The quizzes go on, this coming Sunday around the topic of Jewish theater. Come and show off your knowledge, or learn something new. Presented by writer, philosopher, mime and circus performer Arkadijus Vinokuras, the quiz will take place at the Bagel Shop Café at Pylimo street no. 4 at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, March 19. Register by sending an e-mail to Katrina at katrina@lzb.lt.
This year the Panevėžys Jewish Community held a joint celebration of Purim and International Women’s Day. Community chairman Gennady Kofman kicked off the party with a reading from the Book of Esther, passed out small gifts to the children and conveyed Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky’s holiday greetings. At the holiday table the men greeted the ladies present on International Women’s Day, proposed toasts, gave flowers and sang songs in their honor.
Semion “Sam” Yossman, born in Vilnius, former host of the Vatican’s Lithuanian-language radio service, BBC Russian-language department staff and radio host, author of an extensive book about the Cold War and Litvak, passed away last week, according to sources in London. Our deepest condolences to his many friends and family members.
More information about this outstanding man can be found here.
Matzo has arrived and will be distributed to Saul Kagan Social Welfare Center clients at room 220 from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on March 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24.
Organizers and coordinators of the European Days of Jewish Culture for 2023 events met in Paris in late February and decided upon the theme “Citizens, equality, rights and values” for this year’s celebrations.
Most meetings and seminars took place at the Shoah memorial in Paris with meetings on the second day at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The European Days of Jewish Culture are scheduled to begin on the first Sunday in September, 2023.
This year Lithuania marks March 15 as the day of rescuers of Lithuanian Jews for the very first time. To celebrate this important date, the Lithuanian Jewish Community presents a special plaque to commemorate the rescuers. The plaque, with multiple layers of symbolism and meaning, will be placed on residences where the rescuers lived and hid Lithuanian Jews from the Nazis.
“This is our thanks to the brave people who didn’t falter in the face of danger and who were not just the rescuers of Jews, but, as Icchokas Meras wrote, were also the blossom of goodness of their nation and heroes of the spirit who resisted the murderers,” LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky commented. Her family was also saved from the Holocaust by brave Lithuanians with big hearts, rescuers who number among the 900 Yad Vashem recognizes as Righteous Gentiles in Lithuania.
Plaque designed by the JUDVI & AŠ creative group.
Project author: International Commission for Assessing the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania.
ongratulations to Lithuania’s most talented animator, not just in drawing but as a master of the spoken word as well, Ilja Bereznickas, who was just awarded the Lithuanian Government’s Culture and Art Prize. May your success continue!
Dear readers,
March 11, 1990, meant rebirth for the Jews of Lithuania. When the country regained independence, the surviving Jewish community began to unite. This was the beginning of restoring our ethnic identity, of active ethnocultural life, and finally we all began to talk openly about the Holocaust and the role played by ethnic Lithuanians.
We have rights and freedoms in independent Lithuania. We speak courageously about what isn’t right, and we initiate change. We host guests and we travel. Our children and grandchildren live here and the whole world is now open to them. Our home is here and we are an integral part of Lithuania.
So congratulations and greetings on this holiday which belongs to all of us, March 11.
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
Last Monday Vytautas Toleikis presented his book “Žydai lietuvių literatūroje. Nuo priešo iki sąjungininko” [Jews in Lithuanian Literature: From Enemy to Ally”] at the Kudirka Public Library in Kaunas. The event was organized by the Kaunas Jewish Community and the art and music section of the library.
Examining portrayals of Jews in texts by different authors in the period from the early 19th century to ca. 1918, Toleikis said he found more positive than negative images. He reported there was a noticeable transformation among some others and public figures from anti-Semitism to a more tolerant view during the period investigated.
The presentation concluded with Purim pastries and Jewish songs performed by Joris Rubinovas.
One of the distinguishing features of the Lithuanian Jewish Community is how we care about our oldest and wisest members, both in daily life and during the holidays. So we celebrated Purim together with our venerable senior citizens in the Jascha Heifetz Hall at the Community building in Vilnius, decorated for the occasion. A pleasant evening was had by all with dinner and a concert performance by members of the Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble, now celebrating their 50th birthday.
Natalja Cheifec will deliver a lesson via zoom about the meaning and traditions of Purim from 5:30 P.M. till 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, March 8. To receive zoom log-in credentials, register here: https://bit.ly/3K73kEE. The lecture will be conducted in Lithuanian.
