The Vilnius Choral Synagogue would like to give a big thank-you to the Jakov Bunka Charity and Support Foundation for their doonation of valuable books!
Happy Birthday, Simas Levinas!
Happy birthday to Simas Levinas on his 70th birthday! Simas has been and is both an initiator and one of the most active members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community from its modern inception and earlier was the first principal and intellectual leader of the Sholem Aleichem school, among other things. He spoke forcefully and clearly for the creation of that school. Now that the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium is one of the best rated in Lithuania, no one questions the need for a Jewish school anymore. Currently Simas is doing very important work as both the head of the LJC’s Social Center and as the chairman of the Jewish Religious Community. Always bright, cultured, intelligent and professional, Simas greets everyone with a smile and is ready to talk to everyone without anger or rancor. He is also very moral man, and these qualities make him stand out in any crowd.
Happy Birthday, Simas. Allow us to wish you even more success and that good health would follow you always. Cheerfulness makes us all look younger than our years. You have chosen a meaningful and long path and you have lit up the hearts of those around you with love. Please accept our small thanks today and may your winning smile never fade from your face. Many happy and beautiful days lie ahead. The contented and generous heart never grows old and gray! May you live to at least 120!
Mazl tov!
Many came to give warm wishes and presents to Simas on this milestone occasion. For snapshots from the celebration, click here.
Israeli Business Community Tells Lithuanians to Enter Kosher Food Market
It’s said Jews are most interested in organic, ecological, vegetarian food products with a long shelf-life and unique items such as different flavors of honey. The public organization Versli Lietuva organized meetings between a delegation of Israeli food producers and about 150 Lithuanian businesses. The delegation representing 13 Israeli businesses met with Lithuanian businesses, taste-tested products and considered prospects for cooperation. The Lithuanian Government has named Israel as one of 14 priority Lithuanian export markets. At present about 40% of Lithuanian exports to Israel are food products and mainly milk products. Ze’ev Lavie, chairman of the Israeli Chamber of Commerce’s International Relations Division, told Verslo Žinios Lithuanian food products enterprises could better exploit the global popularity of kosher food.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
Slobodka Cemetery and Seventh Fort Mass Murder Site in Kaunas to be Cleaned Up
Following a meeting between the Israeli ambassador and the mayor and city council of Kaunas in early March, on the first Friday in April the Kaunas deputy mayors, municipal staff and the chairman of the Kaunas Jewish Community visited the Jewish cemetery in the Slobodka neighborhood [Vilijampolė] and the mass grave at the Seventh Fort. During this meeting in the field, it was resolved that the municipal body Kapinių priežiūra [Cemetery Maintenance] would set up an information stand at the entrance to the Slobodka cemetery and would post signs forbidding cars, smoking, walking dogs and lighting fires there.
Another resolution was adopted for the Seventh Fort mass murder site: the city maintenance department (represented by Jolanta Miliauskienė) is to clean up the site (clean flagstones and collect garbage) around the monument to the Jews murdered there. The environmental department (represented by Radeta Savickienė) is to cut down trees and bushes according to a request drafted by cultural heritage department head Saulius Rimas which includes a photograph showing what is to be cut down and with the consent of Gercas Žakas, chairman of the Kaunas Jewish Community.
Israeli Supreme Court Says State Should Recognize Orthodox Conversion
TEL AVIV (JTA)–Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the state must recognize Orthodox conversions performed in Israel outside the authority of the Chief Rabbinate. The ruling Thursday means any non-citizen who converts in a private Israeli Orthodox conversion court can gain Israeli citizenship under the country’s Law of Return. Previously, converts who converted abroad could only gain Israeli citizenship if they lived in a Diaspora Jewish community. Some 150 citizens who have converted in private Israeli Orthodox conversion courts will now be seen as Jewish by the state.
The court rejected the state’s claim that only Chief Rabbinate conversions are legitimate within Israel. Because of the Jewish community’s multifaceted nature, the court ruled, any conversion performed by any Orthodox community, whether in Israel or abroad, are recognized as valid.
“The Jewish nation is indeed one nation, but it is spread out across the world and is composed of communities, layers and sub-layers,” the court’s decision read. Recognizing only the Chief Rabbinate “does not attribute weight to the existing range of Jewish communities–and that is unacceptable.”
Full story here.
Challa at the Bagel Shop Café
The Bagel Shop Café has begun making challa bread for Sabbath the way it should be. Besides bagels, visitors can now purchase authentic challa bread, not too sweet but very delicious. A good Sabbath to all.
Matzo to be Given to Members
Dear members of the Vilnius Jewish Community,
Greetings on the upcoming holiday of Passover!
