Lithuanian Jewish Community

Ontario Synagogue Shooter Dead

Photo: Ian MacAlpine/The Canadain Press

A man drove up in a pick-up truck to the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, Sunday evening during Yom Kippur services and opened fire on an off-duty Belleville Police Service constable working as a security guard there as he sat in his vehicle.

Police say the man, 29-year-old Sean Ward who lived in nearby Quinte West and served in the Canadian armed forces in Alberta, joining in 2017 and leaving in 2022 at the rank of corporal, was hit by return fire from the security guard, and from another off-duty constable working as a security guard who rushed to the scene. The first constable and the shooter were wounded, and the shooter Sean Ward died from his wounds in hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Monday night.

Ward is said to have been discharged from the Canadian military’s Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry division because he refused Covid vaccinations. One military source told the GlobalNEWS.ca news website Ward believed Jews were responsible for the virus, restrictions and vaccinations.

2026-09-232026-09-23

Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History Exhibit in Pabradė

The first Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History exhibit as part of the Children of the Holocaust: Lighting Up the Shadows of Lithuanian History project took place at the Pabradė Culture Center last week. The exhibit will be a changeable one depending on the decisions and sensibilities of the designers and exhibit item creators. This time the Sabbath table was laden with pomegranates, figs, apples and challa.

Residents of Pabradė in eastern Lithuania, visitors and local students and teachers attended the event. Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro welcomes the attendees, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Sholem Alechem ORT Gymnasium students, moderated by Algis Davidavičius, who discussed local history, memory and modern forms of commemoration. Then visitors learned about Sabbath traditions, sampled traditional dishes and attended a Jewish cloth-dying workshop.

The Sabbath Table to Remember Jewish History exhibition is the fruit of a two-year meaningful journey during which brave and knowledge-thirsty students from Vilnius and Palanga and their teachers dove into live research on local Jewish history. The young people conducted tours, creative workshops, celebrated Purim and Sabbath together, marked commemorative dates, visited synagogue and spoke with representatives from the Palanga, Vilnius, Darbėn and Israeli Jewish communities.

2026-09-22

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 7:28 P.M. on Friday, September 18, and concludes at 8:19 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit and prayers recited by or before 7:10 P.M. and completed before sunset at 7:28 P.M. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown on Sunday. This Wednesday, September 23, is the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide, a commemorative day on the Lithuanian calendar.

2026-09-172026-09-17

Yom Kippur at the Choral Synagogue

Yom Kippur starts Sunday evening. It is considered the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar. The Choral Synagogue at Pylimo street no. 39 in Vilnius will host Yom Kippur services. G’mar khatima tova, May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life.

Schedule:

September 20

5:45 P.M. Mincha
6:00-6:45 P.M. Feast before fast
6:45-7:05 P.M. Candle lighting and beginning of fast
7:00 P.M. Kol nidre

September 21

10:00 A.M. Shacharit
12:15 P.M. Yizkor
6:00 P.M. Mincha
7:00 P.M. Ne’ila prayers, shofar and closing prayers
8:14 P.M. End of fast, break-fast meal

2026-09-172026-09-18

Birthday Greetings from Šiauliai Jewish Community

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community sincerely congratulates Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky on the occasion of her birthday!

May Success never leave you, accompanied by Litvak Strength!

Respectfully,
Šiauliai District Jewish Community

2026-09-172026-09-18

Happy Birthday, Faina

The entire Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky a very happy birthday. Your attitude, perseverance and dedication set an example for us all. You don’t just talk about serving the Community, you embrace it with your actions every day and continue to grow the Community. On this day we wish you iron-clad health, energy, inspiration and people with whom you can share your work as well as your joys in life. Happy birthday, Faina! Mazl tov. Bis 120!

2026-09-172026-09-17

Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide at Ponar

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to mark the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide with us, remembering the more than 200,000 victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania, at the mass murder site in Ponar just outside Vilnius.

The LJC is providing transportation for those wishing to make the short trip. Please register by 12 noon on September 22 by sending an email to info@lzb.lt containing your full name and the purpose of the email. The bus will leave from the LJC at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 11:45 A.M. sharp on September 23. If you arrive late you’ll miss the bus.

Time: 12:30 P.M., Wednesday, September 23
Place: Ponar Memorial Complex, Memorialo street no. 15 aka Agrastų street no. 15, Vilnius

2026-09-172026-09-17

Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community invites you to a ceremony to mark the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide at the site of the former first ghetto gates at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, September 23. There will then be a procession to the second ghetto gates.

