The Sabbath begins at 3:36 P.M. on Friday, December 22, and concludes at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Art Exhibit in Inspired by Abraham Sutzkever
The Shofar Gallery of the Jewish Culture Information Center in Vilnius is hosting an exhibit of works by art and book restorer and artist Modestas Saukaitis inspired by Abraham Sutzkever’s poetry. Saukaitis’s works on exhibit are verre églomisé, an ancient technique which uses white gold painted on glass to produce an extraordinary effect.
The exhibit runs till December 23 and is open to the public during the gallery’s working hours, from noon to 6:00 P.M. on weekdays and from noon till 4:00 P.M. on Saturday. The gallery is located at Mėsinių street no. 3A in the Vilnius Old Town.
For more information, see here.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 3:34 P.M. on Friday, December 15, and concludes at 4:57 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Tomas Venclova Wins Lithuanian Writers Union Prize
The Lithuanian Writers Union announced they were awarding their bi-annual prize to writer and thinker Tomas Venclova for his latest book of poetry entitled “Už Onos ir Bernardinų” [Behind/Beyond the Church of St. Anne and the Church of the Bernardines (aka Franciscans)]. The book was published by the Apostrofa publishing house and contains 31 poems Venclova wrote over the past seven years.
The Lithuanian Writers Union awards their prize to one author every two years in recognition of high literary value. They will present the prize to Venclova on January 6 at Union headquarters in Vilnius.
Play for Kids
The Amehaye children’s day camp invites children of members to the closing ceremony for the winter day camps, a performance of Charles Perrault’s version of the “Puss ‘n Boots” fairy-tale.
Actors from Mroj-Hall theater will perform the tale. It takes place at 12 noon on Sunday, December 17. Registration is required and please register by December 16 by sending an email to viljamas@lzb.lt.
Lost World Photo Exhibit
December 13 the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture opened an exhibit of 15 specially selected photographs of the former Jewish quarter and Great Synagogue by pre-war photographer Jan Bulhak as part of closing ceremonies in the celebration of Vilnius’s 700th birthday, the newspaper Lietuvos Rytas reports on its website lrytas.lt
Culture minister Simonas Kairys, former culture minister Arūnas Gelūnas who now directs the Lithuanian National Art Museum which selected the photographs for the exhibit, Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg-Silverstein, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and others attended the opening. Boris Kizner provided Jewish airs on violin.
Gelūnas told Lietuvos Rytas television only two of the fifteen photographs contain human beings because the photographer thought empty streets and vacant sidewalks showed off the architecture better and presented a more romantic picture of the city.
“In a way he was prophetic in this: after World War II all these streets were emptied of people,” Gelūnas noted. He added the lessons of history haven’t been learned, anti-Semitism is alive and well in the world and people still cling to authoritarianism.
Lecture: The Miracle of Hanukkah
You’re invited to a lecture by Natalja Cheifec called The Miracle of Hanukkah this Wednesday at 5:30 P.M. via the zoom internet platform. You’ll learn:
-about Hanukkah as a holiday preserving tradition
-what the Most High does during Hanukkah
-why Jews gaze at candle flames during Hanukkah
-about Hanukkah doughnuts and Hanukkah gelt
Register and receive log-in credentials here: https://bit.ly/3K73kEE
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 3:35 P.M. on Friday, December 8, and concludes at 4:57 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Maria Krupoves Lecture and Concert
Eastern European folklore and folk-song expert and performer Maria Krupoves-Berg will present a lecture and concert at the Lithuanian National Library’s Hall of Statehood at 6:00 P.M. on December 14. The event is free and open to the public.
The event called “The Sounds of Eastern European Jewish History and Music” sponsored by the National Library’s Judaica Studies Center will talk about and demonstrate genres of Yiddish song and how some songs became a kind of national anthem, accompanying Ashkenazi and especially Litvaks at crucial points in history, reflecting yidishe neshama, Jewish identity. Krupoves will perform with Boris Kizner on violin. The scheduled duration is one and a half hours.
Big Hanukkah Finale
The Lithuanian Jewish Community, the Vilnius Religious Jewish Community and the Shalom Aleichem ORT Gymnasium invite you to a big event to mark the eighth and final day of Hanukkah on Friday, December 15. It all happens at the Litexpo exhibit and concert center in Vilnius starting at 7:00 P.M. Students will perform a play called “Hanukkah: The Festival of Light,” the musical group Yes Duet will perform, the dance troupe Simcha will appear and Arkadijus Vinokuras will be there with another quiz/game show, along with more singing, dancing and dinner. Michailas Frišmanas will serve as master of ceremonies and madrichs will be on hand to provide child-care and children’s holiday activities.
