Bagel shop

Snapshots from European Days of Jewish Culture Events in Vilnius

Snapshots from European Days of Jewish Culture Events in Vilnius

Our annual series of events to mark the European Days of Jewish Culture saw a good turnout all day Sunday, which turned out to be sunny but framed by clouds. There was cantorial song at synagogue, a tour of Jewish Vilna, a panel discussion on echoes of Jewish culture in modern Lithuania’s cultural scene, we baked challa and slowly cooked the legendary floimen tsimes and there was singing, playing and dancing for all. For some snapshots from different events, concerts, workshops and lectures, see below.

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Lost Shtetl Museum Takes Part in Blue Family Picnic in Šeduva

Lost Shtetl Museum Takes Part in Blue Family Picnic in Šeduva

On the last weekend of summer we participated in the Blue Family Picnic which has been held in the Šeduva city park for seven years now. The Blue Family Picnic is intended to strengthen community, reduce social inequality and carry on family traditions.

We came up with all sorts of activities for attendees, including recognizing Jewish religious regalia, teaching them to write their names in Hebrew, a puzzle made up of period photographs of the town/shtetl, how to make traditional Sabbath challa and how to set the Sabbath table. Younger attendees made models of the shtetl, learned how to arrange food items on the plate for Passover seder and spun and taught other children to spin the dreidl. We treated everyone to traditional Litvak dishes as well.

So many friendly and eager to learn families came to the picnic. We wanted to share with them in a fun way the culture and traditions of the Jewish community of Šeduva and to remind them of the town’s not-so-distant past, the shtetl of Šeduva where Jews and Lithuanians lived peacefully together. Two special guests attended, two women from Šeduva for whom the shtetl isn’t lost in the mists of time. They spent their childhoods in the shtetl and have shared their memories with us numerous times.

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European Days of Jewish Culture in Vilnius

European Days of Jewish Culture in Vilnius

This year will be the seventh the Lithuanian Jewish Community is holding events for the European Days of Jewish Culture. This year’s theme is renewal.

Renewal is woven into almost all aspects of Jewish life. Jewish life is continually building on the past in new ways, bringing a sense of constant change along with a reassuring sense of continuity. The Jewish New Year opens with the festivals of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. These holy days through their traditions and prayers present an opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge our past actions while looking ahead with new resolutions, optimism and determination. During this period we reconcile personal and communal differences within ourselves and with others as we actively strive to renew our aspirations for the coming year, and beyond.

We invite you to attend the events, all of which are free and open to the public.

Register here, space is limited.

Program:

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Last Summer Sabbath Dance

Last Summer Sabbath Dance

Come to celebrate the last sabbath of the summer at the Cvi Park Israeli food kiosk with Israeli dancing. The event starts at 6:00 P.M. on Friday, August 26. The event is free and open to the public.

Arkadijus Vinokuras’s Discussion Club on Wins at World Maccabiah Games

Arkadijus Vinokuras’s Discussion Club on Wins at World Maccabiah Games

The #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai discussion club moderated by Arkadijus Vinokuras will meet on August 10 to discuss the recent victories by Lithuanian Makabi Athletic Club athletes at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel.

The Lithuanian team made one of its best showings ever, winning 6 medals last month.

The club was active in interwar Lithuania from 1920 to 1940. It was originally founded in 1916. In 1926 the club had 83 branches throughout Lithuania, encompassing 4,000 members. It published a newspaper twice per month and had its own sports stadium. The club was reconstituted on January 8, 1989, at a general meeting at the calculator and business machine factory in Vilnius.

Speakers will include Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club president Semionas Finkelšteinas, table-tennis medal winner many times over Rafael Gimelštein and others.

The panel discussion will be held in Lithuanian at the Bagel Shop Café at 5:00 P.M. on August 10.

Discussion “Judaism and Christianity: Attitudes towards Morality”

The #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai discussion club invites the public to attend a panel discussion called “Judaism and Christianity: Attitudes towards Morality” at the Bagel Shop Café at 5:00 P.M. on Thursday, July 14. Arkadijus Vinokuras will moderate the discussion which will address Christian and Jewish positions on abortion and Lithuanian views of Russia’s war in the Ukraine. The discussion will take place in Lithuanian.

In Petras Cvirka’s Place, Falafel

In Petras Cvirka’s Place, Falafel

The web-based Vilnius city guide 1323.lt (1323 is the nominal year of the founding of Vilnius) has reviewed the Cvi in the Park Israeli street food kiosk organized this year and last in the park across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community headquarters in Vilnius.

