknown, Experiencing the Non-Existent

The Vilnius Picture Gallery and the Lithuanian National Art Museum invite the public to a lecture by Giedrė Mickūnaitė called “risiminti nežinomą, patirti nesantį–keli žydiškojo Vilniaus maršrutai” [Remembering the Unknown, Experiencing the Non-Existent: Several Tracks in Jewish Vilnius] at the Vilnius Picture Gallery at 5:30 P.M.om September 9. The galLery is located at Didžioji street no. 4 in Vilnius.

According to the hallery’s announcement of the public lecture:

“Historical knowledge and making it topical, urban planning not just as space and architecture, but as a way of life–these are the questions confronting Vilnius. The lecture invites you to an indirect tour of the current city and provides a glimpse of the Jewish past, asking you to experience that loss in the present.”

The lecture is free, open to the public and registration is not required.

Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė on Early 20th Century Litvak Identity in Yiddish Literature

Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė on Early 20th Century Litvak Identity in Yiddish Literature

The Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library in Klaipėda is pleased to host a presentation by Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė, Yiddish literary researcher and translator, on changes to Litvak identity in the early 20th century as illustrated in Yiddish literary works.

The event is scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, September 10.

Called “Yiddish Literature in Interwar Lithuania,” the author discusses the evacuation of Jews from the borderlands in Tsarist Russia during the First World War and the lasting effects that had on Jewish identity. She characterizes Lithuanian Yiddish literature in the 1920s as showcasing separation, alienation and solitude. In the 1930s, she says, a new Jewish identity began to coalesce, tied organically to the culture and society of the Republic of Lithuania. Her presentation will include passages from Yiddish writers, literary clubs and publications from 1918 to 1940

The library is located at Herkaus Manto street no. 25 in Klaipeda. For those unable to attend, the lecture will be live-streamed via the internet, register here.

For more information in Lithuanian, click here.

In Search of the Shtetl in Švėkšna

In Search of the Shtetl in Švėkšna

The Švėkšna Museum presents “In Search of the Shtetl in Švėkšna” illustrating the town’s multicultural and multiethnic past and legacy starting with an exhibit at the Švėkšna synagogue, now the Švėkšna Museum, at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 6. The address is Liepų alley no. 12, Švėkšna, Lithuania. The exhibit features mosaics by Lina Šlipavičiūtė and Lauryna Kiškytė who both plan to attend the event. This will be followed by a guided tour of the town discussing the settlement by Jews in the 17th century, emigration, the period of thriving trade and a thriving economy, life and education of young Jews and the religious life of the shtetl. The event is part of the European Days of Jewish Culture which falls on the first Sunday in September every year.

For more information, call +370 657 57 152. or for more information in Lithuanian, see here:

Vilner Quiz at National Library

Vilner Quiz at National Library

The Vilnius Jewish Public Library in concert with the 15min.lt news website will hold a quiz on Jewish Vilna history and culture at the Lithuanian National Library at 3:00 P.M. on Sunday, August 7. The event is intended to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of YIVO in Vilnius and the European Days of Jewish Culture which falls on the first Sunday in September annually..

Master of ceremonies will be Ugnius Antanavičius, an editor at 15min.lt.

Contestants will compete in teams of from 2 to 6 people of their own making. Prizes await the winners. The quiz is expected to last about 2 hours.

The quiz is open to the public and there is no fee for competing. To register send an email to uantanavicius@gmail.com, indicating your team’s name and the expected number of players..

Grigoriy Kanovitch Literary Prize

Grigoriy Kanovitch Literary Prize

The Grigoriy Kanovitch Public Library in Jonava in central Lithuania will hold their 9th annual awards ceremony to present the Grigoriy Kanovitch literary prize to the most worthy recipient on September 10.

Attendees will have the chance to meet and talk with the winner afterwards, followed by a street theater performance called Quintetto della Morte.

The Grigoriy Kanovitch Public Library is located at Žeimių street no. 9, Jonava, Lithuania.

Event to Re-Open Former Synagogue in Žemaičių Naumiestis

Event to Re-Open Former Synagogue in Žemaičių Naumiestis

The town of Žemaičių Naumiestis is inviting the public to attend an event reopening the former synagogue there as a cultural and performance space, reintegrating it into the municipal landscape.

In the past the synagogue was used as a storage space and as a Soviet Palace of Culture, and for a time as a sports gymnasium. It has been empty and abandoned for years now.

The organizers of the upcoming festival called “Bridges of Michael” hope to extend a bridge between the past and present through art.

Ot begins at 5:00 P.M. on September 23 with an exhibit of works by Ilja Bereznickas including screenings of his animated films. At 6:00 P.M. an installation with live music opens featuring pianist Darius Mažintas, with video by Andrius Seliuta von Rath and Dali Rust. Organizers of the event invite visitors to photograph and film as much as they like, and to share their recordings on social media.

The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited, so attendees are asked to register by sending an email to mykolotiltai25@gmail.com or by clicking here.

There will be a party afterwards at the Pas Virgą café and ffor that registration is strictly required by clicking the same link indicated above.

Comedy in Jewish Poetry

Comedy in Jewish Poetry

Miglė Anušauskaitė, a noted Lithuanian cartoonist as well as translator and Judaica scholar, will give a presentation in Lithuanian on humor in Jewish poetry at the Lithuanian National Library at 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, August 4. This is the first installment in a series of events and lectures dedicated to an exhibit of works by Tania Mouraud, the French artist. The Mourand exhibition runs till November 9 at the Lithuanian National Art Museum, Gostauto street no. 1, Vilnius, and is titled “In Honor of Revived Pain” [loose translation].

International Yiddish Courses a Success

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.

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News from Šiauliai

News from Šiauliai

Visitors from Germany visited the Šiauliai Jewish Community last week. In the company of Šiauliai Jewish Community members they visited the Šeduva Lost Shtetl Jewish Museum whuch they said left a deep impression on them. The visitors said they’d like to visit the museum again.

The guests from Germany attended a Sabbath celebration with the Šiauliai Jewish Community.

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Condolences

Ilya Arkhangorodsky (Ilja Archangorodskis) has passed away. He was born in 1931. He was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:18 P.M. on Friday, August 29, and concludes at 9:13 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:00 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:18 P.M. Monday is Labor Day in the United States and Canada, and the first day of school in Lithuania.