Announcements

Intellectual Heritage of Vilner Jews

Intellectual Heritage of Vilner Jews

The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities invite you to attend an international conference called “The Intellectual Heritage of the Jews of Vilnius” on October 10 and 11 at the Lithuanian Academy located at Gedimino prospect no. 3 in Vilnius.

According to the Lithuanian Academy’s press release:

“Thanks to the support of the Research Council of Lithuania, we were able to invite such world-renowned experts in Jewish history and culture as Israel Bartal, David Fishman, David Roskies, Benjamin Brown, Alex Lubotzky, Marcin Wodzinski, Jon Seligman, Avner Holtzman, Tsvia Walden, Mordechai Zalkin and others.

“The conference will also feature presentations by prominent Lithuanian scholars: Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, Lara Lempertienė, Jurgita Verbickienė and doctoral student Saulė Valiūnaitė.”

A program is available in English here.

For more information, visit the Lithuanian Academy’s website here.

We Stand with Israel Gathering

We Stand with Israel Gathering

Hamas in Gaza has launched what they hope will spark a new, general Palestinian intifida against the state of Israel in the West Bank and Jerusalem as well. Over 300 Israelis including security forces but a majority of civilians have been killed inside Israel, about 1,600 people have been wounded  and around 52 soldiers and civilians have been taken prisoner and taken into Gaza, including at least one UK citizen. Palestinian sources claim over 750 hostages have been taken into Gaza from Israel. In Ashkelon near the border with Gaza a synagogue and hospital were struck by Palestinian rockets.

The invasion began on Saturday with thousands of rockets sent into Israel from Gaza, with a few volleys now coming from Hezbollah locations inside Lebanon targeting northern Israel. Israel responded with aerial bombardment of selected sites inside Gaza City. Hamas reported more than 256 dead and 1,700 wounded in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claimed the sneak attack was in response to Israeli attacks and provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a message which has resonated in the Islamic world with spontaneous pro-Palestinian protests erupting in Turkey, Iran and other countries. Military strategists say Israel is facing what is perhaps a three- or four-front war: Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and a potential attempt by Syria to retake the Golan Heights. Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has declared a state of war against Hamas, and indicated it might be a long war. The Israeli defense minister said the coming hostilities will be ruthless and will degrade Hamas’s military capability forever.

We invite you to attend a gathering to show that we stand with Israel.

Time: 6:00 P.M. tomorrow, Monday, October 9
Location: Cathedral Square, Vilnius

There are some reports that extremists are planning attacks in Lithuania as well, so be careful and if you know anything about this, please report it to the police and the Lithuanian Jewish Community.

Simchat Torah at the Choral Synagogue

Simchat Torah at the Choral Synagogue

The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius will provide the following prayer services for Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah:

October 6

6:30 P.M. Kabalat Shabat and Hag Shmini

October 7

10:00 A.M. Shacharit
11:00 A.M. Megilat Kohelet (reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes)
12:00 noon Yizkor
7:40 Simchat Torah eve with hakafot dance/procession

October 8

10:00 A.M. Shacharit with hakafot
11:00 A.M. Torah reading

Jerusalem Ballet Comes to Lithuania

Jerusalem Ballet Comes to Lithuania

The Israeli ballet troupe Jerusalem Ballet will perform the world premiere of their “Memento: Franceska Mann’s Last Dance at Auschwitz” on November 26 in Vilnius. The performance is based on historical facts and inspired by the tragic story of Jewish ballerina Franceska Mann, who is said to have killed a Nazi guard during the Holocaust.

Time: 6:00 P.M., November 26
Location: Avia Solutions Group Arena, Vilnius

Tickets available here.

Please note: Lithuanian Jewish Community members and friends will receive a 20% discount on the ticket price. To obtain the discount code, fill out the form here.

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Discussion Club on Sukkot and Other Jewish Holidays: How Do They Compare with Lithuanian Holidays?

Discussion Club on Sukkot and Other Jewish Holidays: How Do They Compare with Lithuanian Holidays?

