Lithuanian Jewish Community

Shavuot on Thursday, May 21

Shavuot or Shavuos, the Feast of Weeks, starts at sundown Thursday, May 21. It is a two-day holiday outside Israel and lasts one day from sundown to sundown in Israel. Sabbath rules apply.

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Shavuot is the holiday which celebrates the receiving of the Torah. This marks the day the Jewish people received the Law. It is celebrated on the 6th day of Sivan on the Jewish calendar. This is a state holiday in Israel.

Shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew. It is the seventh week from the second day of Passover. It marks the day when Moses received the Ten Commandments of G_d on Mount Sinai. They were written on two stone slabs. These are known in Hebrew as Aseret haDvarim and in Greek as the Decalogue.

2026-05-212026-05-21

Exhibit by Savickas Art Studio Students

Students from the Raimondas Savickas Art Studio will exhibit their paintings at the Lithuanian Jewish Community and you’re invited to the opening at 6:00 P.M. on Friday, May 29. The exhibit will be shown in the foyer on the third floor. Please register for the opening by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

2026-05-212026-05-22

Israel Eurovision Head: Don’t Know What Would Have Happened If We’d Won

by Florit Shoihet, May 17, 2026

Yoav Tsafir reflects on fears as booing became more intense as Israel came closer to winning in Vienna

The head of Israel’s Eurovision delegation said he felt a sense of relief when Noam Bettan’s entry was pipped to the post last night amid an increasingly hostile atmosphere in the hall.

“At that moment when we led and it wasn’t clear if Bulgaria would overtake us, the booing from the crowd was immense, and … it turned into violent booing toward the Israeli delegation,” Yoav Tsafir told Channel 12, adding: “I don’t know what would have happened if we had won”.

The director noted that until the announcement of the results, the atmosphere towards the Israeli delegation was better compared to the two previous contests. “There was a positive change, with no huge expressions of hate,” he said, and behind the scenes “there was huge appreciation” towards Noam Bettan and his song Michelle, pointing out even the jury panels awarded him 123 points, thus placing 8th before public votes came in.

2026-05-212026-05-21

Great Synagogue Exhibit at Litvak Identity Museum

The Litvak Identity Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will open a new exhibit dedicated the Great Synagogue in Vilnius, damaged by the Nazis and destroyed by the Soviets, but never completely forgotten by Vilnius and the residential community.

The exhibit includes archaeological discoveries, depictions in art, historical photographs and reconstructions.

The opening ceremony is to include a performance by cantor Shmuel Ya’atom and a guided tour of the Gros-Shul exhibit by its curators. The exhibit runs till January 31, 2027.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, May 19
Place: Litvak Culture and Identity Museum, Pylimo street no. 41, Vilnius

2026-05-19

Kaunas Jewish Community Thanks Righteous Gentiles

For more than 30 years now the Kaunas Jewish Community has thanked rescuers of Jews every spring with a special ceremonial dinner, expressing deep gratitude and appreciation for the bravery and humanity they demonstrated. This the ceremony was held last week.

“Discussing Lithuanian and other European Jewish communities after World War II is impossible without the stories of the rescuers of Jews. If not for them, who are mainly humble and quiet about it, not boasting of their heroism, many of us would not be here in this land, and the dark time of the Holocaust would be even darker,” Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas told the audience this year.

As time passes there are fewer and fewer rescuers remaining, although there are examples of living rescuers such as Righteous Gentile Vladas Palkauskas who is now 93 and still going strong.

2026-05-192026-05-19

News from Panevėžys

Last weekend volunteers from the Panevėžys Jewish Community cleaned the interior and grounds of the Chevra Torah synagogue there. The brick synagogue was built in 1910. It was closed in 1940, the interior was destroyed and the decorative façade heavily damaged.

On May 6 Panevėžys Jewish Community representatives attended a lecture at the Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva by Holocaust historian Christoph Dieckmann called “How Did It Happen?” During questions afterwards, Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman thanked Dieckmann and asked about sources on Jewish vital statistics from the period between 1938 and 1941, engendering a discussion about the drop-off in marriages and births at a time when the Jewish community sensed the onset of tragedy.

2026-05-192026-05-19

Shavuot Celebration for Community Members

Dear members,

The Programs Department of the Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come celebrate Shavuot together with us. Shavuot, or Shavuos, is one of the three most important occasions in Judaism, celebrating the gift of the Law. On this holiday homes are decorated with flowers, we talk about traditions, we sing Jewish songs and dance Jewish dances. We eat the traditional foods.

The celebration will include a presentation by Natalja Cheifec and a performance by the Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh. It begins at 6:30 P.M. on the evening of Thursday, May 21. The location will be disclosed following registration. Please register by May 20 by writing zanas@sc.lzb.lt. Note that space is limited.

2026-05-18

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:18 P.M. on Friday, May 15, and concludes at 10:34 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 9:00 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:18 P.M. Thursday, May 14, is Ascension Day for Catholics. Friday, May 15, is Jerusalem Day. Monday on the 17th is International Museum Day. Shavuot starts at sundown Thursday, May 21.

2026-05-14

Kurkliai Synagogue Opens Rhona Gorvy Exhibit for European Museum Night

The restored Kurkliai synagogue in the Anykščiai region north of Vilnius will open its doors to the public on European Museum Night, May 23, with an exhibit of graphic works and sculpture by the late South African artist Rhona Gorvy called “Life and Dreams.” The program for the evening includes an address by Ieva Šadzevičienė, curator of the Samuel Bak museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, live percussion by Arkadijus Gotesmanas and recollections of the past and stories from others. The event is free and open to the public.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Saturday, May 23
Place: Kurkliai synagogue, Salomėjos Neries street no. 4A, Kurkliai, Anykščiai district

2026-05-142026-05-15

EU Agree Sanctions against West Bank Settlers

Photo: Israeli settler places flag on day of re-establishment of Sa-Nur settlement, evacuated in Israel’s 2005 disengagement, in Sa-Nur in the West Bank, April 19, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem

BRUSSELS, May 11 (Reuters)–European Union foreign ministers reached an agreement on Monday on new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in ‌the occupied West Bank, as well as leading Hamas figures, EU ‌foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The sanctions package, which targets three settlers and four settler organizations whose identities have yet to be publicly disclosed, had been blocked for months by the previous Hungarian government, which lost an election last month.

