Litvaks – Page 25 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

A Cry to Heaven

Photo: Jewish nursery school in Plungė, Lithuania. Almost no Jewish children survived in Lithuania. Photo source: Screenshot from the documentary J’Accuse

Renowned cantors unite to give their voices to Baltic Truth premiere

There were very few survivors from Lithuania. In the villages, there were almost none. We know what happened in some locations because we have testimonies from some survivors.

Yakov Zak testified about the Lithuanian Holocaust: “The rabbi of Kelmė, Kalmen Benushevits, who had escaped to Vaiguva at the outbreak of the war, had been brought together with the Jews from Vaiguva. He had been forced to kneel next to the pit the entire day. He had quietly whispered a prayer, watching while the Jews were shot. After all the Jews were shot, he was shot as well.”

And:

“The mystic religious melodies of the yeshiva students, their rabbis and leaders were eternally silenced. The town was ruined down to the foundations; the Jewish community of Kelmė was ruined forever. Peasants also related that while the yeshiva students were being taken to be shot, they did not weep. Like stone statues, they moved slowly, with their eyes raised to the sky, murmuring prayers.”

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Jerusalem of the North Orchestra Camp in Preila

The Jerusalem of the North Orchestra Camp for children and young people was held in Lithuania’s sea-side resort Preila over the summer with about 20 young people from music schools in Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Klaipėda attending. They held daily repetitions, improvisational evenings and music-reading at the public library in Preila in the evenings. The final joint concert with the Vilnius St. Christopher’s Chamber Orchestra was performed August 25 at a church in nearby Nida, attended by parents, local residents, vacationers and others.

In addition to music, students learned dance from physical therapist, psychologist and dancer Kamile Pundziūtė; attended lessons on Litvak history, traditions and culture under the tutelage of Algirdas Davidavičius and went on cultural tours of the local area with historian, guide and writer Raimonda Meyer.

2022-08-30

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.

2022-08-30

Memory Stones Laid to Commemorate Rabinovitch Family

The Lithuanian Human Rights Center is responsible for the laying of six new memory stones dedicated to the memory of the Rabinovitch family at Gedimino prospect nos. 37 and 46 in Vilnius.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky attended the unveiling ceremony and said: “Today I attended a very moving ceremony. Next to the buildings located at Gedimino prospect number 37 and number 46 six memory stones commemorating the Rabinovitch family were laid. They were murdered at Ponar. I am glad their memory and the memory of their relatives has come back to Vilnius. Thank you to the relatives who found the energy to preserve the memory of their loved ones and to travel to Vilnius for that purpose.”

2022-08-30

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.

Program:

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Arkadijus Gotesmanas on Klezmer Music and More

The Lithuanian state radio and television website has an extensive interview with Litvak musician Arkadijus Gotesmanas on music, life and upcoming appearances in Lithuania.

Full article and interview in Lithuanian here.

2022-08-25

Condolences

We extend our deepest condolences on the death of Polina Zingerienė at the age of 101 to her sons Markas and Emanuelis and her many friends and relatives.

She was born in Kaunas where she was graduated from high school. Her adolescence was cut short by World War II. She was imprisoned in the Kaunas ghetto and later sent to a concentration camp. After the Allies liberated the camp, Polina returned to Kaunas.

Her painful experiences and struggle to survive the Holocaust led her to go into medicine. She received in diploma in natal and developmental nursing. She worked in her field of medicine till the age of 76.

2022-08-25

Thousands Gather for Jerusalem Funeral of Shas Spiritual Leader Rabbi Shalom Cohen

Police and emergency services spread out in force along procession’s route in the capital; event expected to disrupt traffic

Thousands of people are now taking part in the Jerusalem funeral of Rabbi Shalom Cohen, the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party’s spiritual leader.

Police are spread out in force along the funeral procession’s route from the Porat Yosef Yeshiva that he led in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood toward the Sanhedria cemetery.

Traffic disturbances are expected.

Large numbers of emergency personnel are also on hand. Magen David Adom has urged attendees to bring water, avoid crowding and refrain from climbing on roofs or poles to get a better view.

Full story here.

