Jewish Cuisine

Yiddish Lesson with Simas Levinas

Yiddish Lesson with Simas Levinas

“I grew up in a Jewish setting. We lit candles during Hanukkah as did everyone, we ate home cooking. Only now, thinking about how that food was prepared, so I realize this was kosher food. We were surrounded by Jews, Jews came over as guests, when you got sick it was Jews who treated you. When I was small I didn’t even know things could be any other way. I only saw girls dressed colorfully next to the Gates of Dawn in Vilnius, and I wanted those kinds of clothes, too, but my grandmother wouldn’t let me, saying only Polish girls dressed that way,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman and attorney Faina Kukliansky recalled about her early childhood.

“Later on life changed, school, studies, new people, new homes where you couldn’t keep chickens with their legs tied as in my grandmother’s kitchen. One important thing, however, didn’t change: the Yiddish language which we used at home, all our relatives and closest friends…” …

Simas Levinas will deliver a lesson in basic Yiddish at 11:00 A.M. on September 3 in the kitchen of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius. Everyone is welcome to attend the free event which is part of the European Day of Jewish Culture celebrations in Lithuania.

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Rugelakh Now Available at Bagel Shop Café

Rugelakh Now Available at Bagel Shop Café

As the Lithuanian Jewish Community counts down the days to the New Year 5784, the Bagel Shop Café has come up with some new menu items. One of them is rugelakh, the amazing pastry traditionally served during Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah. The name comes from the Yiddish root “rugel” meaning little twist or tie.

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Jewish Dance Quiz

Jewish Dance Quiz

You’ve watched the discussion, perhaps even attended the live dance lesson component, so now it’s time to test your knowledge of Jewish dance with a quiz.

Participants are to meet at 5:00 P.M. on Friday, July 21, at the Israeli street food kiosk in Petras Cvirka Square across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.

Julija Patašnik will lead an Israeli dance presentation after the quiz with quiz participants invited to join.

Shalom, Akmenė Event Returns

Shalom, Akmenė Event Returns

The third annual iteration of the Shalom, Akmenė event in the European Days of Jewish Culture series was held at the Akmenė Palace of Culture over the weekend, educating locals on Jewish culture, life and heritage.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community’s Bagel Shop Café brought baskets of fresh bagels and Litvak snacks to the event. The Jewish market as well. Participants talked about Jewish cuisine and especially bagels, and shared the history and best recipes for this world-renowned food item.

The theme for the upcoming 2023 European Days of Jewish Culture is memory. The European Days of Jewish Culture will conclude this year on September 3 with an event in Vilnius.

Some snapshots from the most recent Shalom, Akmenė event can be found here.

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Jewish Food Quiz

Jewish Food Quiz

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the outdoor Cvi Parkas vegetarian Israeli street food kiosk invite everyone to a quiz on Jewish cooking and food traditions. The winner gets an Israeli dish from the kiosk and the two runners-up get a free drink. The quiz will be conducted by Arkadijus Vinokuras most likely in the Lithuanian language. It starts at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, June 18, at food kiosk located in the park across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. The quiz will be streamed live on facebook here.

Israeli Dance Lessons Outdoors

Israeli Dance Lessons Outdoors

Julija Patašnik will continue her Israeli dance lessons this Sunday outdoors at the Cvirka Park’s Israeli street food kiosk and café located across the street from Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. Class starts at 11:00 A.M. Sunday, June 11. Everyone is invited regardless of age and dancing skills, including men, women, children, senior citizens and everyone else. The café will be open and serving all sorts of Israeli street food Sunday.

Jewish Discussion Club to Meet Outdoors

Jewish Discussion Club to Meet Outdoors

The #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai Jewish discussion group led by author and actor Arkadijus Vinokuras is to discuss Jewish cuisine at the Israeli street food kiosk located in the former Cvirka scquare across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius at 5:00 P.M on Thursday, June 8. The panel is scheduled to include Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Vilnius Religious Jewish Community chairman and Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom, lecturer Natalja Cheifec, Cvi Parkas Israeli food kiosk director Rafaelis Gimelšteinas, a professor of communications from Vilnius University who has written several books about the history of cooking.

The outdoor discussion is free and open to the public and will be streamed live on facebook as well. It will be conducted in Lithuanian.

Sabbath for the Whole Family with Rabbi Nathan Alfred

Sabbath for the Whole Family with Rabbi Nathan Alfred

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to a Sabbath conducted by Rabbi Nathan Alfred and cantor Alan Brava at 7:00 P.M. this Friday, June 2, with kiddush at the Bagel Shop Café and prayer service at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. People 16 and under get in for free. To register, send an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or call +37067250699.

Community Celebrates Shavuot

Community Celebrates Shavuot

The Lithuanian Jewish Community held three different events to celebrate Shavuot or Shavuos, the Feast of Weeks, last Sunday. At the riverside north of Vilnius parents and children played games and the children learned how to barbecue and roast marshmallows, and sampled some more traditional dishes. At the same time Julija Potašnik taught Israeli dance at Cvirka Park across the street from the Community. Later more than a 100 people attended a concert performed by Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh featuring the Community’s younger singers and dances. The concert was followed by holiday food and drink.

