Goal and Tasks of Competition
–to popularize swimming among Makabi Club members;
–to select the best swimmers to compete at the international Maccabiah Games.
Time and Location of Competition
The competition will take place from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on September 17, 2017, at the Girstutis Multifunction Sports and Entertainment Complex at Kovo 11-osios street no. 26 in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Dear members and friends,
Thank for your swift response in helping a family in need earlier. Now we have a new request. One of our families with children has just moved to a new residence and they need your support.
The following are especially needed:
1. Refrigerator
2. Bedding and sheets
3. Blankets and pillows
4. Educational games for children
5. Pots and pans
6. Dishes
7. Paint
8. Wallpaper
Those able and willing to help should contact Social Programs Department Family Program coordinator Rašėlė by telephone at 865213146 or e-mail at rasheles@sc.lzb.lt
Thank you!
information from the Cultural Heritage Department under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and other sources
A commission for assessing cultural heritage real estate from the Cultural Heritage Department has provided legal protection to the remains of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius. The Great Synagogue of Vilnius was one of the largest religious institutions in Eastern Europe. It was renowned as an important Jewish spiritual and educational center and put Vilnius on the map as a center of Jewish scholarship. The Cultural Treasures Registry lists the construction (fragments of brick wall dating from the 18th century and entrance to the synagogue, southwest wall fragment with niche for the aron kodesh and eastern wall fragment), architectural features, remains of the former building complex including mikvehs dating from the late 19th century, a utility trench on Žydų street and cultural strata as valuable and protected features of the synagogue complex.
Originally the site hosted a wooden synagogue, believed to have been built around 1573. It burned down and was replaced at least once. In 1630 and 1633 royal grant was issued to allow a brick and mortar synagogue to be built there.
Klaipėda Jewish Community chairman Feliksas Puzemskis has been appointed chairman of the Ethnic Minorities Council of the city of Klaipėda. The Lithuanian Jewish Community congratulates Feliksas on the important appointment and wishes him the highest success in this new post!
September 20
Competition “Who? What? Where?” for students at the Panevėžys Jewish Community, Ramygalos street no. 18, Panevėžys. The theme of the contest is Holocaust events in Lithuania. The competition starts at 2:00 P.M. There will be six teams from schools and gymnasia in the area. Each team will have 5 members and 1-2 teachers from each educational institution. In total 35 participants will compete.
September 22
Rosh Hashanah celebration at the Rojaus paukštė café, Respublikos street no. 4a. Starts at 6:00 P.M. Please register by September 12 with Zinaida Zaprudskaja to attend this event.
September 23
Commemoration of Jewish Genocide Day: at 1:00 P.M. there will be a commemoration at the statue of the Jewish mother on Atminites square; at 1:30 P.M. there will be an excursion to the Holocaust mass murder site in the Kurganava forest; at 2:00 P.M. there will be an excursion to the Holocaust mass murder site in the Žalioji forest; at 2:30 P.M. there will be a screening of a documentary film about Auschwitz at the Panevėžys Jewish Community, Ramygalos street no. 18, Panevėžys.
Please register with Zinaida Zaprudskaja by September 12.
A bus will carry visitors to the sites, departing from Atminities square at 1:30 P.M.
All events are supported by the Goodwill Foundation.
Rabbi Mordechai Weits will hold two lectures at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius on August 29 and 31.
The first lesson is a discussion of the weekly readings from the Torah. The second lesson is about preparing for the Jewish Holy Days in the fall. The teachings will be held in the classroom on the second floor of the synagogue at 6:00 P.M. on August 29 and 31, respectively.
UPDATE: A third lesson by the rabbi, a discussion of weekly Torah readings, will be held at 6:00 P.M. on September 4 as well, at the same location.
Press release
The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites the public to attend an event dedicated to the Jewish shtetls of Lithuania to commemorate and remember together this period of Lithuanian history, interesting and dear to us but cut short by the Holocaust and which has become a subject of academic interest and heritage protection.
