The Sabbath begins at 5:36 P.M. on Friday, February 20, and concludes at 6:33 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:18 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:36 P.M.
Markas Volynskis Concert
You’re invited to an evening of music by Markas Volynskis and friends. Vocalists Marija Duškina and Rima Šechter, pianist and composer Vitalijus Neugasimovas and Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom will perform in homage to Volyniskis. The concert is being organized by writer and director Žaneta Berlin. Snacks and surprises to be provided. To register call Liza at +370 684 73592.
Time: 5:00 P.M., Sunday, February 22
Place: Vilnius Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Special Sabbath with Performance by Actress from Israel
Lithuanian Jewish Community members are invited to a special Sabbath celebration with a performance by the Israeli actress Tatyana Khazanovskaya of “Wandering Stars,” a play by Nina Michoels based on the novel by Sholem Aleichem. The play will be in Russian. The cost is 10 euros and registration is required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt. The event will last about 75 minutes.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, February 20
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 5:32 P.M. on Friday, February 13, and concludes at 6:19 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:32 P.M. Friday is World Radio Day and Saturday is International Book Giving Day and Valentine’s Day. Monday, February 16, is a state holiday in Lithuania, Restoration of the State Day, originally celebrated in the interwar Republic of Lithuania marking the declaration of Lithuanian independence on February 16, 1918. Monday is also Washington’s Birthday in the United States, commonly known as Presidents’ Day and originally intended to combine the celebration of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Tuesday is the Lithuanian holiday Uzgavenės and the Chinese New Year, the year of the Red/Fire Horse.
Natalja Cheifec’s Raising Children according to the Torah, Part 5
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture series with the fifth instalment on raising children according to the principles of the Torah.
To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, February 12
Place: internet
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 5:07 P.M. on Friday, February 6, and concludes at 6:06 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:49 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:07 P.M.
Background to the Epstein File
by Geoff Vasil
Not all Litvaks belong to the positive side of the ledger. Some start out shady and make good. Some fall into semi-disgrace, such as Boris Johnson. Others calmly observe their fellow Litvaks and rarely make judgments one way or the other.
Jeffrey Epstein claimed Litvak roots saying his grandparents came from Lithuania. That can mean a lot of things, from Russian to Belarussian to Ukrainian to Polish antecedents. The recently released tranche of Epstein files also show he had some connections with the modern Republic of Lithuania. One couple he supported received significant funds from him, and even more in his last will and testament. There is also documentation he recruited girls from Lithuania for his criminal activities.
The problem with the Epstein scandal is that there are so many aspects and players, one can see whatever one wants in the evidence. The human trafficking is just the tip of the iceberg. What lies below that is the real reason for the cover-up.
Raising Children according to the Torah, Part 4
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet lecture series with a fourth installment on raising children according to the Torah. To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, February 5
Place: internet
Palanga Jewish Cemeteries: Inscriptions, Records, Territories
Information from Mindaugas Surblys, Palanga Jewish Community
When fire ran rampant in Palanga in 1830, old burial pinkhas were destroyed, dating back to 1487. Beginning in 1831 burial records were kept for the new Jewish cemetery at the edge of town. For a time two Jewish cemeteries operated in tandem in Palanga, the old one since 1487 till 1892, located inside Birutė Park. The new cemetery was instituted near Naglys Hill.
There are ten remaining headstones (matsevot) of different sizes made from granite and cement with inscriptions in Hebrew letters. Three headstones are broken in their upper sections. One is splintered with fragments lying on the ground. Many of the surviving monuments are difficult to read.
Several inscriptions are legible and correspond to the burial records of the Palanga Jewish community. The inscriptions match the information in the pinkhas, for example, “Here lies our dear and honored father who was famous for his charity work and high moral character, Natan Frank, son of Hirsh (Tzvi), deceased on Rosh Hashanah, 1935” (partial translation).
UN Holocaust Day at the Šiauliai District Jewish Community
The Šiauliai District Jewish Community marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with an evening of tea celebrating Vulf Visotiski, a tea expert whose family began dealing in tea in Žagarė back in 1849.
