Photo: Krakės Jewish cemetery
The Jewish Culture Week in Krakės: Let’s Learn about the Krakės Jewish Community project will take place from June 16 to 18 in Krakės in the Kėdainiai district of Lithuania. More information is available here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2751960485049357
Robertas Dubinka, director
Krakės Cultural Center
Laisvės alley no. 1, LT – 58242, Krakės, Kėdainiai region
tel. 8 347 38274, mob. 8 615 85084
email: krakiukc@gmail.com
A stele with a bas-relief and inscription was erected at a ceremony in Širvintos, Lithuania, May 19 to commemorate Liba Mednik (Mednikienė), who fought for Lithuanian independence when the first republic was being created in the early 20th century.
Sculptor Romualdas Kvintas designed the memorial to look like a Jewish headstone, a stone slab with inscription, and with a bronze image of the woman attached in bas-relief fashion. The bronze portion of the monument was cast and installed on the stone by the sculptor Mindaugas Šnipas by request of the Vilnius Jerusalem of the North Jewish Community. Kvintas has done a number of large stone sculptures on Jewish themes.
Mednik, who was born in 1875, lived through the entire tragedy of the Jewish people in Lithuania, fighting for Lithuanian independence and the interwar Republic, and being murdered in the Holocaust in Lithuania. According to historian Stanislovas Dačka, she was murdered in the Pivonika forest near Ukmergė (Vilkomir) with about 12,000 other Jews from the area in early autumn of 1941. Širvintos, her hometown, lies about 15 kilometers to the southeast of Ukmergė.
Vilijus Kavalauskas celebrated her in his book “Lietuvos karžygiai: Vyties Kryžiaus kavalieriai,” calling her a unique and strong character. During the Lithuanian conflict with Poland in 1922 and 1923, Liba Mednik collected military intelligence and distributed it to the Lithuanian military and Lithuanian partisans. She sent documents garnered from Polish headquarters and money to the Lithuanian fighters, Kavaliauskas reports.
by Karolina Aleknavičė, 15min.lt
This year, 2020, has been declared the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Lithuanian Jewish History, and it’s a good opportunity to learn about the authentic culture which thrived for whole centuries in our neighborhood.
We spoke with Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum Jewish culture and identity exhibit coordinator Saulė Valiūnaitė, Vilnius University historian Dr. Akvilė Naudžiūnienė and Kėdainiai Multicultural Center director Audronė Pečiulytė about Lite, the Litvaks who lived here, Vilnius as the Jerusalem of the North and the Gaon, Eliyahu, who lived there.
Lithuanian Jewish History an Integral Part of Lithuanian History
Valiūnaitė told 15min.lt Lithuanians’ attitude towards Jewish history has changed over the last 15 years. “It’s inspiring that in Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities there are ever more initiatives appearing, and most importantly, a desire to commemorate the history and heritage of the Jews who lived there. Some do this by setting up commemorative markers, others by organizing events or writing books about the Jewish history of their cities and towns,” she said.
Photo: LRT
Lithuanian Public Radio and Television and BNS reported Wednesday the sculptor Alfonsas Vincentas Ambraziūnas died on May 7 at the age of 86. He was known mainly for the large Soviet-era memorial statue at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas where Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Initially the statue was dedicated to all victims of fascism.
Full article in Lithuanian here.
by Rasa Murauskaitė, Lithuanian national public radio and television, LRT.lt
Lithuanian Public Radio and Television continues stories in the the Stones of Memory series intended to commemorate Litvaks in Lithuania and around the world. The third story concerns Daniel Dolskis (Danielius Dolskis, Dolski), one of the founders of the Lithuanian estrada popular music tradition.
Although he only lived a few years in Kaunas, Lithuania, during the interwar period, Dolskis quickly became a legend of real Lithuanian estrada musical culture.
“Onytė, come dance with me,” Dolskis used to say when inviting Lithuanian girls to dance.