The 15th of Tishrei, which fell on Friday, September 29 this year, is when Sukkot, one of the more important Jewish holidays, begins. Jewish families pitch a tent or build a booth where every day, except on the Sabbath, they “dwell,” meaning they spend some time at the table inside, or spend the night in warmer climes. This is meant to remind us of the 40 years the Hebrew people dwelt in the desert following the exodus from Egypt living in tents.

The ŽydiškiPašnekesiai discussion club led by writer and journalist Arkadijus Vinokuras is inviting participants to come inside the traditional sukka this Wednesday, October 4, to talk about the Jewish holidays in the fall season.

“Sukkot is a week-long Jewish holiday which is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot celebrates the harvest and recalls God’s miraculous protection to the children of Israel after the exodus from Egypt. We celebrate Sukkot in a booth called a sukka decorated with vegetation and by handling the four species of vegetation,” Vinokuras said.

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Telzh Yeshiva Reopens to Public

Telzh Yeshiva Reopens to Public

The famous Telzh (Tels, Telšiai, Telz) Yeshiva, a cultural heritage site, has reopened with a new public use. Last week a branch of the Alka Museum opened its doors inside the yeshiva building. The new museum space housed in the Jewish school will feature and protect the Jewish material heritage there.

The Telzh Yeshiva exhibit there was set up based on the yizkor Sefer Ṭelz (Sefer Ṭelz (Liṭa): matsevet zikaron li-ḳehilah ḳedoshah) compiled by Yitzhak Alperowitz and published in Israel in 1984. In 2022 the books was translated into Lithuanian as “Telšiai. Atminties knyga” [Telzh: Book of Memory], opening the door for Lithuanian speakers to discover the traces of Jewish life in the small town and find out more about its history.

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Sukkot Begins Today

Sukkot Begins Today

Sukkot or Sukkos beings at 6:43 P.M. in Vilnius on Friday, September 29, 2023.

The festival of Sukkot–literally meaning booths, tents, tabernacles–is celebrated for seven days in Israel and eight days in the Diaspora, starting on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. It is one of the three festivals during which Jewish men were required to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the times of the Holy Temple.

This year the first day of the week-long holiday coincides with the Sabbath, adding another layer to the observance of taking the lulav, or the four species, and dwelling in the sukka or booth is postponed till after the conclusion of the Sabbath. For more information, see here.

Presentation of Book about Lives of Jewish Rescuers at Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

Presentation of Book about Lives of Jewish Rescuers at Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community located at Višinskio street no. 24 in Šiauliai will host a public presentation of the short book “Gyvenimo istorijos. Žydų gelbėtojai” [Life Stories: Jewish Rescuers] as the final events in the Laptai Gallery’s project “Cultural Sketches of Litvaks” at 6:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 3.

This is the third short book in the “Gyvenimo istorijos” series and focuses on testimonies from eye-witnesses and relatives about the Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews from the Holocaust in the Šiauliai region.

The presentation will include the reading of passages by Šiauliai State Drama Theater actress Jūratė Budriūnaitė, recollections by living witnesses and their relatives and musical accompaniment performed by Arijus Ivaškevičius. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (8) (41) 200-642 (which is equivalent to +370 41 200 642 on mobile phones).

Yom Kippur at the Choral Synagogue

Yom Kippur at the Choral Synagogue

The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius will hold mincha at 7:00 P.M. and kol nidrei and maariv services at 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 24, to mark Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

On Monday, September 25, there will be morning prayer service at 10:00 A.M., followed by a yizkor service at 12:00 noon and mincha and neil at 7:00 P.M.

Schedule of Commemorative Events for the 80th Anniversary of the Anti-Nazi Resistance and Liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto

Schedule of Commemorative Events for the 80th Anniversary of the Anti-Nazi Resistance and Liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto

European Days of Jewish Culture

Time: Starts at 10:00 A.M. on September 3, 2023
Location: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius; Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, Cvi Park (Petras Cvirka Square across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community).

