Religion

#WeRemember

#WeRemember

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites all members of the public to mark International Holocaust Day on January 27 by taking part in the global We Remember campaign to keep alive the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Every year the LJC addresses the Lithuanian municipalities and educational institutions requesting they join the We Remember campaign by visiting mass murder sites, maintaining grave sites, relaying the testimonies of eyewitnesses to the Holocaust and telling the horrific story which had such tragic consequences for Lithuania, Europe and the world.

On Thursday, January 25, everyone is invited to visit the mass murder site in their location to honor the victims. In Vilnius the LJC will ferry those interested by bus to the Ponar Memorial Complex where a commemoration will take place and kaddish will be performed.

The bus will leave from Pylimo street no. 4 at 11:30 A.M. sharp Thursday morning to arrive by 12 noon at Ponar. From the parking lot in Ponar a procession will make its way into the memorial complex. Later we will visit the monument to Righteous Gentiles on Maironio street in Vilnius. Register by sending an email to info@lzb.lt.

If you are unable to attend, you can still participate in the We Remember campaign:

1. Write “We Remember” on a piece of paper, card or cardboard;
2. Take a photograph of yourself or your group holding the inscription;
3. Post on social media with the hash-tag #WeRemember;
4. Send a copy to info@lzb.lt

#WeRemember

Abisl Yidishe Vilne

Abisl Yidishe Vilne

The Adomas Mickevičius Public Library in Vilnius is opening an exhibit of photography called Abisl Yidishe Vilne or A Bit of Jewish Vilnius with an opening ceremony at 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, April 2. The exhibit is to feature the works of Aleksandra Jacovskytė, Daumantas Levas Todesas, Eugenijus Bunka and others. The exhibit will run till April 20, 2024. The library is located at Trakų street no. 10  in Vilnius.

Gregory Kaplan Photography Exhibit

Gregory Kaplan Photography Exhibit

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is marking International Holocaust Day with an exhibition of photographs by Gregory Kaplan from Israel featuring the Mea Shearim enclave/neighborhood of Ultra-Orthodox believers in near the Old City in Jerusalem. The exhibit opens at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, January 31, at the Samuel Bak Museum inside the Tolerance Center located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.

In their press release, the Vilna Gaon Museum quoted Kaplan and stated:

“Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem, an island of the past enduring a world of triumphant artificial intelligence. ‘I take pictures with a Nicon [sic]. I am a loner, and my works are short stories that I hope are interesting not only to me but to others too.’ (Gregory Kaplan).”

Book Drive for Tu b’Shvat

Book Drive for Tu b’Shvat

The administration and library of the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius is holding their annual book drive to celebrate Tu b’Shvat. In a letter to parents and the community, school administrators wrote:

Dear reader,

Tu b’Shvat is drawing near, the New Year of trees. The Gymnasium is continuing our tradition and is asking the community to mark this holiday by donating books to the school library. In this way we pay respect to the trees which have been made into books, passing on from generation to generation to us the knowledge, wisdom, beauty and dreams of the whole world. Let us be as trees: firmly connected by our roots to the past and continuing to draw strength from that past, always growing slowly but resolutely, ceaselessly growing towards heaven.

We are a Jewish school, Jews are the People of the Book, and we must strive to have a rich library! Therefore we call upon students, parents and teachers to take part in this campaign and to donate books to the library.

The campaign is scheduled to run from January 16 to February 2.

What we need and further information:

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Tu b’Shvat Celebration

Tu b’Shvat Celebration

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bnei Maskilim invite you to come celebrate the greenest of Jewish holidays, Tu b’Shvat, on Wednesday, January 24, starting at 6:30 P.M. at the LJC in Vilnius, located at Pylimo street no. 4. The cost is 5 euros per person. Registration is required by sending an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or by calling (+370) 67250699. Everyone is welcome.

Tu b’Shvat

Tu b’Shvat

This Thursday, January 25, 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!

LJC Rejects Jonava Cultural Center’s Anti-Semitic Activities

LJC Rejects Jonava Cultural Center’s Anti-Semitic Activities

The Regional History Museum of the Jonava Cultural Center in Jonava, Lithuania, posted an invitation on January 18 for the public to attend an arts workshop in the run-up to the Lithuanian holiday Užgavėnės, or Shrovetide:

“We invite you to a creative workshop for adults this January 22 at 2:00 P.M. called “Making Užgavėnės Masks!” We’ll use papier-mâché on wooden frames! … The function of having fun is the basis of this holiday, it’s essence and core! This is a day when social conventions are ignored, rules are broken and ethical and moral principles are transgressed! You can do anything, but only during this time!”

Unfortunately traditional masks made and worn on Užgavėnės include grotesque stereotypes of Jews and Roma.

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Litvak Identity Museum Opening

Litvak Identity Museum Opening

Yesterday evening the Litvak Culture and Identity Museum opened next door to the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.

LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky spoke at the opening ceremony, saying the long-awaited exhibits would finally be made public and should be very interesting. She said the history of the Litvaks didn’t begin and end with the Holocaust, that we have a rich history which hasn’t gone away and that the new museum will offer the public a view of that history.