“The Man Who Entertained Kaunas” wrote one Lithuanian paper of Dolskis in the period between the two world wars. Actually the truth is somewhat different about the crooner born to a family of Vilner Jews by the name of Broides, a name connected with the musical nightlife at Kaunas’s famous interwar restaurants and clubs such as Metropol, Konrad’s Café and others.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
Photo: One of the first sittings of the new Lithuanian parliament took place at the City Theater. In front is the presidium, to the left, sitting, are Naftalis Fridmanas, Petras Radzevičius, Ladas (Vladas) Natkevičius, first deputy speaker Jonas Staugaitis, Sspeaker Aleksandras Stulginskis, second deputy speaker Justinas Staugaitis. Right, seated: Zigmas Starkus. Kaunas, 1920. Courtesy Vytautas the Great Military Museum.
The Jewish Faction in Lithuania’s Constituent Parliament
The first parliament elected after Lithuanian independence in the early 20th century caused a global sensation.
This year comes 100 years after the first universal democratic elections for a Lithuanian parliament. One feature of what Lithuania calls its Constituent Assembly was the Jewish faction of parliamentarians, something almost impossible to imagine today following the extermination of upwards of 95% of all Lithuanian Jews in the Holocaust.
to be continued
Dear Presidents,
Dear Friends,
We are very happy and proud to share with you a video featuring highlights of the EJC event last January – The Fifth World Holocaust Forum – initiated by our President Moshe Kantor and hosted by the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, at Yad Vashem.
Nearly 50 heads of state and royalty from across the world, as well as the three leaders of the European Union institutions, gathered in Jerusalem to reaffirm their unity against the upsurge of antisemitism globally and to honour the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Although it is difficult to encapsulate such a historic event in a few minutes, the video contains the most beautiful images, and the strongest and most touching excerpts of speeches and musical performances.
We hope this film will bring back precious memories of these emotional two days and allow those who could not be with us to grasp the intensity of the commitment expressed by world leaders for such a noble cause.
Stay safe and best regards,
Raya and the EJC Team
part three
by Vytautas Bruveris
What are the methods for Lithuania as a country and society to demonstrate by deeds rather than words true solidarity with the country’s Jewish community, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust, with the victims and with their descendants?
Long-Awaited Victory Celebrated
A third problematic bloc in modern Lithuania’s relationship towards the Holocaust is the definition, including legal, of Soviet crimes and oppression.
Should the mass murders and oppressions the Soviets carried out in Lithuania not just be called but legally recognized as genocide? Should they also be recognized as genocide outside Lithuania in the international arena?
part two
by Vytautas Bruveris
What are the methods for Lithuania as a country and society to demonstrate by deeds rather than words true solidarity with the country’s Jewish community, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust, with the victims and with their descendants?
Why Is There No Basic Number?
So if there’s no national agreement on what should be considered contributing to the Holocaust and what criteria might define this, then does the determination of direct participation in the mass murder of Jews not raise any conceptual misunderstandings?
part one
by Vytautas Bruveris
What are the methods for Lithuania as a country and society to demonstrate by deeds rather than words true solidarity with the country’s Jewish community, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust, with the victims and with their descendants?
After all, this year has been declared not only the Year of the Vilna Gaon but also the Year of Litvak History at the highest level of state.
Moreover, this year Lithuania and the world mark the round anniversary of a date connected with World War II, Nazi crimes and the Holocaust.
At least two such methods have long been clear.
Vilnius resident Svetlana Šitelienė contacted the Lithuanian Jewish Community to report her discovery of what appears to be a Jewish headstone, or matzeva, on her farm.
Thank you, Svetlana.
We’ve reached Svetlana and thanked her, and sent her a box of matzo and the Vilnius ghetto diary of Yitzhak Rudasheviski translated into Lithuanian.
