LJC Youth Programs coordinator Sofja Sirutienė has reported registration has ended for the Amehaye summer camp this year, but there is a waiting list for those who still want to attend.
New London Synagogue Celebrates Grigory Kanovich’s 80th Birthday
New Litvak History Exhibit in Cape Town
URM.lt
The Lithuanian Embassy to South Africa presented a mobile exhibit at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town June 6 called “One Century Out of Seven. Lithuania, Lite, Lita.” The installation informs viewers of different aspects of Jewish history in Lithuania from the time of the Grand Duchy to the present. The exhibit travelled to South Africa’s second-largest city from the Holocaust and Genocide Center in Johannesburg.
Lithuanian ambassador Sigutė Jakštonytė welcomed the large audience including members of the Cape Town Jewish community and members of the parliament of the Republic of South Africa. She told them the Lithuanian parliament had named 2020 the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History in appreciation of the Litvak contribution to the Lithuanian state and to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims. The ambassador also thanked the museum in Cape Town for four years of close cooperation.
The exhibit at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town runs till the end of June.
Unusual Holocaust Memorial to Be Unveiled in Biržai
DELFI.lt
An event to commemorate the Jews of Biržai and Holocaust victims is to be held on Sunday, June 16, including honoring rescuers of Jews, a memorial procession and the unveiling of a 30-meter-long Holocaust memorial.
The Biržai Jewish Cultural and History Association, the Biržai regional administration and the Sėla Museum in Biržai are organizing the event. Partners include the Israeli embassy to Lithuania, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry and the secretariat of the International Commission to Assess the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania.
Milk and Cheese Treats on Shavuot
We celebrate the holiday of Shavuot on June 9 and 10. June 8 is the eve before the holiday, and the entire night is dedicated to studying the Oral and Written Torah. The Torah is read out on this night.
Shavuot is an old holiday of pilgrimage and its rituals add cohesion to the community. During the holiday, a series of milk and cheese dishes are prepared and sampled. The king among them is the classic cheese pie. In Lithuania as in other European Jewish communities pancakes with cheese are popular. During the holiday in Israel, smaller cheese makers open their doors to visitors. Shavuot tourists are also invited to attend the Northern Cheese Pie Festival held now for its third year and children are taught how to milk cows and how to make butter from fresh milk.
This Sunday the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius will celebrate with treats made by Shoshana, a mashgiach who came especially from Israel to cook for the Bagel Shop Café this year.
The Bagel Shop Café recommends making Shavuot breakfast from the best challa with cream cheese and berries.
Vytautas Landsbergis Cup 2019 Chess Tournament at Lithuanian Parliament
The Vytautas Landsbergis Cup 2019 Chess Tournament will be held beginning at 9:00 A.M. at the Lithuanian parliament on Saturday, June 8.
The tournament is being organized and sponsored by the Chancellery of the Lithuanian parliament and the Rositsan and Maccabi Elite Chess and Checkers Club. Head referee will be Raimondas Paliulionis. Expected to attend are professor Vytautas Landsbergis, Russian (Soviet) world champion Gary Kasparov, the best Lithuanian chess players and a host of diplomats, MPs and heads of government institutions, with at least 48 participants in total. The tournament will be held at the Gallery of Stained-Glass and Defenders of Freedom in building 1 of the Lithuanian parliament at Gedimino prospect no. 53 in Vilnius.
Registration of participants and guests begins at 9:00 A.M. and continues until 10:00 A.M, with the event beginning at 10:30 A.M. Time control is 10 minutes per move with no overtime. The winner is to receive the rotating Vytautas Landsbergis Cup. Those receiving trophies as well include winners in the women’s, children’s (under 16), seniors’ (60) and amateurs’ (with FIDE ratings up to 1600) divisions. All participants will receive medals of participation and souvenirs. To register contact Boris Rositsan at info@metbor.lt
Shavuot on Sunday
Shavuot or Shavuos is the holiday marking the giving of the Torah. The Vilnius Jewish Religious Community and Chabad Lithuania invite you to come celebrate together at 11:30 A.M. on Sunday, June 9, at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius. We will read the Ten Commandments and everyone will have the opportunity to sample delicious traditional Shavuot milk-product dishes. Children will receive small gifts. Because Shavuot is a time when studying the Torah is especially apt, traditional and successful, you are invited to an extended Sabbath dinner at Bokšto street no. 9 in Vilnius at 8:30 on June 8 where we will learn more about the Shavuot holiday.
Celebrate Sabbath with Lithuanian Designer Agnė Kuzmickaitė
The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come celebrate the Sabbath with a guest, famous Lithuanian clothing designer Agnė Kuzmickaitė. LJC executive director Renaldas Vaisbrodas will lead a discussion with her.
Time: 6:00 P.M. June 7
Place: LJC third floor, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Amehaye Children’s Summer Day Camp
Children aged 6 to 12 are invited to attend the 2019 Amehaye children’s summer day camp. Parents with younger children aged at least 4 can also contact the organizers for their children to attend. This year the camp will be held at the scenic Karvys mansion estate next to Lake Karvys in the Vilnius region from July 1 to 12. Please contact Sofja at sofja@lzb.lt or by telephone at +370 601 46656 for more information on how to register before June 14. An electronic registration form is available in Lithuanian here.
