To:

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman, Lithuanian Jewish Community

Rabbi Chaim Burshtein

The members of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community of the City of Šiauliai are writing to you.

Critical attacks upon the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community authored by the Rabbi Chaim Burshtein have appeared recently on the internet.

We do not know the reasons behind the hostile position taken by Ch. Burshtein towards the leaders of the community, but we are displeased by the rabbi’s position. We cannot determine what role he plays in the life of the city of Vilnius, but as Chief Rabbi of Lithuania, he, in our opinion, is required to take an interest in the life of the regional communities. And this is exactly what has been missing.

There are 150 people who constitute the Šiauliai community. We want our children to grow up considering themselves Jews. We all know very well that it was religion which helped our people to survive over the centuries, despite persecutions, destruction, pogroms and even the Holocaust. The primary job of the rabbi is to provide to the congregation the fundamentals of Judaism, the Law, Torah. This is only possible through direct communication with the congregation. You, Mr. Burshtein, have only visited our community a few times over the lifetime of our community in Lithuania and you appeared arrogant and incapable of connecting with your audience. The lessons you prepared were incomprehensible to people of the older generation who don’t know the Russian language, because only direct communication with the audience allows for a return connection and facilitates comprehension by each listener of the ideas being taught.

In June of this year the Šiauliai Jewish Community opened a synagogue. We don’t have our own rabbi, and for that reason alone the rabbi of all Lithuania should visit our community frequently, concern himself with the affairs of the religious community and point the community in the right direction, and therefore we agree with the opinion of the leaders of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, that Lithuania needs a different rabbi, a more active one who correctly understands his mission as Chief Rabbi.

Conflicts within the Litvak community have always been solved quietly without making a public fuss. The rabbi’s position harms us.

The entire community elected Faina Kukliansky chairwoman democratically. In our opinion, she represents the community in Lithuania and the world very well. We condemn the rabbi’s aggressive behavior towards her. We think a different person, someone prepared to work as part of a team with people and resides permanently in Lithuania, should occupy the post of Chief Rabbi.

Board of Directors, Jewish Community of the City of Šiauliai

August, 2015