Studying the photographs she provided, it appears this might be an unfinished headstone made for someone named Esther, with the surname partially completed. Mrs. Šitelienė said the grave stone might have ended up in her yard 47 or more years ago, and according to relatives it came from the Jewish cemetery near the Palace of Marriage in Vilnius.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky was interviewed by Lithuanian publicist Donatas Puslys on Yom haAtzma’ut, Israeli independence day, and spoke about what the holiday means to Jews in Lithuania, to her personally and to Jews around the world. She also spoke about the Holocaust, Litvaks living in Israel, the promise Eretz Israel held out to Soviet Jews and the country’s progress over the last 72 years. The interview was conducted in Lithuanian but concludes with warm wishes in Yiddish.
Yom haZikaron is the day Israel marks to honor its fallen soldiers, victims of terrorism and all who have died defending the state of Israel. According to the Jewish reckoning of time, it began on the evening of April 27 this year at around 8:00 P.M. and lasts until the evening of the next day.
President Rivlin spoke in the square in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and said it was sad there couldn’t be a mass public commemoration because of the virus epidemic. He said while we can’t cry together, we still remember and give honor to the 23,861 soldiers and victims of terrorism.
In Israel the commemorative holiday begins with an air-raid siren. People simply stop whatever they are doing and give honor to the dead. Those driving pull over and get out of their cars. All commercial activity ceases and people at the dinner table stop eating and sit in silence.
Dear Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Mrs. Faina Kukliansky, dear Lithuanian Jewish Community,
We mark the 300th anniversary of that most exalted Litvak, Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, the Vilna Gaon. The parliament of the Republic of Lithuania named this year, 2020, the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History, to stress the priceless contribution the Jewish community, an inseparable part of our society for 700 years now, has made to Lithuania’s history, culture, learning and consolidation of statehood through your adherence to tradition and social activity.
In all times there have been people who do not conform to the canons of their era, who through their creativity and unconventional thinking have changed the world. The Jewish people have given so much to the world. One of them, the Gaon or Genius of Vilna, Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, was a scholar of Jewish texts and law and a Talmud interpreter and scholar. This was a brave challenge during his times but, happily, Eliyahu grew up in an intellectual environment and was supported by his family and appreciated by the community. Rumors about the young sage and his intellect spread far beyond the limits of Vilnius. The Vilna Gaon became the most renowned religious authority and he changed people’s life paths, thought and the concept of Litvak, and turned Vilnius into a Jewish spiritual center, the Jerusalem of Lithuania. This is a priceless historical, cultural and philosophical legacy of the Jews and Lithuanians of Vilnius and Lithuania and of the other peoples who live in Lithuania.
The Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History is a great opportunity for all of us today, in the words of the Gaon, “to see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears and feel with our entire heart” what significant and rich heritage we have in creating the Lithuania of our future. Congratulations!
[signed]
Gediminas Kirkilas, deputy speaker, chairman of the European Affairs Committee
Lithuanian parliament
April 24, 2020
Dear friends!
The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine sincerely congratulates you on the 300th anniversary of the Vilna Gaon who is a symbol of wisdom and spirituality for Jews around the world.
The memory of the great leader of the best Jewish traditions and laws stands beyond the constraints of time and brings together generations of Jews.
May the brilliant heritage of the Vilnius Gaon help the Lithuanian Jewish Community to successfully develop and increase the traditions embodied in his philosophical teaching.
Jewish Confederation of Ukraine
April 23 was the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Vilna Gaon, the outstanding Torah-Talmud scholar from Vilnius in the 18th century. Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and Israeli president Reuven Rivlin called each other to offer congratulations on the occasion.
The Lithuanian president expressed respect for the Vilna Gaon, the Rabbi Eliyahu ben Soiomon Zalman, who put Vilnius on the map as a center for Torah learning. He told the Israeli president the year 2020 had been declared the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History in Lithuania to honor the Gaon’s bright memory.
“The intellect and erudition of the Vilna Gaon made Vilnius the spiritual center of Jews in Europe, famous throughout the world. It was thanks to him that Vilnius appeared on the world map as the capital of Torah-Talmud scholarship and became the religious center of Judaism. The Gaon’s teaching, based on thoroughness, patience and dedication to revealing spiritual power and to seeking wisdom, is an inspiration in difficult times,” the Lithuanian president said.