Makabi Members Invited to Sporting Tournament
Dear Makabi members,
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will host a mini-Maccabiah Games event from 12 noon to 4:00 P.M. on June 16 at the Lithuanian Educology University, Studentų street no. 39, Vilnius. Badminton competitions will be held at the A. Puškinas School at Gabijos street no. 8 in Vilnius. Your local teams are invited to compete in:
Indoor soccer (7 players plus coach)
Three-on-three basketball (5 players plus coach)
Volleyball (9 players plus coach)
Table tennis (men’s and women’s)
Chess (men’s, women’s)
Badminton (men’s, women’s)
Rules for the competition will be set following determination of exact numbers of teams and players in different sports.
Please send an application by e-mail to makabilita.duskes@gmail.com by June 14.
For more information, call 8 698 19999
Michailas Duškesas, executive director
Jewish Influences in the Life of Russian Poetess Anna Akhmatova
The Lithuanian Jewish Community will host an event dedicated to celebrating the 130th birthday of the Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova and discussing Jewish influences in her life. The event will take place at the LJC beginning at 1:00 P.M. on June 5. At least five speakers will present various topics. A screening of a film about Isaiah Berlin will punctuate the program of speakers, with a discussion with the audience following the last speaker. The event is expected to be held mainly in Russian.
Sabbath at Choral Synagogue in Vilnius
Creative Activity
The Ilan and Dubi Clubs of the Lithuanian Jewish Community are holding a creative activity at the Artistic Village traditional arts and crafts center in the Bebrusai village in the Molėtai region from 10:45 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, May 26. Registration is open till May 24. Transportation from the Community to the village and back will be provided. Call Sofja at +370 601 46656 or send an email to sofja@lzb.lt
Lag B’Omer Celebration
A celebration of the Jewish holiday of unity Lag B’Omer will be held in Galgiai in the Vilnius region at 6:00 P.M. on May 23. The event includes music, a barbecue, activities for kids, a trampoline, face painting and archery.
Those who register before 12 noon on May 23 will be provided transportation. Please call 8 68508550 or write rabbi@jewishlita.com to register or for directions.
The bus will leave from the back of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius, the side facing Plačioji street.
Eurovision at the Bagel Shop Café
Come watch the semifinals in the Eurovision song contest at the Bagel Shop Café in the Lithuanian Jewish Community. We’re rooting for Jurijus Veklenko. This year the contest is being held in Israel and we’ll be watching live, with a bar and Israeli snacks.
The fun starts at 8:30 P.M. on May 16 at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.
German Translation of Markas Petuchauskas’s Book at Lithuanian Embassy Berlin
The German translation of Markas Petuchauskas’s book “The Price of Concord” (Der Preis der Eintracht) will be presented at the Lithuanian embassy in Berlin May 15. The event will be moderated by theater director Gregorij H. von Leitis who is known for his work presenting and promoting Jewish culture. Von Leitis has Litvak roots.
This is not the first presentation of Petuchauskas’s book in Germany. Back in March it made a splash at the Leipzig International Book Fair with well-known personalities leading a panel discussion about the Litvak drama critic’s main work published originally in English.
Musical Evening “The Sounds of Music and Janusz Korczak”
Time: 5:30 P.M., May 15, 2019
Place: Central Library of the City of Vilnius
The Dr. Janusz Korczak Center and the Central Library of the City of Vilnius are pleased to invite you to an evening of music entitled Sounds of Music and Janusz Korczak.
Markas Volynskij and Marija Duškina will perform Yiddish songs.
Dr. Janusz Korczak Center director I. Belienė will be master of ceremonies.
Janusz Korczak’s real name was Henrik Goldshmit and was also known as Stary Doktor (Old Doctor) and Pan Doktor (Mr. Doctor). He was born in Warsaw on July 22, 1878, and died in August of 1942 at Treblinka. He was a doctor, teacher, writer, publicist and Jewish public figure. He was the originator of children’s rights and the idea that children should enjoy equal rights.
The Central Library of the City of Vilnius is located at Žirmūnų street no. 6 in Vilnius.
Suicide Prevention Workshop safeTALK May 23, 2019
The public health unit of the Vilnius municipality invites the public to attend a workshop called safeTALK on suicide prevention to teach people how to recognize the signs of someone in crisis and how to react appropriately to suicidal behavior.
The workshop will be held from 2 to 6:00 P.M. on May 23, 2019, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. Speakers include Vaiva Juškevičiūtė and Giedrė Putelytė. Note the workshop will run for four hours with a break.
This is a Lithuanian adaptation of the safeTALK suicide prevention program created by the LivingWorks Education organization. It is constantly updated based on global academic studies and practical experience in the field of suicide prevention. The workshops are conducted by a team of specialists trained and certified by LivingWorks Education. For more information on the workshops, see http://www.vvsb.lt/mokymai-ir-renginiai/ in Lithuanian and https://www.livingworks.net/programs/safetalk/ in English.
The workshop is accredited by the Lithuanian Health Protection Ministry and is financed by the city of Vilnius. Those completing the workshop will be issued an international certificate. Prior registration is required and space is limited. Register here: http://www.vvsb.lt/savizudybiu-prevencija/
Ilan Club Invites Children to Another Animation Workshop
The Ilan Club invites children to another animation workshop this Sunday, May 12, at 1:30 P.M., at the Ilan Club on the second floor of the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.
Registration is required. Send an email to sofja@lzb.lt or call 8 601 46656
We will create scenes for an animated film. We will draw, move and film and use this material to create animated characters. The children themselves will be the main characters in the cartoon.
Litvak Scout Summer Camp July 28 to August 2
The Litvak Scouting summer camp will be held from July 28 to August 2 this year. Stay tuned for further information.