Time: 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, September 23
Place: Memorial marking gates of first ghetto at the intersection of Traku and Ezero streets, Righteous Gentile Square, Šiauliai

2026-09-172026-09-17

2026-09-16

Droga Dō Concert Series Remembers Jewish Escape Route to Japan

The Droga Dō chamber concert series is dedicated to the memory of the escape route Polish and Lithuanian Jews took to Japan during the Holocaust, and to Japanese ambassador and Righteous Gentile Chiune Sugihara who made it possible, saving thousands of Jews. Dō (Dou, Doo) means “way” in Japanese, as does droga in Polish.

Droga Dō will be performed at the Kaunas State Philharmonic on September 19 with works by Toru Takemitsu, Dai Fujikura, Kishio Kirao, Mieczysław Weinberg, Władysław Szpilman, Aleksander Tansman, Aleksandr Veprik, Joseph Achron and others. For more information, click here. For information in Lithuanian and to purchase tickets, click here.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Saturday, September 19
Place: Kaunas State Philharmonic, E. Ožeškienės no. 12, Kaunas

2026-09-16

Rosh Hashanah at the Panevėžys Jewish Community

A gathering of members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and family, friends and guests celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, last week at the Community building in the northern Lithuanian city with traditional dishes prepared by members. This year the start of Rosh Hashanah coincided with the onset of Sabbath and the celebration began with the lighting of candles and intonation of prayers.

Community member Nerijus Jakštonis, an accomplished trumpet musician, blew a small shofar horn, seen in photographs below. Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman spoke about what the holiday means and the ten-day period before Yom Kippur for self-reflection, taking responsibility for one’s past and future actions and reconciliation.

2026-09-16

Fayerlakh Coming to Vilnius

Last weekend the Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh delighted the audience at the Kaunas Gardens 2026 festival in Kaunas with the collective’s unique program of Jewish music and movement. They’re scheduled to perform again next Sunday, September 20, in Vilnius at Kudirka Square outside Government House in central Vilnius as part of the Ethnic Fair held annually along Gediminas prospect. The concert starts at 2:00 P.M. Sunday and is free and open to the public.

2026-09-16

Rosh Hashanah Greetings from Rebbe Herschel Gluck

B”H

This Friday–the 11th of September–evening, at sunset when Rosh Ha’Shonoh begins, we usher in a New Year.

In Judaism a New Year is not just a new cycle of time, it represents a unique, unparalleled, new spiritual entity, with unprecedented fresh opportunities for each and every one of us. As reflected in our prayers on Rosh Ha’Shonoh ” …This day is the Beginning of Your work” (actions). This year in our calendar is 5787. 87 is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word for fine-gold “poz” (pei zayin), reminding us that this year we have an exceptional golden opportunity, for positive, constructive change and transformation.

The holy Master of the Good Name Rebbe Yisroel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), teaches us that nothing in the world, even the seemingly most insignificant thing, is random. Everything without exception is Guided by Divine Particular Providence. It follows that everything we see or hear in the world, contains a moral and spiritual lesson for us, also as an individual. It follows, that the fact that Rosh Ha’Shonoh this year begins on and follows “11th of September” must be communicating a timely inspirational teaching and life-lesson to us. “11th of September” reminds us of, and represents, destruction. Rosh Ha’Shonoh is about “Binyan Ha’Malchus,” Building a new and fresh, better world.

However deep the destruction might be, we can rebuild, even better.

This coming year we can and need to utilize the new golden opportunities that are being presented to us, wisely, to build and construct brick by brick, a better self, and a better world for Everyone.

With my very best wishes for a Good, Sweet and Meaningful New Year!
Kesivoh V’Chasimoh Tovoh!
Gut Shabbes! Gut Yom Tov! Shabbat Shalom! Chag Sameach!

2026-09-152026-09-15

Presidential Message on Rosh Hashanah

The White House, September 11, 2026

Melania and I send our warmest greetings to the entire Jewish community on Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year and the first of the High Holy Days.

The Jewish community around the world marks the anniversary of when the Almighty created Adam and Eve and the story of humanity began. These two days open a solemn season of prayer, repentance and spiritual renewal in preparation for Yom Kippur.

My Administration reaffirms our steadfast commitment to ushering in a historic renewal of faith across our country, eliminating the scourge of anti-Semitism, and defending the sacred right of religious liberty for every single American.

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life. Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Sweet New Year!

2026-09-152026-09-15

Israeli President Isaac Herzog Visits Lithuania

On the War in Israel and the Situation in Lithuania