Announcements

Israeli Author to Present Lithuanian Translation at Vilnius Book Fair

Israeli Author to Present Lithuanian Translation at Vilnius Book Fair

Beloved Israeli author Eshkol Nevo will speak at the presentation of the translation of his book Shalosh Qomot (Three Floors, aka Three Floors Up) to Lithuanian at the Vilnius Book Fair on February 24. This is his first work translated into Lithuanian. The event is scheduled for 12 noon on Saturday, February 24, at the Litexpo Center in Vilnius. Following his presentation, visitor will have a chance to speak to him personally at the Sofoklis publishing house stand at the book fair.

Eshkol Nevo grew up in Jerusalem, Haifa and Detroit. He is the grandson of Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol after whom he is named. His Three Floors Up was the basis for an Italian film, Tre piani, released in 2021.

Lecture “From Circumcision to …” with Natalja Cheifec

Lecture “From Circumcision to …” with Natalja Cheifec

As part of her continuing lecture series on Jewish life, religion and tradition, Natalja Cheifec will talk about laws and traditions regulating Jewish stages of life, this time including brit milah, the circumcision ritual for newborn boys which harkens back to the covenant made with Abraham, and bar and bat mitzvah coming-of-age ceremonies. She will also discuss shidduch, Jewish matchmaking and engagements. Marriage, divorce, unavoidable death and the shiva ritual of mourning will also be touched upon.

Each of these stages of life and celebrations have their own symbolism and significance in the Jewish community. These are the prime moments in the Jewish cycle of life with their own distinct religious, cultural and family aspects.

The lecture will be conducted in Lithuanian from 5:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 8, on the zoom internet platform. Everyone is welcome. Click here to receive log-on credentials: https://bit.ly/3K73kEE

#NataljosEdukacija

Documentary Film about Judea and Samaria

Documentary Film about Judea and Samaria

Andrey Makarevich, founder of the Soviet and now Russian rock band Mashina Vremeni [Time Machine], has made a documentary film about travelling through the Israeli regions of Judea and Samaria with his wife, historian and guide Einat Klein. The Russian-language film will be screened at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, February 11, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Elisha Khenkin is a member of the Judean and Samarian Council and the head of the Russian-Speakers Department there, and is arriving to Lithuania especially to present this film at the LJC.

Admission is free but registration is required by sending your details to viljamas@lzb.lt.

Stahlhammer Klezmer Concert

Stahlhammer Klezmer Concert

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Vilnius and the Lithuanian Jewish Community invite you to a concert of klezmer music by the Stahlhammer Klezmer ensemble February 21.

The trio will perform enchanting klezmer and tango music. It was founded by violinist Semmy Stahlhammer from the Stockholm Royal Opera and a teacher at the Stockholm Royal Music College who usually performs solo violin concerts. Accordion player Miriam Oldenburg specializes in klezmer and cabaret music and toured Europe with Cirque du Soleil in 2012. Cellist Atida Munthe Stahlhammer teaches cello and also performs with the Yidishe Kapelye group and founder of the Stahlheimer quartet and the Brunneby Music Festival held in the summer in Herrgård.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Wednesday, February 21
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Please register here: https://forms.gle/ffRY9GSgzgt3ZmNU7

Quiz Nights Return

Quiz Nights Return

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to invite you to the return of quiz nights with the “Kas, kur, kada?” [Who, where, when?] quiz in Lithuanian moderated by Irina Sucker.

Registration is required by contacting Žana at zanas@sc.lzb.lt or by telephone at (+370) 678 81514.

Time: 6:30 P.M., Friday, February 9
Place: Third floor, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 4:40 P.M. on Friday, February 2, and concludes at 5:57 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

Annual Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai

Annual Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai

The annual Liova Taicas memorial tournament organized by the Šiauliai Jewish Community and now the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will take place for the 14th time on February 4 at the Šiauliai Athletics Gymnasium. Šiauliai Jewish Community chairman Sania Kerbelis said with Makabi’s involvement they expect to receive athletes from Makabi clubs in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and other cities and towns this year.