“We are neighbors, the Lithuanian Jewish Community is based right here, on the other side of the wall, in the same building, the former Tarbut gymnasium. We are alive and are celebrating our Jewish identity, and everyone who learns something here at the museum, we invite them to stop by the Community as well, to try our bagels, listen to music and participate in our events. Food, culture and other Community activities of which we are proud–these are all part of the Litvak identity,” Kukliansky said.

Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg-Silverstein also spoke at the opening.

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Vilna Gaon Museum Opens New Litvak Culture and Identity Museum

Vilna Gaon Museum Opens New Litvak Culture and Identity Museum

Photo by I. Gelūnas

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum reopens its branch in the former Tarbut Gymnasium at Pylimo street no. 4a Thursday, January 18, following reconstruction and the installation of a new Litvak Culture and Identity exhibit.

The space used to house the museum’s History Department and Gallery of Righteous Gentiles, and has been undergoing renovation for several years. The third floor will now house a permanent exhibit on the life and work of Rafael Chwoles, the Litvak artist. Other exhibits feature Litvaks who found fame and achievement around the world in various fields of endeavor. The space includes four storeys accessible by stairs.

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum includes consists of several sub-museums and spaces including the Tolerance Center, the Holocaust Museum, an information space at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius and soon an exhibit inside the former Jewish ghetto library in the Vilnius Old Town.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

One Million Bells in Lithuania

One Million Bells in Lithuania

On Sunday bells rang out around the world and in Lithuania to remember the hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 in Israel.

The date marked 100 days since that attack and 100 days of horror, darkness and unknowing for the hostages still being held.

We thank Evangelical Lutheran bishop Mindaugas Sabutis for his support in joining the campaign and ringing church bells to bring them home.

#BringThemHomeNow

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Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 3:50 P.M. on Friday, January 5, and concludes at 5:13 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 3:41 P.M. on Friday, December 29, and concludes at 5:05 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Hanukkah

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Hanukkah

“In lighting the final, the eighth Hanukkah candle, we wish all hope and faith, that light overcome the darkness, but we wish for victory to be reached as early and rapidly as possible there were it is most needed,” Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas said at a ceremony marking the final day of Hanukkah in Kaunas.

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Lost World Photo Exhibit

Lost World Photo Exhibit

December 13 the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture opened an exhibit of 15 specially selected photographs of the former Jewish quarter and Great Synagogue by pre-war photographer Jan Bulhak as part of closing ceremonies in the celebration of Vilnius’s 700th birthday, the newspaper Lietuvos Rytas reports on its website lrytas.lt

Culture minister Simonas Kairys, former culture minister Arūnas Gelūnas who now directs the Lithuanian National Art Museum which selected the photographs for the exhibit, Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg-Silverstein, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and others attended the opening. Boris Kizner provided Jewish airs on violin.

Gelūnas told Lietuvos Rytas television only two of the fifteen photographs contain human beings because the photographer thought empty streets and vacant sidewalks showed off the architecture better and presented a more romantic picture of the city.

“In a way he was prophetic in this: after World War II all these streets were emptied of people,” Gelūnas noted. He added the lessons of history haven’t been learned, anti-Semitism is alive and well in the world and people still cling to authoritarianism.

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Polish MP Extinguishes Menorah Calling Jews “Satanic Cult”

Polish MP Extinguishes Menorah Calling Jews “Satanic Cult”

MP in Polish Sejm tore fire extinguisher from wall at Hanukkah event in parliament

A far-right Polish politician has been filmed attacking a menorah during a Hanukkah ceremony. Polish MP Grzegorz Braun used a fire extinguisher to douse a hanukiya during a candle-lighting ceremony in the Polish parliament on December 12.

In videos shared on Twitter, the politician can be seen in the parliament lobby tearing a red extinguisher from the wall and marching over to the large hanukiya, where he douses it in white powder.

After extinguishing the candles, Braun blasted a nearby woman who had attempted to stand in his way with the spray from the fire extinguisher. Those around him could be heard saying: “You should be ashamed.”

Braun responded: “Those who take part in acts of the satanic cult should be ashamed.”

Braun is the leader of the monarchist Confederation of the Polish Crown party. He has opposed NATO expansion into the Ukraine. According to wikipedia: “Braun’s activities have been characterized by a series of anti-Semitic incidents and pro-Russian stances. In 2023 he disrupted a Holocaust lecture, destroyed equipment and made derogatory comments about Jews.”

Parliamentary speaker Szymon Holownia denounced the incident and told reporters “this never should have happened.” The speaker ordered Braun to leave the event and said he would call for the incident to be investigated. Parliamentary proceedings were suspended.

Article here.

In Every Generation: Vancouver Remembers 1985 Firebombing of Synagogue

In Every Generation: Vancouver Remembers 1985 Firebombing of Synagogue

Photo: This menorah survived a firebomb attack at Vancouver’s Temple Sholom in 1985. (CBC)

A menorah has become a symbol of hope after surviving a 1985 firebombing at a Vancouver synagogue

The old Temple Sholom was destroyed during an arson attack in 1985, but a menorah withstood the blaze

A menorah is one of the last remaining vestiges of a Vancouver synagogue that was ravaged by a firebomb in 1985.

In the pre-dawn hours of January 25, 1985, a Molotov cocktail was hurled through a first-floor window into Temple Sholom, which at the time was located on West 10th Avenue.

While no one was hurt in the bombing, it destroyed much of the building. The arsonist was never apprehended.

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