President Nausėda emphasized Lithuania remains the home of the large Litvak community spread throughout the world. The Lithuanian Jewish Community maintains active ties with Litvaks living in Israel, the USA, South Africa, France and elsewhere, Nausėda noted.
The two presidents also discussed the health situation in their two countries and measures for restoring economic life. They agreed this time full of challenges the world faces demands special attention to international relations and solidarity between the nations.
At the end of their conversation the Lithuanian president greeted Israel on the 72nd anniversary of statehood and invited the Israeli president to visit Lithuania.
Information from the President’s Communication Group
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevičius and Israeli ambassador Yossef Levy gathered at what is considered the final resting place of the mortal remains of the Vilna Gaon in the Jewish section of the Sudervės road cemetery in Vilnius April 23, the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Gaon.
The Lithuanian foreign minister expressed the hope events planned to mark 2020 as the Year of the Vilna Gaon which were postponed because of the virus epidemic will take place later in the year.
The Lithuanian parliament has proclaimed 2020 the Year of the Vilna Gaon, the 18th century scholar and cultural figure Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, and the Year of Litvak History. This anniversary has also been listed on UNESCO’s list of anniversaries for 2020 and 2021. On April 23 we mark the 300th birthday of the Vilna Gaon.
Scholars consider the Gaon the greated Talmudic scholar in Eastern European Jewish history. He is also the father of the rabbinical movement’s struggle against Hasidism and is considered the primary figure in rabbinical learning among Eastern European Jews. The Gaon and his followers, mitnagdim or misnagdim (literally “opponents,” i.e., of Hasidism) are sometimes called prophets of learning.
The Vilna Gaon had a deep interest in different branches of the exact sciences and his texts on geometry, astronomy and geography are often ascribed to the Haskalah, the Jewish enlightenment which arose in the 1770s in Central and Western Europe. Alan Nadler, professor emeritus of religious studies and formerly the director of a Jewish studies program in the USA, says the Gaon’s interest in secular subjects stimulated the expansion of many academic fields and the Gaon became a symbol of educated Judaism.
Judita Gliauberzonaitė, 42, chairwoman of the Vilnius Lithuanian Jerusalem Jewish community, recalls how her grandmother Cilė Žiburkienė every spring before Passover would cleanse the entire house so that, God forbid, not even a grain of flour would remain, which would mean leavened bread remained in the house, a sign recalling the enslavement of the Jews in the land of Egypt.
Jews around the world who count their history in millennia begin celebrating their Passover holiday on the 15th day in the month of Nisan (March or April), lasting for seven days in Israel and eight elsewhere in the world. Secular Jews who keep to tradition usually celebrate the first and last days of Passover, gathering as families for dinner.
Judita Gliauberzonaitė says more religious Jews attend synagogue every day of Passover.
Passover often coincides with Catholic Easter. This year it began on April 8 and continues till April 15.
Dear Community members,
So Passover, the holiday eagerly awaited by Jews around the world, has come.
The seder night is so important to Jews, when we eat matzo, meditate and remember G_d’s revelation during the flight from Egypt. We do this year after year. This is what our fathers and forefathers have done, and we do it, and we teach it to our children.
This year the seder won’t be so large, not all family members are able to come to the table, not here in the Diaspora and not in our historical homeland Eretz Israel.
This has happened to Jews many times before–slavery, the Inquisition, wars and other misfortunes have separated families so many times before, leaving some of us alone, turning some of us into outsiders. This year we celebrate Passover during a time which is difficult not just for Jews.
Nonetheless, let’s try. Let’s remember and tell in our thoughts the story of the exodus from Egypt. Let’s pose the questions to ourselves and find the correct answers. Let’s remember at least a few of the 248 mitzvot, let’s believe in miracles if only briefly, and in the arrival of the Messiah.
Let’s believe, let’s dream, let’s think and let’s thank the Most High that we are alive and spring has come, and let’s give thanks for every day lived and believe in the future.
Next year will be better. We just have to believe it.
A happy holiday to all, be free and be happy.