European governments have raised concern about a rise in reports of settler violence against Palestinians ‌in the West Bank.

“It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery,” Kallas said on X. “Extremisms [sic] and violence carry consequences,” she added.

2026-05-14

Congratulations to Matanas Etinas

Congratulations to Matanas Etinas who has become Lithuanian ping-pong champion for children born in 2015. Matanas didn’t lose a single set in the tournament and triumpher over the other contestants 3:0. Matanas following this latest victory and his great showing last week where he took 4th place in the age group for players born in 2014 will compete in the European Mini-Cadet Championship in France this August. Matanas began playing two years ago in the afterschool ping-pong group at Sholem Aleichem Gymnasium in Vilnius under the tutelage of Rafeilis Gimelsteinas and joined the New Stars club a year ago where he began to compete more widely.

2026-05-112026-05-11

Lag b’Omer in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community came together to celebrate Lag b’Omer with potatoes baked in fire and assorted other meals, dishes and snacks.

2026-05-112026-05-11

Natalja Cheifec to Give Guided Tour of Choral Synagogue

Teacher and lecturer Natalja Cheifec will provide a guided tour of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius on Wednesday evening. The only traditional synagogue still working in Vilnius has a long and interesting history. Cheifec will talk about its architecture, symbolism and traditions, and about its place in Jewish life before and now. Cheifec will conclude the tour with questions from the audience. Participants are asked to donate 2 euros to the synagogue.

Prior registration is required, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Wednesday, May 13
Place: Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, Vilnius

2026-05-112026-05-11

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:06 P.M. on Friday, May 8, and concludes at 10:17 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:48 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:06 P.M. Victory Day is on Friday or Saturday depending on geography. Victory Day marks the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies and the cessation of combat.

2026-05-072026-05-07

Romanticism Dialogues

Violinist Evgenia Epshtein and pianist and Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy professor Donaldas Račys will perform works by Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg at the Magic of Music Club in Vilnius May 12. The program is called Romanticism Dialogues. Tickets start at €30 and are available here.

Time: 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, May 12
Place: Magic of Music Club, Šv. Stepono street no. 12, Vilnius

2026-05-072026-05-08

Lost Shtetl Fifth Most Beautiful Museum in the World

The Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania, placed fifth in the Prix Versailles selection of the world’s most beautiful museums announced May 4 at UNESCO in Paris. Prix Versailles judges singled out the museum’s architecture designed by Finland’s Rainer Mahlamäki. The outer form of the museum is intended to replicate the silhouette of the skylines of typical Lithuanian shtetlakh.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2026-05-052026-05-05

Lag b’Omer Today, May 5

Lag b’Omer is a minor Jewish holiday celebrated with bonfires and an occasion for weddings and cutting children’s hair. It happens approximately one month after Passover, and the name means the 33rd day of the of the Omer count, on the 18th day of the Jewish month of Iyar, which is about the midpoint in time between Passover and Shavuot.

Lag b’Omer, according to tradition, was the day on which the plague that killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s disciples stopped (Yebamoth, 62:72). For this reason it is customary to cease mourning customs of the Omer period, which include prohibition of marriages, cutting hair, and public expressions of joy such as singing and dancing. Some traditions hold that the period of mourning ends at Lag b’Omer and others end it three days before the holiday of Shavuot.

2026-05-052026-05-05

Dance Me Back to the Future

The Karlsruhe Concert Duo of Reihard Armleder on cello and Dagmar Hartmann on piano will perform a concert program called “Dance Me to the End of Time and Back to the Future” at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius in mid-May. The two will perform works by Leonard Cohen, Back, Beethoven, Moscheles, Bloch, Gershwin, Heifetz, Schumann and Liszt. The concert is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the culture section of the German embassy in Vilnius in cooperation with the Goodwill Foundation and Pasaka x Create Culture Group.

Registration is required by May 16. Send an email to koncertas.lzb@gmail.com.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Sunday, May 17
Place: LJC, Vilnius

2026-05-04

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:58 P.M. on Friday, May 1, and concludes at 10:00 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:35 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:58 P.M. Thursday, April 30, is Walpurgis Night. Friday is May Day, a national holiday in Lithuania. Sunday is Mother’s Day in Lithuania. Tuesday is Lag b’Omer.

2026-04-302026-04-30

London Jews Heckle PM

British prime minister Keir Starmber travelled to Golders Green in north London Thursday afternoon to talk with local Jewish volunteer security guards and others, and was greeted by a crowd of 100 to 200 Jews who heckled him, shouting “shame on you,” “traitor,” “coward” and “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer.”

The outrage in the Jewish neighborhood over lack of security and policing follows at least two arson attacks and the stabbing of two Jewish men Tuesday by a naturalized Somalian within a very narrow section of Golders Green, just three mostly residential streets. Other arson attacks against Jewish synagogues and institutions have also been committed over the past two months in north London.

The prime minister reportedly cut his visit short, it only lasted a few minutes, and he was heckled as his motorcade left the location.

Photo: londonlovesbusiness.com

2026-04-302026-04-30

Israeli President Isaac Herzog Visits Lithuania

On the War in Israel and the Situation in Lithuania