We are distributing matzo to VJC members again this year free of charge. Please pick up your matzo package from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. on workdays from April 4 to April 11 at room no. 201 at the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
Each member is to receive one 1 kilogram package. You must provide identification or a VJC member’s card to receive the package.
Members of the Social Club are receiving matzo separately from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. in the computer room on the first floor from April 4 to 15.
This is also a good time for those who need to pay their membership dues to do so, from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. in room 209, or by transferring funds to the Vilnius Jewish Community, institutional code 291199610, bank account LT137044060000908075, bank code 70440. Please indicate for whom the membership fees are being paid.
Purim at the Gesher Club
The Gesher Club of the Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrated Purim March 25 at the Natali Restaurant in Vilnius. Since carnival costumes are a usual part of Purim, all participants were required to come in costume or at least partially dressed in costumes. LJC program coordinator Žana Skudovičienė took care of those who for one or another reason were unable or did not have time to get ready for the holiday. She let them chose a mask or costume accessory provided by Fayerlakh ensemble director Larisa Vyšniauskienė for the occasion.
LJC Children’s Purim Was the Most Fun
This isn’t the first time LJC Youth Programs coordinator Pavelas Guliakovas has organized a holiday celebration. This year he decided there should be costume play based on excerpts from the Book of Esther with all the heroes and villains: the Persian king, Haman, Esther and all the others. But there were also samurai, cowboys, doctors and princesses. The entire play was performed in rhyme. During the breaks between acts, the children rushed off to change masks, apply glitter and use it as coloring, then came back to the performance space. Dancers from the Fayerlakh ensemble danced. All of the children and several of the parents as well had grown up attending the small children’s club Dubi, and Dubi, Dubi Mishpakha and Ilan Club children aged 2 to 12 took part in the Purim celebration. Samuel Gar, a professional teacher of Jewish dance, taught dances to the children. Their performance was amazing and the celebration lasted for about two hours.
Thank You
Thank you to Žana Skudovičienė, Julija Lipšic, Ninelė Skudovičiūtė, Monika Antanaitytė and Olga Masarskaja for the wonderful organization and preparation of the Purim celebration at the Vilnius Choral Synagogue.
S. Levin, chairman
Vilnius Jewish Religious Community
Lithuanian Jewish Students Union Purim Festival
The Lithuanian Jewish Students Union held a festive Purim celebration Saturday, March 26 in Vilnius.
Purim-goers were asked to dress as their favorite movie star or film character and a contest was held to pick the winning female and male roles. Attendees dressed as the Uma Thurman character from Pulp Fiction, Audrey Hepburn and Superman received prizes donated by Lux Figura.
There was also a quiz involving some brain-teasers, but most of the night was spent in conversation, eating and drinking. Rabbi Samson Isaacson attended the event as well. It was supported by the Embassy of Israel, the Goodwill Fund and the Mirameda medical clinic.
Purim at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius
There was a celebration of the Purim holiday at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius March 24, which was also proclaimed a day of mourning in Lithuania to pay honors to the dead in the bombings in Brussels. Everyone observed a moment of silence for the victims at the synagogue.
Lithuanian Jewish Religious Community chairman Simas Levinas presented holiday greetings to the assembled and spoke about the meaning of Purim: Haman’s attempt to kill all the Jews. “History has seen more than one Haman, who sought to destroy the Jewish people. Stalin, Hitler and now ISIS, but no one has succeeded,” Levinas said.
Rabbi Samson Daniel Isaacson also gave holiday greetings and said Purim is a unique holiday which is about getting drunk, which seems strange, since this is considered a bad thing among Jews. “Only during Purim is it remembered that salvation comes from affliction. After all, getting drunk was suggested so that no one would be able to tell the difference between Haman and Mordecai. And it so happens that way often in life, when you think one thing, but it happens another way. Purim sameach!”
Fayerlakh ensemble musicians Miša Filipov Jablonskis and Leonardas Zinkevič performed a rousing set of Purim songs for young and old.
LJC deputy chairwoman Maša Grodnik said she was glad that things were finally getting back to normal at the synagogue and that the holiday was being celebrated with a rabbi, which for a long time was missing from the community. “Today the tragic events in Brussels remind us that Israel is setting an example for Europe on how to protect society,” Grodnik commented.
Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon recalled how he looked forward to Purim as a child, and that it always began to rain when Purim came around. “Today in Vilnius on Purim the sun was shining, and we are celebrating the liberation of the Jews. The victory of the Jews of Lithuania that they can celebrate in their own synagogue,” the Israeli ambassador remarked.
More snapshots from the event here.
Purim in Panevėžys
The Panevėžys Jewish Community kicked off their Purim celebrations in the events hall of the Panevėžys Community Center March 20. Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman greeted a large party of guests from Vilnius, Ukmergė, Šiauliai and Panevežys and read an excerpt from Magilat Ester.