2022-08-22

Dybbuk Exhibit in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Theater Archive and Museum is hosting an exhibit to mark the 100th anniversary of the staging of S. An-sky’s “Dybbuk” at the Habima Theater in Moscow. The exhibit opened August 8 at Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, according to Birobaidzhaner Shtern.

An-sky’s “Dybbuk, or, Between Two Worlds” was written in Yiddish. The Moscow production was translated to Hebrew by Evgeny Vakhtangov and Haim-Nahman Bialik. The Vilner Troupe presented the play in Yiddish in Warsaw in 1920, directed by Dovid Herman. The Polish film “Dybbuk” directed by Michał Waszyński was shot in 1937 and marks the birth of Yiddish cinema. The Hebrew-language production in Moscow, however, is considered special because its success became a kind of calling card for Habima, which in turn eventually became the National Theater of Israel.

Full article in Yiddish here.

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Shalom in All the World Events in Klaipėda

The International Festival of Jewish culture “Shalom in All The World” returns to Klaipėda.

This year, the International Festival dedicated to learning about the history, culture, art, and traditions of the Jewish society will be held for the second time and is part of the program of events dedicated to the 770th anniversary of the city of Klaipėda. During the events of the Festival, the aim will be to emphasize the historical roots of the Jewish society in Memel, specifically the contribution of the Jewish residents to the development of the city in that time

Full of events, an enthralling and significant Festival will again invite everyone, regardless of their nationality, religion, beliefs, to meet at the concerts, talks, movie screenings, exhibitions, creative workshops, traditional Jewish dance lessons, excursions.

Youth, adults, families, regardless of age, education, interests are very welcome! All events are free of charge! Be with us and among us!

Full program here.

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News from the Panevėžys Jewish Community

Every month the Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrates its members’ birthdays and anniversaries. In July and August we congratulated Diana Narevič and Rimantas Rimkus and Jurijus and Svetlana Grafman on their anniversaries.

We also provided and provide material support to our members.

Despite summer vacations, cultural and athletic events are being held and members are participating in Panevėžys regional events and scouting activities.

In the summer we usually have a large number of guests who care about their family histories. They often talk about their families over a cup of tea at the Panevėžys Jewish Community. One of the newer stories is about a family who emigrated to South Africa, then later between 1900 and 1910 they went their separate ways to Canada, China, England and Israel. They came back to Lithuania to learn about the former shtetl where their forebears once lived.

2022-08-18

Happy Birthday to Semionas Finkelšteinas

We wish a very happy milestone birthday to Semionas Finkelšteinas, modern founder and president of the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club and head of Lithuanian Makabi delegations abroad. We wish you great health, happiness and a continued sharp wit. Mazl tov. Bis 120!

2022-08-17

Lithuanian News Site on Pakruojis Synagogue

Pakruojis Synagogue is a Monument to All the Jewish Houses of Prayer Which Stood in Lithuania

15min.lt, reprinted from a facebook user

It’s believed there were about 500 or 600 different Jewish houses of prayer in our country, although no one knows the exact number. There might have been more than 100 synagogues in Vilnius alone.

Most of Lithuania’s synagogues were wooden, but today we only have about a dozen. On the other hand, no other European state has so many surviving wooden synagogues.

The question of restoring these historically and culturally very valuable wooden buildings is coming up more and more. One wonderful example of a restored wooden synagogue stands in the town of Pakruojis. After walking through its interior and getting a closer look at its careful restoration, I was pleasantly surprised at what had been returned from the ravages of time, people’s neglect and even fires.

Full text in Lithuanian here.

2022-08-16

Father and Trainer Eduardas Šeras Talks of Son Who Won Silver at Maccabiah

I’d like to present a person who, as Lithuanian Makabi president Semionas Finkelšteinas says, performed a small miracle at the recently finished World Maccabiah Games in Israel.

Daniel Šer is the silver medal winner in the junior chess competition. Daniel is 13, but he was playing against 16, 17 and 18-year-olds. A silver medal which just missed becoming gold by a hair, since Daniel collected the same number of points with the gold medal winner from the USA, and according to the rules, a tie like that means other indicators are taken into account, something is always kind of a lottery, and this time it wasn’t in our favor.