The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invited experts and cultural anthropologists from Žagarė and around Lithuania as well as the general public and served Visotski tea imported from Israel. The fifth generation of the family is still blending tea in Israel now. High school student singers from the area and from Klaipėda provided the highlight of the evening. Speakers also provided historical insights into the Volpert family and the history and current state of Žagarė.
Tu b’Shvat
Today is the Jewish holiday of Tu b’Shvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat, the New Year for trees also known as Israeli Arbor Day. It is traditional to eat of the shvat ha’minim (seven species endemic to the Land of Israel): wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Hag sameakh!
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 4:53 P.M. on Friday, January 30, and concludes at 5:53 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:35 P.M. and completed before sunset at 4:53 P.M. Monday is Tu b’Shvat, Jewish Arbor Day. Monday is also Candlemas for Christians and Groundhog Day in the US and Canada.
Driver Rams Car into Chabad HQ in New York City
Photo: Chabad Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn on January 28. Photo by Louis Keene
by Louis Keene and Jacob Kornbluh, Forward, January 29, 2026
The incident occurred on a day of celebration in the Chabad community. No one was hurt.
CROWN HEIGHTS–A driver crashed a car into an entrance of the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn Wednesday night, damaging the building on a night thousands were gathered there to celebrate.
Video circulating online and verified by eyewitnesses shows a vehicle repeatedly driving into the building’s doors at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood, the main synagogue of the Chabad movement and one of the most recognized Jewish institutions in the world. One witness said the driver had yelled at bystanders to move out of the way before he drove down a ramp leading to the doors.
Palanga Jewish Community Marks UN Holocaust Day
Members of the Palanga Jewish Community, representatives of the municipality and local high school students marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust Tuesday by visiting a marker commemorating victims at a cemetery there.
“The Holocaust isn’t a past tragedy, it’s a warning of what happens when apathy becomes the norm and hate becomes acceptable. Our duty is not just to remember the victims, but also to protect the truth, which is uncomfortable to some. Remembering isn’t a ceremony, it’s a daily choice,” Palanga Jewish Community chairman Vilius Gutmanas remarked on the occasion.
The seaside resort town has several Holocaust memorial sites with commemorative markers and plaques. The local cemetery has a stele marking where 106 Jews and 5 Lithuanians murdered in 1941 were reburied. Jewish sites including the Great and Lesser Synagogues and a site connected with Dr. Lazar Gutman are also marked now, as are two pre-Holocaust Jewish cemeteries.
Natalja Cheifec on Raising Children according to the Torah, Part 3
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet lecture and discussion on child-rearing according to the Torah this Thursday at 6:00 P.M.
To participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, January 29
Place: internet
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 4:39 P.M. on Friday, January 23, and concludes at 5:41 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:21 P.M. before sunset at 4:39 P.M. on Friday. Sunday is Burns Night, in honor of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Monday is Australia Day.
Kabalat Shabat with Rabbi Natan Alfred
The Bnai Maskilim association invites members and friends to ring in the new year with a special evening and an old friend. Progressive Rabbi Natan Alfred, a co-founder of the Bnai Maskilim association and currently serving in Geneva and as acting chairman of the European Rabbis Association, will preside over the ritual and discuss current events.
Registration required by sending an email to bneimaskilim@gmail.com.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Friday, January 23
Place: Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Natalja Cheifec on Raising Children according to the Torah, Part 2
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet lecture/discussion on raising children according to the Torah this Thursday. Topics include praise, showing love, controlling anger and appropriate discipline.
To receive zoom credentials and participate, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, January 22
Place: internet
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 4:26 P.M. on Friday, January 16, and concludes at 5:29 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:08 P.M. and completed before sunset at 4:26 P.M. Friday is National Religious Freedom Day in the United States.
Natalja Cheifec on Raising Children according to the Torah
In the first part of a series on raising children according to the Torah, Natalja Cheifec will discuss:
• Main phases of raising and disciplining chldren according to age;
• Democracy or authority: which sort of relationships lead to greater harmony between parent and child;
• Which should come first, instilling good behavior or imparting understanding;
• Can parents and children be equal?
To participate and receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, January 16
Place: internet