News from Švenčionys

News from Švenčionys

Sophomore students from the Žeimena high school in Pabradė and their history teacher Mr. Stundza visited a Holocaust memorial to the Jews of Pabradė on September 23, the Day of Remembrance of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide. Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moishe Shapiro was invited to tge commemoration and spoke to the students.

Goodbye Culture Protest

Goodbye Culture Protest

The following protest is being called by people who describe themselves as the cultural community of Lithuanian for tomorrow, September 25, to protest the minister of culture proposed and delgated by the Nemuno Aušra party. Details and petition link below.

Dear people of culture,

We are protesting. We categorically oppose the Government’s shocking decision to hand the post of minister of culture over to the Nemuno Aušra party.

We believe that:

Culture cannot be used a tool for political deal-making. The Lithuanian Culture Ministry is not a token which can be exchanged for short-term political gain;

Culture is our memory, the foundation of democratic values, society’s guarantor of resilience to propaganda;

To give this ministry over to a political force characterized by populism, anti-Semitic and pro-Russian rhetoric is dangerous, both to the cultural sector and to society as a whole.

We urge:

Lost Shtetl Museum Opens

Lost Shtetl Museum Opens

The Lost Shtetl Museum, after several years of construction and preparation and missed opening dates, finally opened its doors to the public in Šeduva, Kithuania on September 20.

According to visitors and experts, the museum is unlike any other in Lithuania. A large collection of authentic objects tells the story of the Jewish shtetl Šeduva, but also of all shtetls in Lithuania and the region. Some of the texts and exhibits are funny, and portray situations, trials and tribulations from daily life, love letters, immigration plans and excitement for upcoming holidays.

The museums thematic sections and exhibit items are complemented by tactile and olfactory details which might be ignored at first but provide an overall impression, according to one visitor.

Marker Commemorates Lost Synagogues in Baisogala

Marker Commemorates Lost Synagogues in Baisogala

This week a stone marker was unveiled in Baisogala, Lithuania, to commemorate synagogues which once stood there.

Jewish settlement began there in the early 19th century and by the 20th century more than half the town was Jewish. The shtetl had a number of synagogues, a Jewish primary school and Jewish workshops. All signs of Jewish life were destroyed by the Nazis and Soviets.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky unveiled the stone marker and Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom performed kaddish.

Ponar Commemoration on Thursday, September 25

Ponar Commemoration on Thursday, September 25

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come honor the approximately 200,000 :Lithuanian Holocaust victims at Ponar on the outskirts of Vilnius this Thursday, September 25. Transportation to and from Ponar is available, register by sending an email to info@lzb.lt.The bus will leace from the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 12:45 {.M. sharp, and will not wait for latecomers.

Time: ~1:00 P.M., Thursday, September 25
Place: Ponar Memorial Complex, Agrastų street no. 15A, Vilnius

New Year’s Greetings

New Year’s Greetings

Dear friends,

Greetings on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, 5786!

May the mighty sound of the shofar drive away all of the bad from the previous year and bring happiness, success and peace. As you sit around the Rosh Hashanah holiday table with family and break the challa bread, I hope and wish you take pride in your identity and traditions, and that you would inculcate the next generation with this feeling.

May smiles and joy follow you at every step.

A calm, peaceful and sweet New Year. Shana tova umetuku!

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community

Condolences

Aldona Raf has died. She was born in 1936. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. Oir deepest condolences to her friends and family.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 7:25 P.M. on Friday, September 19, and concludes at 8:16 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 7:07 P.M. and completed before sunset at 7:25 P.M. Rosh Hashanah begins at 6:59 P.M. on Monday and ends at 8:05 P.M. Wednesday. Tuesday, September 23, is Remembrance Day for Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide.

Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue

Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue

Rosh Hashanah begins at 6:59 P.M. on Monday and ends at 8:05 P.M. Wednesday. The new Jewish year is 5786. The Lithuanian Jewish Community will celebrate Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius.

Schedule:

Monday
6:30 P.M. Mincha and maariv prayers

Tuesday
10:00 A.M. Shacharit prayer
12:00 noon Blowing of the shofar
12:15 P.M. Musaf with Shmuel Yaatom
2:30 P.M. Mincha
6:00 P.M. Blowing of the shofar
8:10 O,N, Maariv

New Israeli Ambassador Visits Kaunas Jewish Community

New Israeli Ambassador Visits Kaunas Jewish Community

Israel’s new amvassador to Lithuania Shelly Hugler-Livne and deputy ambassador Shimon Pesach visited the Kaunas Jewish Community last week and met with chairman Gercas Žakas. They also visited Sugihara House, the Ninth Fort Museum, the Beit Israel community center abd took in the wall painting of Leya Goldberg. The new amvassador and deputy visited the Lithuanian Health Sciences University as well.

They met the mayor of Kaunas and visited the Čiurlionis National Art Museum in Kaunas.

Birthday Greetings from Šiauliau Regional Jewish Community

Birthday Greetings from Šiauliau Regional Jewish Community

The Šiauliau Regional Jewish Community warmly congratulates Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky on her birthday. May every day be filled with meaning, may every person you meet bring a smile, and every experience become one more step towards true happiness. On your birthday we wish you inner peace, self-confidence and endless courage o forge your own path. Take joy in each day of life and don’t be afraid to dream, because only those who believe in their dreams are able to make them come true.

Birthday Greetings from the Ukmergė Jewish Community

Birthday Greetings from the Ukmergė Jewish Community

Dear Faina,

We sincerely congratulate you on the ocassion of your birthday!

Your endless energy, focused work and the responsibility you take upon yourself for the entire Community are an inspirational example for all of us. Even those daily taks you do behind the scenes result in tangible changes which touch many.

In the name of the Ukmergė Jewish Community I wish you strong health, inner tranquility, meaningful ideas and a loyal team bsside you. May each day bring not merely new ideas, but also joyful moments among friends, family and the like-minded.

With grea respect and the warmest wishes,

Ukmergė Jewish Community

Happy Birthday to Faina Kukliansky

Happy Birthday to Faina Kukliansky

Dearest chairwoman,

We sincerely congratulate you on your birthday! May this special day be filled with the warmth of those around you and the love of family and friends. We wish you good health, happiness and success in all your endeavors. Mazl tov. Bis 120!

The Lithuanian Jewish Community

Information Stands Show the Way to Ponar

Information Stands Show the Way to Ponar

The city of Vilnius, the Jewish Culture and Information Center and the Vilnius Museum have set up 7 stands marking the path along which Jews were marched to their murder at Ponar. The project is meant to commemorate Lithuania’s Day of Remembrance of Jewish Victims of Genocide on September 23. The stands contain photographs by Holocaust survivor Akiva Gershater with texts by historian Zigmas Vitkus.

Jews were taken to be shot at Ponar, either marched or driven in trucks, along what is now Savanorių prospect. up the hill to Ponar and then along what was then the Grodno highway.

The organizers invite the public to march this route, starting at the Hyacinth Chapel at the intersection of Konarskio street and Jovaro sreet, where boundary markers marking the city limits once stood, and where now the first stand is located.

The march will conclude at the Ponar Memorial Complex where historian and Holocaust researcher Milda Jakulytė-Vasil will conclude with a speech about the mass murder site.

THe march begins at the aforementioned intersection at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday, September čą. The route is about 10 or 7 miles long and should take from 2.5 to 3 hours to complete. A portion of the trek is through forest. Milda Jakulytė-Vasil will speak at Ponar for 30 to 45 minutes. The return trip can be made by train at the Ponar train station or by city bus.

Marchers should wear comfortable walking shoes and are asked to register here.