Participants will contend in indoor soccer, 3-on-3 basketball and volleyball. Those wanting to participate should call Rašella at 869910621.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

General Meeting of Makabi Club Members

General Meeting of Makabi Club Members

The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will hold a general meeting and conference of members at 11:00 A.M. on Sunday, February 25, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.

Agenda:

1. Report by president
2. Report by revision commission
3. Election of members of executive board
4. Topical and operational issues

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 4:26 P.M. on Friday, January 26, and concludes at 5:45 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Friday is also Australia Day and Saturday is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust proclaimed by the United Nations in 2005.

#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

 

Vilna Gaon Museum Marks International Holocaust Day at Vilnius Ghetto Battle Site

Vilna Gaon Museum Marks International Holocaust Day at Vilnius Ghetto Battle Site

Photo: Yekhiel Ilya Sheinboim, right, from Yad Vashem.

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is marking International Holocaust Day Sunday, January 28 in front of the apartment building on the former Strashun street inside the Vilnius ghetto, now Žemaitijos street no. 8, where the only street battle inside the ghetto between ghetto partisans versus Estonian Waffen-SS with German forces broke out during the two-week-long liquidation of the ghetto. This is where the Nazis blew up one building and barricaded streets, and Jewish partisan leader Yekhiel Ilya Sheinboim fired on the enemy from a balcony before being felled by a volley from up the street. Yekhiel was originally from Odessa and formed an underground resistance group in the Vilnius ghetto independent of the FPO, first merging with Borka Friedman’s Struggle Group to form the Yekhiel Struggle Group, and then merging with the FPO in May of 1943.

The ceremony will take place at 3:30 P.M. at Žemaitijos street no. 8, followed by a concert at the Tolerance Center at Naugarduko street no. 10 called “Windows Open to the Sun” at 5:00 P.M.

#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:

Read more
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Panevėžys

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Panevėžys

The Panevėžys Jewish Community invites you to remember the victims of the Holocaust at a special event to mark International Holocaust Day, January 27. The event in Panevėžys is being held the day before on January 26 starting with a public gathering at ~1:00 P.M. in front of the Sad Jewish Mother monument on Memory Square in the northern Lithuanian city.

Program:

1:00 P.M. opening ceremony and wreath-laying ceremony at Sad Jewish Mother monument, presentations including from Panevėžys city mayor Rytis Račkausas, Panevėžys regional administration mayor Antanas Pocius, students and honored guests.

2:00 P.M. back at Panevėžys Jewish Community headquarters, a conference with Panevėžys Jewish Community members and partners and screenings of Holocaust films.

Please signal your intent to attend by calling+370 61120882 or +370 61017608 or by emailing genakofman@yahoo.com.

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!

NGO Monitor Webinar: Examining Human Rights Stances on Israel

NGO Monitor Webinar: Examining Human Rights Stances on Israel

We are please to invite you to join a webinar co-hosted by NGO Monitor and the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement featuring a distinguished panel of experts. They will discuss the bias, silence and distortions of the international human rights community regarding the atrocities committed by Hamas. During this online briefing, we will explore the misconceptions surrounding Israel’s defensive actions, while addressing the gross human rights violations perpetrated by Hamas and their impact on innocent lives. The discussion moderated by NGO Monitor’s Olga Deutsch will include insights and
fresh perspectives from:

* Emily Schrader, journalist/writer/CEO of Social Lite Creative
* Pnina Sharvit Baruch, senior researcher on law and national security
* Danielle Haas, former senior editor at Human Rights Watch
* Dr. Saralyn Mark, women’s health and gender equity specialist and author

Mark your calendar, set a reminder, and get ready for an eye-opening discussion!

January 23, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. CT / 10:00 A.M. ET / 4:00 P.M. CT / 5:00 P.M. IST

Click here to register: https://events.combatantisemitism.org/humanrights

In addition to registering above, we encourage you to invite others who may be interested in joining.

Full text here.