The theme of this year’s European Day of Jewish Culture on September 3 as confirmed by the Cultural Heritage Department to the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture is “The Diaspora and Heritage: The Shtetl.” This is an intentional, mature and topical choice for a country where the life of the largest ethnic and confessional minority, of the Jews, thrived namely in the Lithuanian shtetlakh until 1941.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community will host an event called “Shtetlakh of Lithuania” on the third floor of the community building at Pylimo street no. 4 on September 3 to celebrate the European Day of Jewish Culture in 2017.
The event will kick off with a bagel breakfast and a presentation and tasting of authentic Jewish recipes at the Bagel Shop Café on the first floor at 9:00 A.M. Following that everyone is invited to attend a short Yiddish language lesson. A brunch awaits the graduates at the Bagel Shop Café. At 2:00 P.M. guest speakers will begin delivering free public lectures on the shtetlakh of Aniksht (Anykščiai), Eishishyok (Eišiškės), Sheduva (Šeduva) and Vilkovishk (Vilkaviškis) and what remains of them. A challa-baking lesson and presentation of the Bagel Shop Café’s new ceramics collection begins at 4:00 P.M. The Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh will perform a concert at 6:00 P.M.
The Rakija Klezmer Orkestar will also perform a concert at 3:00 P.M. in the Šnipiškės neighborhood of Vilnius.
More information available here.
“The reality in Lithuania is that If you want to learn more about the material and immaterial cultural heritage of a given town in Lithuanian (including the architectural features and aura of buildings, demographic changes and consequent changes in the structure of the town, changes in political structure and the ensuing canonization of ideologized development patterns), you will, unavoidably, run into the word ‘shtetl.’ You will find no better opportunity to understand what this is and to discover the shtetl in the features of buildings still standing in the towns than the events for the European Day of Jewish Culture on September 3,” director of the Cultural Heritage Department Diana Varnaitė said.
The word shtetl is an old Yiddish diminutive for shtot, city, meaning town. The towns of Lithuania where Jews comprised half or the majority of the population, characterized by Litvak energy and the bustle of commercial activity, are often called shtetlakh, the plural of shtetl. It’s thought shtetls evolved into their modern form in the 18th century. Malat, Kupeshok, Zosle, Olkenik, Svintsyan, Vilkomir, Gruzd, Eishyshok, Utyan–these are just a few of the surviving Lithuanian towns.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky recalls her parents’ shtetl:
“We didn’t travel to my grandparents’ village in the summer. We didn’t have any ebcause they were murdered in the Holocaust, or had moved from their shtetlakh to Vilnius or Kaunas because they could no longer live there without their loved ones and friends lying in the pits together with the bodies and souls of the other unfortunates.
“The Kuklianskys who survived, however, my father, my uncle who hid in trenches from the Nazis near the shtetl of Sventiyansk, were rescued by local village people, but for their entire lives longed for their home on the banks of the Ančia River in Veisiejai, Lithuania. There was no place happier or more beautiful than their native shtetl. Perhaps because their mother hadn’t been murdered yet.
“The eyes of my mother, who was born in Keydan (Kėdainiai) and spent her childhood in Shavl (Šiauliai), her eyes used to just shine when she remembered how they used to go to the ‘spa town’ of Pagelava near Shavl in horse-drawn cart.
“The shtetls… are no more. Now there are cities and towns, but they have no rabbis, no yeshivas, synagogues or Jews… all that remains is love for the place of one’s birth, but love is stronger than hate. The memories remain, too, and without them we wouldn’t be commemorating the shtetls and their inhabitants.”
Those who seek to find the traces of the lost and concealed presence of the Jews only have to find their way to the center of a Lithuanian town, to the old town, where the red-brick buildings still stand. All of the old towns of the small towns were built by Jews. The same goes for the former synagogues, schools, pharmacies and hospitals.
