October 18 students from the Juventos pre-gymnasium arrived early at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community for a special day of lessons on Jewish culture, history, tradition and customs. Teachers Aurelija Dirginčienė, Loreta Stankuvienė and Gaiva Šimonienė delivered the lessons. Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community chairwoman Rašella Galinienė and Oser Gleizer answered the cikdren’s questions. There are plans to include more of the school’s student body in future lesson days.
The Sabbath begins at 4:18 P.M. on Friday, November 14, and concludes at 5:16 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:00 P.M. and completed before sunset at 4:18 P.M.
Natalja Cheifec continues her discussion club on the internet at 6:00 P.M. Thursday. To participate, get zoom credentials here.
The team of the fotmer Bagel Shop Café, now called Pylimo 4 (the street address) is pleased to announce a Sabbath celebration featuring vegetarian dishes inspired by Fania Lewando from Vilnius, the author of a vegetarian cookbook published in Yiddish in 1938.
It happens this Friday, November 14. The menu pays tribute to Lewando’s cuisine which reflects Litvak traditions. Participants are asked to donate €22 per diner, but smaller donations are also very acceptable. The point is to celebrate the Sabbath together. To suggest dishes, for more information amd to register, send an email to gut.shabbos.vilnius@gmail.com.
The Sabbath begins at 4:30 P.M. on Friday, November 7, and concludes at 5:26 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:12 P.M. and completed before sunset at 4:30 P.M. Saturday is Night of Broken Glass Remembrance Day in Germany. Sunday is Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom and Tuesday is Veterans Day in the United States.
On October 18 Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro, MP Emanuelis Zingeris and a number of local officials and residents as well as educators from Lithuania and abroad attended an event in Pabradė called Memory Written in Stone. The event was held by the Paribio Pažinimo Centras as part of a borader project to memorialize locations where synagogues once stood.
During this event two stone markers were erected at the site of two former synagogues. The Pabradė Fanfare Orchestra provided musical accompaniment.
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture topic from last week, the Messiah, this Thursday at 6:00 P.M.
Register to participate here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, November 6
Place: internet
NEW YORK —The World Jewish Congress has welcomed the remarks of Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday unequivocally condemned anti-Semitism during his general audience at the Vatican.
Addressing thousands of faithful the Pope said: “All my predecessors have condemned anti-Semitism with clear words,” adding, “I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”
WJC president Ronald S. Lauder praised the Pope’s message calling it “an extraordinarily positive and deeply meaningful gesture.”
“At a time when Jews are facing the greatest persecution since the Second World War, the Pope’s message carries profound fraternal meaning,” Lauder said. “Gestures like this inspire us to strengthen the bonds between Jews and Catholics, and to work together for a world of greater co-existence among religions, in the pursuit of peace.”
The Pope’s statement comes as the Catholic Church marks the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the landmark declaration of the Second Vatican Council which transformed Jewish-Catholic relations and established a foundation of mutual respect and dialogue.
Full statement here.
The Sabbath begins at 4:44 P.M. on Friday, October 31, and concludes at 5:38 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 4:26 P.M. and completed before sunset at 4:44 P.M. November 1 is All Saints’ Day.
Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture and discussions series withe topic of Messiah, including:
The Messiah in Judaism;
Exile and liberation from suffering;
The agony of Creation;
Darkness before dawn;
Conciliation and resurrection.
She will also discuss the appearance of the Messiah on an ass, what happens when he appears, the disposition of Israel following the rebuilding of the Temple, the Final Judgment and the resurrection of the dead. To receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, October 30
Place: internet
The Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh performed Sunday in Simnas as the final act in the celebration of the 120th birthday of the synagogue there and of the former Jewish community in the small town.
Members of the audience had the chance to sample traditional Jewish foods and learn more about the shtetl.
The Sabbath begins at 5:59 P.M. on Friday, October 24, and concludes at 6:52 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:41 P.M. and completed before sunset at 5:59 P.M.
Members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and Panevėžys municipal officials visited the Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva October 17.
Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofmanas.presented a new Jewish calendar to museum staff.
Lithuanian diplomat Dainius Junevičius will present his research on Litvaks in the Cape Town, South Africa, archives he and others conducted in 2024 at the Vilnius Jewish Public Library at 5:30 P.M. Tuesday, October 30.
The research project by the Lithuanian Literature and Art Institute sent the team to the Kaplan Jewish Research Centre at University of Cape Town and the Western Cape Archive where they discovered thousands of documents regarding Litvak immigration to South Africa and Litvak life and achievements in South Africa.
Junevičius was Lithuanian ambassador to the Republic of South Africa from 2021 to 2023. The presentation will be in Lithuanian.
Time: 5:30 P.M. Tuesday, October 30
Place: Vilnius Jewish Public Library, courtyard, Gedimino prospect no. 24, Vilnius
The Sabbath begins at 6:15 P.M. on Friday, October 17, and concludes at 7:07 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 5:57 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:15 P.M. Saturday is World Menopause Day, created in 2009 by the International Menopause Society to encourage menopausal women to seek support and medical treatment available but perhaps unknown to them to ease this difficult period in the human life cycle.
In spite of poor weather, members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrated Sukkot in the traditional way with a booth set up in the Community’s courtyard.
The holiday brought together members new and old who discussed current events and shared family stories.
Today is Simchat Torah.
The first Sunday in October is the traditional date for remembering Holocaust victims from the Švenčionys region at the Menorah monument in the city park in Švenčionys.
The Menorah monument marks the border of the ghetto where local Jews were held before being murdered at Platumai village.
Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro, Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom, members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and local officials took part in the ceremony.
Last Thursday members of the Šiauliai District Jewish Community celebrated Sykkot with a sukka in the courtyard where members dwelt, handled the four species, prayed, shared blessings and ate. The sukka is open for the entirety of Sukkot which ends on Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on your tradition and inclination). Members and friends are invited to come and dwell.
The Sabbath begins at 6:32 P.M. on Friday, October 10, and concludes at 7:23 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 6:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:32 P.M. October 12 is Columbus Day.