Their review is titled “In Petras Cvirka’s Place, Falafel,” a reference to the name of the park still used by almost all Vilnius residents despite the municipality’s decision a few months back to remove its trademark statue to Soviet-era Lithuanian poet Petras Cvirka.

“For the second season now the Cvi Parkas Jewish street food kiosk had been luring passers-by to have a snack (and not only that). It debuted last year when the statue to Petras Cvirka, which caused so much discussion, still stood by.

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Free Tango Lessons at Israeli Street Food Kiosk

Free Tango Lessons at Israeli Street Food Kiosk

The Cvi in the Park Israeli street food kiosk is hosting free tango dancing lessons open to everyone at the park across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 7:00 P.M. on July 5. The vocalist Eudardo will perform tango music from Latin America and the Argentine.

Program:

7:00 P.M. – 7:45 P.M. Public tango lesson
8:00 P.M. First portion of concert (Argentine and Latin American tango music)
8:30 P.M. Milonga (tango dances)
9:00 P.M. Second portion of concert
10:00 P.M. Finale.

Guided Tour of Gedimino Prospect Followed by Sabbath Ceremony

Guided Tour of Gedimino Prospect Followed by Sabbath Ceremony

Jewish tour guide Mark Psonic will lead a walking tour of Vilnius’s main street, Gedimino prospect, on June 17 as part of a larger event being held by the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s Gesher and Kaveret Clubs.

Those wishing to take the tour will assemble at the bell tower of the Cathedral in central Vilnius at 6:00 P.M. Friday. The walking tour will conclude at the Cvi in the Park Israeli street food kiosk located in the former Petras Cvirka square across the street from the LJC, where the Sabbath will be ushered in in the traditional manner.

The cost per person is five euros with registration by internet till June 15 and no later. Send an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt to register.

Discussion Club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai with Arkadijus Vinokuras

Discussion Club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai with Arkadijus Vinokuras

Back in the time of King David, 3,000 years ago, the king was considered the best singer, and under his reign the professional musicians dynasty of the Levites from the tribe of Levi began. Music schools were established for singers of hymns and players of instruments. Hymns and instrumental music accompanied rituals for the offering of sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon in 959 BCE. During sacred rituals the priests blew 120 trumpets at the same time.

Of course we won’t go that deep into history. We’ll just discuss the period of Jewish music from Smetona’s Lithuania till today, discussion club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai initiator Arkadijus Vinokuras promises.

The next discussion is called “Jewish Music: What Is It, and Why Doesn’t It Ever Grow Old?” on June 14, 2022.

The club will meet outside this time at the site of the former statue to Petras Cvirka where the Cvi in the Park Israeli street food kiosk is operating for the summer. The meeting will take place inside the Bagel Shop Café due to rain at 5:00 P.M. It’s open to everyone and will be live-streamed on the LJC facebook page.

Participants are to include Leonidas Melnikas, Boris Traub, Boris Kizner and Masha Dushkina, moderated by Arkadijus Vinokuras. The discussion will likely take place in Lithuanian.

Students from Miami University Visit Community

Students from Miami University Visit Community

Students from Miami University in Ohio recently visited the Lithuanian Jewish Community to learn more about the Jewish community in Lithuania, our history and Jewish life in the country. We baked bagels together at the Bagel Shop Café, gave them a tour of the recently opened Saul Kagan Welfare Center and invited them to our Israeli street food kiosk Cvi in the Park.

#OurCommunitiess #MūsųBendruomenės EVZ Foundation

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Shavuot Brunch and Ice Cream Celebration for Children and Parents

Shavuot Brunch and Ice Cream Celebration for Children and Parents

The Dubi, Dubi Mishpoha. Ilan and Kaveret Clubs of the Lithuanian Jewish Community invite you and your children to a Shavuot holiday brunch at 12 noon on June 5 at the Cvi in the Park Israeli street food venue in the park across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. There will be ice cream as well as food. Prior registration is required by sending an email to julija.lipsic@gmail.com indicating the number of adults and children and their names and surnames.

Sabbath Ceremony, Concert and Dinner with Guests

Sabbath Ceremony, Concert and Dinner with Guests

The Gesher and Kaveret Clubs of the Lithuanian Jewish Community invite you to a special Sabbath ceremony and dinner with honored guests Rabbi Nathan Alfred leading the prayer service, with a concert by cantor Alan J. Brava from the Free Synagogue in Flushing, New York, accompanied by Jorge Leyt from Madrid, starting at 6:30 P.M. on May 27 at the Bagel Shop Café at the Lithuanian Jewish Community located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. Prior registration is required either by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt or by calling +37067881514.