Cultural heritage experts tell us market day and the Sabbath were the main events of the week in the Lithuanian towns. Both were observed. After the Holocaust the shtetlakh were empty, the Jewish homes stood empty even if they still contained family heirlooms and the items acquired over lifetimes. Non-Jewish neighbors often moved into these houses and took over the property. Now no one uses the word štetlas in Lithuanian, it sounds exotic and needs to be translated to miestelis.
I report the information about the international tender held in 1990 for rebuilding the Great Synagogue, the architect Tzila Zak’s project being recognized the best and her winning the tender is false.
Honorary Lithuanian Jewish Community chairman Grigory Kanovich (the following document incorrectly spells his surname Konovich), Grigorijus Alpernas and I did not participate as judges in the commission and the use of our names is wrong.
It is possible other alleged members of the jury commission have been listed without their knowledge as well.
Daumantas Levas Todesas
0 monument competition announcement
The Palanga Spa Museum is hosting on September 4 an academic conference called “Jews of Palanga: A Lost Part of the City Community.” The museum is organizing the conference with the Baltic Regional History and Archaeology Institute of Klaipėda University. The event will begin at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, September 4 and the address is Birutės alley no. 34a, Palanga, Lithuania.
Organizers ask those who wish to participate to register by calling 8 4 605 7216.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I hope this email finds you well.
I am writing to you to find out whether you / your organization would be interested in participation in our FUTURE DOCS platform for creative encounters of documentary filmmakers and human rights defenders.
FUTURE DOCS intends to bring about new powerful documentaries with potential for tangible social impact.
FUTURE DOCS is based on the idea of a reversed pitching. It means that human rights defenders and activists present selected cases they have been working on to participating filmmakers. Various human rights topics and initiatives, especially those underrepresented on screen, illustrated by powerful human stories behind them, are pitched to creative documentary filmmakers.
Miami, August 27, 2017—”The integration of heart and mind, soul and intellect, within the context of our tradition has often escaped me…this search led me to the work of Rabbi Shagar, and his work introduced me to a new language for a new generation,” writes Aryeh Rubin, director of Targum Shlishi, in “The Sacred Literature of Rabbi Shagar,” his preface to the volume Rabbi Shagar, Faith Shattered and Restored: Judaism in the Postmodern Age (Maggid Modern Classics Series, 2017). The preface is reproduced in full below.
Targum Shlishi supported the translation into English of this collection of essays. This volume is the first authoritative collection of Rabbi Shagar’s work in English and is considered by the publisher to be a major contribution to contemporary Jewish discourse. A major focus of Rabbi Shagar’s work was his ongoing endeavor to put forth a religious and spiritual response to postmodernism. The publisher is offering Targum Shlishi’s readers a discount on the book, as explained below, in the “Book Discount” section.
Background
Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg (Shagar) (1949–2007) was one of Israel’s leading thinkers, known for his innovative and creative spiritual approach. A religious Zionist scholar and teacher, he founded and headed Yeshivat Siah-Yitzhak in Efrat, Israel. He grew up in Jerusalem and, until now, his body of work has been known primarily within Israel. In addition to teaching, he authored several books that focused on Talmud, Jewish philosophy, and contemporary religious society in Israel.
The publisher credits Shagar with helping to shape “a generation of Israelis who yearn to encounter the Divine in a world progressively at odds with religious experience, nurturing religious faith within a cultural climate of corrosive skepticism.”
Arkadijus Gotesmanas, photo from the press release.
Klezmer music festivals are scheduled from August 10 to October 5 in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaišiadorys, Joniškis, Merkinė and other Lithuanian towns which will include a nine-concert series called Music for Failed Plays adapted from Abraomas Karpinovičius’s collection of tales The Last Prophet of Vilnius, festival organizers said in a press release.