It was a great competition, very good results and a very high assessment not just for the medal won, but also because news reached us that the organizers of the competition and the chief referee sent the final results to the International Chess Federation along with the request to present Daniel the title of candidate master for his excellent playing in the competition.

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Jerusalem of the North Orchestra Camp

The Jerusalem of the North youth orchestra camp will take place from August 15 to 25 at the Preila Library in Preila on the Curionian Spit in Lithuania under the tutelage of renowned Lithuanian conductor professor Donatas Katkus, Martynas Švegžda von Bekker, Dalia Dedinskaitė, Gleb Pyšniak and Darius Mažintas. The 10-day orchestra workshop will conclude in a joint concert with Vilnius’s St. Christopher Orchestra and the new orchestra made up of young participants, performing a jointly-prepared program of Jewish music.

“The Jewish culture of education means the book, music and sports. It’s not for nothing that the Jewish people have been literate for more than 5,000 years. The Lithuanian Jewish Community is happy the orchestra convened at this camp will perform Jewish music. That there aren’t many Jewish children attending the camp this year is, I think, a tourism mistake. Israeli families would love to vacation in Nida while their children attend camp and learn. There should be greater state support brought to these sorts of private and NGO initiatives. The children and adults who will prepare this concert will learn about Jewish composers. We all know how to talk about tolerance, but not all of us know how practice tolerance through deeds. The LJC and the orchestra are doing tolerance, which is what the state institutions should be doing,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky explained.

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Litvak Descendant Jenny Kagan Opens Interactive Holocaust Exhibit in Kaunas

Litvak descendant and artist Jenny Kagan has opened an exhibit telling her family’s story during the Holocaust. The “Out of Darkness” exhibit’s main motif is that of a box, the one in which her parents Joseph and Margaret hid, among the few survivors of the Kaunas ghetto. Through interactive objects and audio/video installations the exhibit tells her family history. She told BNS she wanted to provide exhibit goers with a real emotional experience. She added that while the story is a narrative, she comes from a theatrical background and decided to make the experience a theatrical one. The exhibit was first installed in the atmospheric Viaduct Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2016.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2022-08-10

Condolences

Izraela Blataitė, honorary citizen of Šarnelė, Lithuania, has passed away in Israel. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.

2022-08-08

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.

2022-08-02

Video from Opening of Exhibit of Interwar Litvak Photographers Mausha Levi and Shimon Bayer

The Maironis Museum of Lithuanian Literature and Faina Borovsky organized an exhibit of the photography of interwar Litvak photographers Mausha Levi and Shimon Bayer which opened July 28 at the museum located at the Old Town Square, Rotušės aikštė no. 13, in Kaunas. The exhibit is part of the Kaunas, Capital of European Culture 2022 program. The video below shows the opening of the exhibit, visited by both Gercas Žakas, chairman of the Kaunas Jewish Community, and Robert Gilchrist, US ambassador to Lithuania.

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Litvak Descendant Jenny Kagan Comes Back to Kaunas: How Can You Live Here When You Know Any Passerby Might Have Beaten Your Father to Death?

Lithuanian state radio and television has published an interview with Jenny Kagan:

As Margarita Štromaitė, born in Kaunas, wrote in her memoirs, her future husband she met in the ghetto, Juozas Kagan and his mother Mira were rescued by Vytautas Rinkevičius’s family: “Regardless of the deadly danger, which threatened his entire family, he set up a hiding place for us in the attic of the forge. It was where the straw was, separated by an imaginary wall.” Twenty years after the Holocaust Margarita met her only surviving relative, her brother Aleksandras Štromas. In 1965 she and Joseph had a daughter, Eugenia. Or Jenny.

Jenny Kagan will be in Kaunas beginning August 4 for the exhibit “From Darkness” which is part of the Kaunas Capital of European Culture 2022 program, which will present her family history in subtle artistic techniques including text and audio, revealing previously unknown pages from the story of Kaunas.

This is also the story of the humanness and light we require to survive as a civilization. The exhibit will be held at Gimnazijos street no. 4 in Kaunas as part of the Histories Festival of the Kaunas Capital of European Culture 2022 program.

Full interview in Lithuanian here.

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