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Dubi Club for Children Aged 4-6

Dubi Club for Children Aged 4-6

Members of the Dubi Club engage in fun activities every Sunday. Last time they learned to make desserts. They did a great job and their parents were happy to try the treats and watch their young ones learn practical life skills. Dubi Club is for children aged 4 to 6 and meets at noon every Sunday at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. For more information, contact LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė by e-mail at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

Seniors Club Meets

Seniors Club Meets

Last week the Seniors Club of the Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrated several holidays at once, including Lag b’Omer, the Bar Kokhba uprising against the Romans and Victory Day marking the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Holocaust.

Seniors shared a meal and lit the traditional six candles in remembrance of those who have perished. LJC Social Commission doctor Ela Gurina spoke about her family’s experience in the Holocaust.

LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė said one of the main goals of the meeting was just to bring old friends back together, contemporaries who might otherwise remain isolated.

Lithuanian Jewish TV Program Features Faina Kukliansky’s Herring Appetizer Recipe

Lithuanian Jewish TV Program Features Faina Kukliansky’s Herring Appetizer Recipe

The Jewish program Menora on Lithuanian state television has included a segment on the popular Jewish appetizer made with minced herring. This particular herring appetizer is truly Litvak in nature. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman put on a kitchen apron and shared her family recipe for making the snack with the Lithuanian television audience. The segment is included in the April 30 broadcast available in Lithuanian here.

Passover at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

Passover at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community

The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community began celebrating Passover April 5, beginning with the seder in the evening, the first one on the evening of April 5 led by Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky’s sons. On April 6 members of the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community gathered at the Žemaitis restaurant for the second evening’s seder. Community chairman Naum Gleizer greeted the celebrants who were served the traditional Passover dishes. Community member Vadimas Kamrazeris provided for the Jewish music at the restaurant, which led to sing-alongs and dancing.

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Passover in Kaunas

Passover in Kaunas

The Kaunas Jewish Community sent in some snapshots from Passover celebrations in Lithuania’s second city. The holiday celebration there included the traditional dishes, a concert, dance music and even a quiz for people to test their knowledge of Passover.

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Passover at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius

Passover at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius

Passover is usually a family holiday where everyone sits down at the seder table, reads the Hagadah, samples the traditional dishes and has fun. What about those who don’t have families?

LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė said: “Many of our Community’s elderly are alone. Their families have left and their friends are busy. We are their family, so we celebrate together.”

Professionals prepared the meals for the seniors at the seder and LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky greeted everyone with Passover.

Our younger members certainly don’t lack for attention from their families, but even so, Žana Skudovičienė organized a special seder for young people.

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Results from Passover Drawing Contest

Results from Passover Drawing Contest

We are pleased to announce we received a number of drawings, water colors and works in other media in our Passover children’s drawing contest. A surprising number of young people in the Community responded, some sending in multiple entries. We were also pleasantly surprised by the talent demonstrated, and insights into the inner life of our children. Some of the entries reminded us of the work of Marc Chagall and Samuel Bak. It was simply too difficult to decide on any one winner, but all contestants will receive a package of chocolate-coated matzo. A big thank-you to all the parents who helped as well.

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Why Are Thousands Flocking to a Small Town in Central Lithuania?

Why Are Thousands Flocking to a Small Town in Central Lithuania?

A special place in the center of Lithuania: why does “Jewish” mean “backwards,” and why are packed buses arriving in this small town?

The small town of Krakės in the Kėdainiai region of central Lithuania is a special place. When you get there, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a different world. The community’s café Svetainė [Parlor] looks like an ordinary café, but thousands of people from all over Lithuania come by every year. It’s the Jewish cuisine which draws these people to Krakės.

A small group of enthusiasts from the Lithuanian town came up with a Jewish culinary and cultural education program called “One hundred and fifty years in the Jewish neighborhood: why Jewish means backwards.”

Krakės community center director Daiva Dubinkienė said initially the idea was to establish a cozy café in town, but the idea immediately grew to include an educational program.

The Life section of 15min.lt interviewed community center director Daiva Dubinkienė and the cook Lina Gaučiene, who makes Jewish dishes.

Q. We are meeting at the Svetainė café. When you cross the threshold, it really seems as if you’ve entered a different reality. It’s a cozy spot.

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Lesson on Passover

Lesson on Passover

Natalja Cheifec will do a post-Passover wrap-up on zoom at 5:30 P.M. on April 17, touching on everything you need to know but might have been afraid to ask, including:

• How the Hebrews became slaves in Egypt
• How the Egyptians oppressed the Hebrews
• Moses, leader of the Hebrew people
• Reasons for the exodus
• How God punished the Egyptians, the 10 plagues
• Preparations for the holiday of Passover: why yeast and fermented goods must be dispensed with
• Components of Passover holiday celebration including matzo, the four cups of wine and other required components.

To register and receive zoom credentials, go to https://bit.ly/3K73kEE

Illustration: Seder Table by Lynne Feldman