Avant-garde jazz percussionist and modern music performer Arkadijus Gotesmanas is the force behind the festival. He says he wants to introduce the Lithuanian public to the original writer Abraomas Karpinovičius (1918-2004) who wrote in Yiddish.
His work commemorates the former Jewish life of Vilna, the Jewish drama theater and the Jewish community. Often his characters are odd, for example, Gedalkė Kantorius, who believed melodies could be frozen in a teapot and kept till spring, or the folklorist at the Halle market in Vilnius who collected profanities, or Rokhala who claimed to be a member of the royal court, or the woman who drew banknotes for the future state of Israel outside the Great Synagogue.
This year the theme is Lithuanian shtetlakh.
September 3, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Program
9:00 – 12:00 Boker Tov bagel breakfast
location: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Presentation and sampling of authentic Jewish recipes
12:00 – 12:45 Yiddish language lesson with Fania Brancovskaja
location: Heifetz Hall
Mama-loshn
1:00 – 4:00 Ze Taim bagel brunch and presentation of fall menu
location: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
Presentation of fall menu
1:00 – 1:45 Hebrew language lesson with Ruth Reches
location: Ilan Hall
Registration here.
2:00 Presentation of European Day of Jewish Culture
location: Heifetz Hall
Welcome speech
Faina Kukliansky and honored guests to speak.
4:00 Challa making lesson with Riva and Amit
location: Bagel Shop Café and White Hall
Registration here.
2:.30 – 4:00 “Shtetlakh of Lithuania” presentation
location: Heifetz Hall
Participants: Vytautas Toleikis, Fania Brancovskaja, Sandra Pertukonytė, Antanas Žilinskis, Rimantas Vanagas, Indrė Anskaitytė, Vita Ličytė and others.
6:00 Rakija Klezmer Orkestar performance
location: Šnipiškės
6:00 Faykerlakh concert Shtetlas
location: Heifetz Hall
Celebrating 45 years of the Jewish song and dance collective
The Zarasai Regional History Museum is holding an exhibit called “Pen and His Students,” partially financed by the Lithuanian Cultural Council. The exhibit is on loan from the Vitebsk Regional History Museum and will run until October 13.
The exhibit features the life and work of Yehuda Pen, who was born and grew up in Zarasai (then known as Novoaleksandrovsk), Lithuania, and his world-famous students. It includes 22 works of art. Local residents and visitors have a wonderful opportunity to view the works of the local artist and his famous pupils, who include Isak Borovsky, Piotr Zankevich, Isak Zeldin, Yelena Kabishsher-Yakerson, Piotr Yavich and Mikhail Kuznetsov.
The exhibit will move on to Vilnius later for an exhibition at the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum.
You’re invited to attend the events of the first-ever Sugihara Week celebrations in Lithuania from September 2 to 8 in Kaunas.
The week-long celebration commemorates Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara who saved not less than 6,000 Jewish lives in Kaunas together with Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk.
Japanese ambassador to Lithuania Mr. Toyoei Shigeeda said: “Consul Chiune Sugihara is becoming ever better known in the world and it is pleasing that his great deed is being remembered in ever new ways. It is significant that the Sugihara Week initiative arose in Kaunas, which is the epicenter of the entire Sugihara story.”
Kaunas deputy mayor Simonas Kairys said: “Although Sugihara Week is being held for the first time, it has received major attention in both Lithuania and Japan. It’s incredible what a tie these two distant and different countries share. At the beginning of September many honored guests from Japan will arrive in Kaunas, including representatives of the Japanese Diet, Gifu Prefecture and the Japanese media.”
The deputy mayor invited Kaunas residents and guests to make time in their calendars to attend the wonderful events planned, free and open to the public. The events program includes concerts, symposia, screenings of films, public lectures, exhibits, creative workshops and others in different spaces and venues around Kaunas.
The Sugihara House Museum, housed in the diplomats former diplomatic residence and office, has more information available here.