For the second year now the Lithuanian Jewish Community has reached out to child war refugees from the Ukraine on Purim, in additional to aiding Jewish families who have fled the war zone there. This year LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky visited a Ukrainian school in Vilnius with several trays of hamentashen pastry. The school has about 800 students currently. Kukliansky shared the story of Purim with children and young people there, spoke about the traditions associated with Purim and spent time with the unusually welcoming staff who transformed a ruined building into an educational institution by hand over the course of a few months.
“We understand well that material aid is needed during time of war… Even so, we can’t just cry about everything, so we are trying to spread some joy as well. Purim is, after all, the happiest Jewish holiday of the year. I am glad we have shared at least a little bit of that with the children from the Ukraine,” Kukliansky said.
Tuesday evening, March 7, Community members and friends gathered at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius to celebrate Purim. The Book of Esther was read, the congregation was in high spirits, everyone got the traditional hamentashen pastries and some not so traditional variations, and the children dazzled everyone with their amazing costumes.
PARIS, FRANCE–The EDJC Organizers and Coordinators Meeting 2023 took place from February 22 to 23 with the majority of its sessions and workshops occurring at the Memorial de la Shoah and a final session and closing ceremony concluding the meeting at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The bi-annual meeting for organizers and coordinators of European Days of Jewish Culture activities occurs in an extraordinary context and under the umbrella of an exceptional program the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program of the European Union.
Organizers and coordinators of the European Days of Jewish Culture had the opportunity to spend two full days together in the city of Paris with the aim of training and reflecting upon how to work with the 2023 edition’s theme of memory. The theme of memory is particularly relevant to the EDJC, as it allows us to explore and remember the rich history of Jewish culture and heritage. The festival provides participants with an opportunity to learn about Jewish culture and history, as well as to reflect on the rôle of memory in shaping our understanding of the past and the present.
During the meeting, attendees witnessed the uncovering of the poster of this year’s edition designed by Nikola Radic Lucati, Founder of the Center for Holocaust Research and Education in Belgrade, Serbia. Participants had the opportunity to participate in training sessions and workshops on the theme of memory, as well as to attend coordination meetings and networking events.
Full story here.
Dear readers,
I would like to greet you in the name of the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community on the occasion of the happy holiday of Purim.
May this Purim be filled with happiness, fun, good moods and the warmth of family and friends.
Hag Purim sameach!
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
Purim starts tonight at sundown when the 14th day of the month of Adar begins on the Jewish calendar. One of the constituent features of Purim is the traditional pastry known as hamentashen. Although everyone has their own special recipe, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky makes her family’s version with poppy-seed filling, the traditional Litvak treat. The recipe dates beck to the period between the two world wars.
“This recipe was probably used earlier and recalls the time when the aroma of the pastry filled the Vilnius Old Town and many other cities and towns where Jews lived in Lithuania. Although you can purchase this version now, it’s always more fun to make it yourself,” she commented.
Happy Purim! Hag Purim sameakh!
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Faina Kukliansky’s hamantashen recipe:
The ruins of the Great Synagogue and attached ritual Jewish bath in Vilnius has been proposed as a site for protection by the state.
The State Cultural Heritage Commission approved that recommendation but the actual listing of the site is up to the Lithuanian minister of culture. The site has architectural, archaeological, historical, commemorative and sacred features.
The State Cultural Heritage Commission said in a press release: “The archaeological, architectural, historical, commemorative and sacred significance of this complex in the Vilnius Old Town is undisputed.”
Full story in Lithuanian here.
March 11 is one of Lithuania’s two independence days, marking the day in 1990 when the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet declared Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union. In line with pre-WWII Jewish scouting traditions, the Lithuanian Jewish Community invites young people and their friends and classmates to an overnight Jewish scouting camp to celebrate Lithuanian independence. The camp will include entertaining games, a scouting program, a flag-raising ceremony and a Sabbath ceremony as well as the chance to meet new friends.
Parents should deliver their children to the Sholem Aleichem ORT school in Vilnius from 3:00 to 3:30 P.M. on March 10 and the camp ends at 7:00 P.M. on March 11. Children and young people need to bring along written consent from their parents, a sleeping bag, dishes and utensils for food, toothbrushes and other personal hygiene items. The cost is 25 euros per person and includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Registration is open till 11:00 P.M. on April 7. Written consent needs to be delivered by parents to the scout leader at the collection point at Sholem Aleichem school.
To register, fill out the form here:
https://forms.gle/XYhx29EpZwLZiFrN7
For more information, write skautai@lzb.lt.
The Dubi Club continues to meet at noon on Sundays. This Sunday the children will receive a Purim surprise. All children aged 4 to 6 are invited to attend. For more information, contact Margarita Koževatova by telephone at +37061800577.