Artūras Taicas, deputy chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and chairman of the Ukmergė Jewish Community, greeted guests as well and passed on the good wishes of LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky. Panevėžys city deputy mayor Petras Luomanas and city council member Alfonsas Petrauskas also gave wonderful addresses.
Kaunas Jewish Community Purim Celebration
The Kaunas Jewish Community sends its Purim greetings to everyone and invites you to attend their combined Purim and Sabbath celebration on Friday, March 25.
Rabbi Isaacson Speaks at Screening of Film “Kaddish”
The film club of the Lithuanian Jewish Student Union screened the film “Kaddish” on March 10, an event during which the public was able to meet one of Lithuania’s newest rabbis, Rabbi Samson Daniel Isaacson. Before the film started, Rabbi Isaacson gave a short talk welcoming the audience and telling about the film made by a friend of his. Kaddish is the story of Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Zilber, born in Russia in 1917 (died 2003, a Russian, later Israeli Haredi rabbi and a leader of the Russian baal teshuva movement, author of several books, Russian Israeli religious authority). Zilber studied Judaism privately, at home, because his father Ben-Tzion Haim Zilber (originally Tsiyuni) refused to allow him to attend ant-religious Soviet schools.
At the age of 15 he began to teach Judaism in his hometown of Kazan, although it was illegal under Soviet law to do so. After a life filled with hardship, oppression by the Soviets and incarceration in the gulag, he and his family were finally allowed to leave the USSR for Israel in 1972, where he continued to teach, practice traditions and attract a large group of young people.
Discussion followed the screening of the film as audience members asked the rabbi questions and he responded. The several dozen members of the audience and the rabbi were treated to snacks and tea after the discussion, allowing people to get to know the rabbi better in a somewhat informal setting.
Bagel Shop Café Purim Holiday Schedule
The kosher Bagel Shop Café of the Lithuanian Jewish Community is in full gear getting ready for the Purim holiday. There are several new pastry items the chefs there have cooked up, including the “red velvet” pastry taking the Jewish culinary internet by storm. Their special hamantashen recipe passed down through the generations uses yeast as well.
Senior chef Riva Portnaja says her family calls hamantashen “omentashen,” and that her mother always put yeast in the dough. According to her, Litvak hamantashen only contain poppy-seed fillings, and the triangular pastry is made so that is almost closed.
Extra Day Off
LJC staff will get an additional day off on Thursday, March 24 for the Purim holiday. The community building will remain open as usual so if you need to come in to work for organizing events or other matters, you will be able to do so. Staff are also invited to attend the Purim celebration at the synagogue beginning at 6:00 P.M. Thursday.
What Would Queen Esther Eat Today?
Esther, the star of the Purim story, is one of the bravest heroines for so many reasons–she not only strategized to save the Persian Jews from certain death (breaking social norms in doing so), but she also maintained a kosher diet as an undercover Jew in the Persian palace. Wait, what?
Legend has it that like many Jews today, Esther kept kosher by avoiding things like non-kosher meat, and instead enjoyed a plant-based diet full of fresh produce, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. For those of you with eating restrictions, you know how hard it is to turn down foods that everyone else is noshing!
In the story of Purim, food and celebration are central to her strategic success. In order to earn the favor of her husband, King Ahasuerus, she hosted two impressive (and probably extremely delicious!) banquets that set the stage for her requests of the King to save the Jews of Persia.
After all these years, delicious food and drink–like hamantaschen, Haman’s fingers, and plenty of wine–are essential parts of the celebration of Queen Esther and Purim.
If you’d like to party like Esther this Purim, click here for recipes.
Stories about Rabbis: Exhibit of Pastel Work
The Jewish Culture and Information Center’s Shofar Gallery (Mėsinių street no. 3, Vilnius) presented an exhibit of pastel works by Kęstutis Milkevičius called “Stories about Rabbis” March 17.
The collection on exhibit was formed at the initiative of the leader of the Kaunas Jewish religious community, Maushe Bairak. Artist Raimundas Majauskas commented on Milkevičius’s artworks:
“The old portraits of wise Jewish rabbis are suffused with time and come down to us from a modified Rembrandtesque chromatic environment. The artist is a master of line and composition. The individualized, artistically realistic works betraying a deep aesthetic foundation are part of the cultural and communal life of Kaunas and Lithuania.”
Litvak cultural heritage scholar Asia Gutermanaitė opened the exhibit. The opening including stories and interesting tales about rabbis. The exhibit will run until April 12.
Lecture Series
The Sunday lectures continue at 12:00 noon on March 20:
Subject: Sacred Text
by Rabbi Shimshon Daniel Isaacson
Third floor, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4