Sugihara Week also has a facebook page undergoing constant update here.
A listing of events is available in PDF format in Lithuanian here.
Sugihara House may be reached directly by email at sugiharahouse@gmail.com
The accomplished pianist Gold Vainber-Tatz is returning to Vilnius and will perform at 6:00 P.M. on August 10 at the Lithuanian Jewish Community. Her performance is to include works by Bach (Busoni editions), Beethoven, Ravel, Debussy, Chopin and others.
This year Maceva has been invited to join the international project Oppression and Opposition: Opportunities of Civic movements in Europe’s Past and Present. Lithuania is one country along with three others–Greece, Italy, Hungry–who are hosting a special kind of summer camp this year. From the 6th to the 20th of August, 25 international volunteers from Germany, Austria, Ukraine and Lithuania and including Maceva representatives will be participating in various activities in Kaunas and Vilnius. The main activities of this summer camp will be complete documentation of the Žaliakalnis Jewish cemetery–who exactly was buried where and when–and the elaboration of all findings.
Maceva’s main partner in the summer camp project is Germany’s Action Reconciliation Service for Peace and this will be the third such summer camp organized by Maceva (www.litvak-cemetery.info) in Lithuania. Results from all four countries participating this year will be presented in Germany this November.
After successful participation last year, students from Vytautas Magnus University will be joining the summer camp again to help preserve the historical cemetery. We have and are receiving significant support from the Kaunas municipality who are paying close attention to the cemetery and doing their best to bring it back to a respectable state.
The Jewish cemetery in the Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas was established in 1861 and closed in 1952. It is listed on the registry of cultural treasures and is protected by the Lithuanian state as a cultural heritage site. Many famous and notable figures are buried there, including politicians, scholars, religious leaders and cultural figures such as the writer Jacques Lipchitz and the vocalist Daniel Dolski. The graves of more historical personalities will likely come to light after successful inventory and documentation this summer.
Besides the work in the cemetery, volunteers will have an opportunity to get to know more about Lithuanian Jewish history and culture. We look forward to meeting people from the Judaica Research Center, the International Center for Litvak Photography and Bella Shirin.
Maceva is an associated member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
At a meeting of the Lithuanian Jewish Community executive board August 3, chairwoman Faina Kukliansky appointed Renaldas Vaisbrodas exectuvie director. The board approved the appointment.
Vaisbrodas, 36, earned a master’s degree in international communications at Vilnius University. He served as foreign policy advisor to Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė and was senior secretary for the Liberal Union party. He began his political career as foreign policy advisor to Guy Verhofstadt, chairman of the European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats faction in the European Parliament.
Vaisbrodas comes from a mixed Jewish and Lithuanian background.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community received a letter from Kaunas with a request for information about former Kaunas resident Piotr Šoichet Haimovič (Pyotr Shokhet Haimovich, Chaimowicz or possibly Ben-Haim now). The request came from people now resident in the man’s former apartment.
“We acquired space at Gedimino street no. 48-5 in Kaunas. Until 1989 Piotr Šoichet Haimovič lived in this apartment, according to the former owner, who bought the apartment when Haimovič and his family left to settle in Israel. His profession was doctor and military officer.
“The building and the apartment are heritage sites, meaning the façade and interior details are protected. We are hoping Piotr Šoichet Haimovič or members of his family have photographs of the building or the apartment interior and can tell us more in order to help us recreate the original interior and provide historicity to the building. We want the building to be entered on the list of European cultural heritage treasures, and the stories of all the residents of the building are very important.”
The authors of the letter were Karolis Banys and Petras Gaidamavičius and they can be reached by telephone at +370 640 23 677 and by email at banys.karolis@gmail.com and gaidamavicius.petras@gmail.com
The LJC calendar for 5777 has been recognized as the best Lithuanian calendar of 2017 in the Laurynas Ivinskis Lithuanian calendar contest. The award is to be presented at a ceremony in October.