Israeli Street Food and Cultural Oasis Returns to Vilnius

Israeli Street Food and Cultural Oasis Returns to Vilnius

“Cvi in the Park” is once again welcoming the citizens of Vilnius and city’s guests! The project was set up during the corona virus pandemic in order to continue the operation of the famous Bagel Shop Café under strict government-imposed restrictions. This is how the new open-air café “Cvi in the Park” was born, which is now reopening for the summer season.

The word “cvi” or “tzvi” itself means “doe” in Hebrew and given the divisive history of the square and the surrounding atmosphere of the park, it was decided to accommodate this “doe” in Cvirka Square, for the sake of dialogue and tolerance. We hope that this revived summer tradition will give a fresh face to this old square in front of the Lithuanian Jewish Community. We are ready to be a reliable partner to the Vilnius city municipality in the creation and development of a distinctive, sustainable identity for Cvirka Square.

At “Cvi in the Park” we offer healthy Israeli street food such as falafels, hummus, pita, etc., together with fresh vegetables grown locally and a unique blend of Middle Eastern spices and chickpeas. The menu is vegan-friendly and all organic ingredients are carefully selected based on seasonality. We hope our visitors will also enjoy the new and unique flavors of plant-based food. We are very happy to be cooperating with the craft beer experts Genys Brewing and true wine lovers New Skanu.

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The Lithuanian Jewish Community Invites You to the 5th World Litvak Congress

The Lithuanian Jewish Community Invites You to the 5th World Litvak Congress

The Fifth World Litvak Congress will be held on May 23-26, organized by the Lithuanian Jewish Community. We invite you to join the events and enjoy Litvak culture, heritage, history and music. Share the news with your relatives, friends and colleagues.

Pre-registration is required by filling out the following form:

https://forms.gle/VJa9nMHaHjH4t5Lf6

The program may be found here:

BUKLETAS_EN_1 (1)

>>PROGRAM in Lithuanian

Events Program for the Fifth World Litvak Congress in Vilnius

Events Program for the Fifth World Litvak Congress in Vilnius

The following is the program of events for the Fifth World Litvak Congress to be held in Vilnius from May 23 to May 26, 2022.

A PDF file of the program can be downloaded here.

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Events Program for the Fifth World Litvak Congress in Vilnius

May 23

Opening ceremony for the Fifth World Litvak Congress

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites Litvaks living around the world to return to Vilnius May 23 to May 26, to visit the land of our ancestors and to attend the Fifth World Litvak Congress.

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A Remarkable Event: Litvaks from around the World to Gather in Vilnius

A Remarkable Event: Litvaks from around the World to Gather in Vilnius

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is inviting Litvaks from around the world to come to Vilnius from May 23 to May 26, to visit the land of their ancestors and to take part in the Fifth World Litvak Congress. The four-day congress has a program which includes discussions, tours of historical sites and different cultural activities dedicated to Jewish heritage in Lithuania and achievements by Litvaks on the world stage.

Events include the opening at the Lithuanian parliament and a concert by American cantor and professor Joseph Malovany at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius in an evening of concerts called “A Date with Vilne” which will include Lithuanian musicians and actors paying homage to the memory of the Jews who lived and worked in Lithuania.

Lithuanian parliamentary speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen is the official patron of the Fifth World Litvak Congress. She said: “This Litvak Congress is happening while aggression is running wild in the Ukraine, when war fever has infected the entire region, which is significant to Lithuania historically and today, and to the entire world of Yiddish culture. In the face of blind brutality and violence it is always important to emphasize humanitarianism, empathy, the highest spiritual values from which the long Litvak tradition has always taken strength. This is especially urgent today when in the east of Europe an aggressive and imperialistic anti-Semitism has again raised its head, distorting historical facts and manipulating peoples’ emotions. We must oppose this.”

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Making Kugel with the Community’s Children on Passover

Making Kugel with the Community’s Children on Passover

A #KinderTiš culinary workshop was held at the Lithuanian Jewish Community on Passover eve. The topic was Passover foods, of course, incorporating matzo bread. Many parents and children had the opportunity for the first time to try matzo kugel with raisins, curds and forest berry-jam, with butter on top, made by Riva Portnaja.

To make Passover breakfasts more interesting, Riva also showed participants how to make Mexican matzo brei with avocado, red beans, corn and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

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Matzo Arrives for Passover

Matzo Arrives for Passover

The long-awaited shipment of matzo has reached the Lithuanian Jewish Community. We will begin distributing it to every Jewish household in Lithuania very soon in the run-up to Passover which begins April 15.

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