Exhibit “Ghetto Children Tell Their Story to Contemporary Children”
Time: September 4 to September 30, 2023
Location: Adomas Mickevičius Public Library, Trakų street no. 10, Vilnius.

Special Concert to Remember Victims of the Holocaust
Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė, patroness
Time: September 6, 2023
Location: Lėlė Theater, Arklių street no. 5, Vilnius.
by invitation only

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Commemoration of Holocaust Victims at Ponar

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Commemoration of Holocaust Victims at Ponar

Commemoration of Holocaust Victims at Ponar Memorial Complex on September 21

Program:

2:40 P.M. March of the Living procession from Ponar railroad tracks to Ponar Memorial Complex, duration about 20 minutes;

3:00 P.M. Ceremony to commemorate Holocaust victims at the main memorial in the Ponar Memorial Complex.

If you’d like transportation, the LJC will provide a bus leaving at 2:00 P.M. sharp from the Neringa Hotel located at Gedimino prospect no. 23 in Vilnius. Those who wish to ride the bus must register by calling Liuba at+370 685 06900 or by sending an email to office@lzb.lt with your full name. Those who haven’t registered won’t be boarded and the bus won’t wait for latecomers.

#VilniusGhetto80

Reminder about Bus to Ponar

Reminder about Bus to Ponar

Reminder: If you’d like transportation to the Holocaust commemoration at Ponar on September 21, the LJC will provide a bus leaving at 2:00 P.M. sharp from the Neringa Hotel located at Gedimino prospect no. 23 in Vilnius. Those who wish to ride the bus must register by calling Liuba at+370 685 06900 or by sending an email to office@lzb.lt with your full name. Those who haven’t registered won’t be boarded and the bus won’t wait for latecomers.

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Student Play Remembers Ghetto Teachers, Students and Children

Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Student Play Remembers Ghetto Teachers, Students and Children

This play by students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius is based on passages from the diaries of Yitzhak Rudashevski, Masha Rolnik and Hermann Kruk with Vilnius ghetto songs performed by Rafailas Karpis and Darius Mažintas. Sholem Aleichem students will tell the stories of children from the Vilnius ghetto.

Location: Konstantinas Sirvydas Square in Vilnius, next to the French embassy
Time: 8:00 P.M., September 20.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Play “Symphony of Dance from the Jerusalem of the North”

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Play “Symphony of Dance from the Jerusalem of the North”

The dance troupe Lietuva and the Prabudimo orkestras present a song and dance spectacular called “Symphony of Dance from the Jerusalem of the North.” The performance is based on Jievaras Jasinskis’s work “Simfonija iš Šiaurės Jeruzalės” [Symphony from the Jerusalem of the North]. The story begins 4,000 years ago and extends till the present. The performance will take place on different dates around Lithuania. Tickets available here.

Schedule:

7:00 P.M. on September 23 at the State Youth Theater in Vilnius, by invitation only.

6:00 P.M. on September 24 at the State Youth Theater in Vilnius

7:00 P.M. on September 27 at the State Drama Theater in Kaunas

6:00 P.M. on October 7 at the Concert Hall in Palanga

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Conference at Parliament “Communism and Anti-Semitism”

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Conference at Parliament “Communism and Anti-Semitism”

The Lithuanian parliament will host an international conference called “Communism and Anti-Semitism” beginning at 10:00 A.M. on November 28. The organizers of the conference include the Lithuanian Jewish Community, YIVO, the POLIN institute and the Goodwill Foundation. It will be broadcasted on the parliament’s website www.lrs.lt and via the parliament’s youtube channel. Stay tuned for more details.

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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Play “The Choice”

Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Play “The Choice”

The Lėlės Theater in Vilnius presents a play in Lithuanian called “Pasirinkimas” based on Holocaust survivor and trauma psychologist Edith Eva Eger’s book “The Choice: Embrace the Possible,” which details her Holocaust experience as a young woman. The play starts at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 24. The theater is located at Arklių street no. 5 in Vilnius.

Tickets are available here.

#VilniusGhetto80