The cost is €20 for adults and €10 for children under 13. Payment can be made by bank transfer to the LJC’s account LT067044060005757425 with purpose of payment indicated as Hanukkah and the names of the people for whom payment is being made. Registration must be made before December 13 by filling out the internet form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfR6VpFNmGPs9k_1z42Jwt20x563ULujZoIFInjcJuLi1VuDQ/viewform
For more information, call (+370) 659 52604.
Hope to see you there!
Amehaye Winter Day Camps 2023
The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to announce Amehaye weekend day camps on December 8 through 10 and December 15 through 17 for children 17 and under. The camp is free for children of members.
Seven to 17-year olds will be provided day camps on December 8-10 and December 15-17, and should register with Viljamas Žitkauskas at viljamas@lzb.lt or by telephone at (+370) 67816741, and parents can contact him for more information.
Four to 6-year-olds will have weekend day camps on December 9-10 and December 16-17, and those interested should contact Margarita Koževatova at margarita.kozevatova@gmail.com or by telephone at (+370) 61800577. Registration closes at midnight December 6.
Light the First Hanukkah Light with Us
Hanukkah begins this Thursday, an eight-day winter holiday symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to attend the lighting of the first Hanukkah light with Rabbi Aharon Baskin at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius at 5:00 P.M. this Thursday, December 7. There will be wine, the traditional doughnuts and many new friends.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 3:40 P.M. on Friday, December 1, and concludes at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Concert in Remembrance of Grigoriy Kanovitch
The Šalom, Akmenė! project with the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum are holding a concert to remember the late novelist Grigoriy Kanovitch. It is to include students from art schools in the Akmenė and Joniškis regions and students from the Song Cathedral of the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University. The program includes songs in Yiddish.
Time: 3:00 P.M., Sunday, December 3
Place: Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Museum, Naugarduko street no. 10, Vilnius
The concert is free and open to the public.
Special Guest from Israel to Perform Concert for Vilnius Audience
Professor David Shemer is a professor at the at the Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, the founder, director, art director and conductor of the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra and a world-renowned harpsichord player as well as the organizer of different musical projects and festivals in Israel.
On November 30 David presents an extraordinary musical program for chamber orchestra and harpsichord to the Vilnius audience. Many of the works will be played for the first time ever in Lithuania. The program includes classical music performed by the professor and the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra from Vilnius. This is the cultural event of the month in Vilnius.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Thursday, November 30
Place: St. Kotryna Church, Vilniaus street no. 30, Vilnius
Invitation
Dear reader,
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky sends heartfelt greetings on the occasion of the upcoming Hanukkah holiday and wishes you light and strength in your heart during this complex time.
You are cordially invited to attend the lighting of the first Hanukkah light at 5:00 P.M. on December 7 at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius.
Chag Hanukkah sameach!
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 3:47 P.M. on Friday, November 24, and concludes at 5:05 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Kabalat Shabat
Maria Dubrovsky, founder of Moishe House WithOut Walls (MH-WOW) in Israel, invites you to a Kabalat Shabat celebration at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius this Friday.
“During these difficult times it is more important than ever to come together, to feel the sense of home, the warmth of tradition and our common history,” Maria said, inviting everyone to come light a candle, perform kaddish, sing the Sabbath hymns and share bread.
Registration is required due to increased security concerns. Please register at https://forms.gle/YyUyu3zSUNtG3A7S7.
Time: 4:30 P.M., Friday, November 24
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius
More information available via facebook here.
Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: International Conference “Ideologies of Hate and Hope in Modern Jewish History”
You’re invited to the final event in our commemoration of the 80th anniversary of liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto this year, the international conference “Ideologies of Hate and Hope in Modern Jewish History” in Constitution Hall in Building 1 at the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.
Participants must register by internet before 3:00 P.M. on Monday, November 27, here: https://bit.ly/40NAUZ3
The conference will be conducted in Lithuanian and English with translations. It is being held through the efforts of the Polish Jewish History Institute, YIVO and the Lithuanian Jewish Community. It will be streamed on the LJC’s facebook page.
Program: