The Sabbath begins at 6:43 P.M. on Friday, September 29, and concludes at 7:51 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Sukkot Begins Today
Sukkot or Sukkos beings at 6:43 P.M. in Vilnius on Friday, September 29, 2023.
The festival of Sukkot–literally meaning booths, tents, tabernacles–is celebrated for seven days in Israel and eight days in the Diaspora, starting on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. It is one of the three festivals during which Jewish men were required to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the times of the Holy Temple.
This year the first day of the week-long holiday coincides with the Sabbath, adding another layer to the observance of taking the lulav, or the four species, and dwelling in the sukka or booth is postponed till after the conclusion of the Sabbath. For more information, see here.
United States Funding for Žiežmariai Wooden Synagogue
Photo: Synagogue in Žiežmariai, by Andrejus Tomenko.
An international agreement is already bearing fruit: the United States Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad has collected $10,000, the first tranche to be used for restoration of the second floor, the women’s gallery, of the wooden synagogue in Žiežmariai, Lithuania.
Several months ago Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and United States Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad director Star Jones signed an agreement to join forces for the restoration of the second storey of the unique wooden synagogue in rural Lithuania. The Commission pledged to find financing for that project and the LJC pledged to insure its smooth implementation.
The synagogue was built in the 19th century but burned down in 1920 and was rebuilt. For the thousand or so Jews of the small town before the Holocaust, the synagogue served as both a house of prayer and school, and the central community meeting place.
Rosh Hashana at the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community
The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community celebrated the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, at the Žemaitis restaurant in Šiauliai. Community chairman Naumas Gleizeris greeted celebrants and wished everyone a good and healthy year. Vadimas Kamrazeris performed live music and Community members took to the dance floor. The shofar horn was blown during the celebration. Some snapshots follow below.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:01 P.M. on Friday, September 22, and concludes at 8:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Yom Kippur at the Choral Synagogue
The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius will hold mincha at 7:00 P.M. and kol nidrei and maariv services at 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 24, to mark Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
On Monday, September 25, there will be morning prayer service at 10:00 A.M., followed by a yizkor service at 12:00 noon and mincha and neil at 7:00 P.M.
President Nausėda Unveils Plaque Commemorating Librarian, Bibliographer Antanas Ulpis at YIVO
Photo: YIVO executive board chairwoman Ruth Levine, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda with wife Diana Nausėdienė and YIVO executive director Jonathan Brent, photograph by Robertas Dačkus
September 19, 2023
As part of his working visit to New York Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda attended the unveiling of a memorial plaque to the Lithuanian librarian and bibliographer Antanas Ulpis at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Gitanas Nausėda said it is important to preserve the memory of the deeds of Lithuanian librarian, bibliographer and director of the Vilnius Book Chamber Antanas Ulpis and the Paper Brigade because thanks to them thousands of Jewish books and documents were safeguarded during the Nazi and Soviet occupations.
During the Nazi occupation around 20 Jews from the Vilnius Ghetto, the so-called Paper Brigade, hid Jewish books, Torahs and other documents, risking their lives. Later Antanas Ulpis, director of the Book Chamber, saved these unique documents and texts from destruction by the Soviets by hiding them in nooks and crannies at St. George’s Church in Vilnius.
“This is not only an important part of the history of Lithuanian Jews which has been preserved, but also an example of humanism, when evil is countered with good and darkness with light,” the Lithuanian president said.
Schedule of Commemorative Events for the 80th Anniversary of the Anti-Nazi Resistance and Liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto
European Days of Jewish Culture
Time: Starts at 10:00 A.M. on September 3, 2023
Location: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius; Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, Cvi Park (Petras Cvirka Square across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community).
Exhibit “Ghetto Children Tell Their Story to Contemporary Children”
Time: September 4 to September 30, 2023
Location: Adomas Mickevičius Public Library, Trakų street no. 10, Vilnius.
Special Concert to Remember Victims of the Holocaust
Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė, patroness
Time: September 6, 2023
Location: Lėlė Theater, Arklių street no. 5, Vilnius.
by invitation only
Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrates Rosh Hashana
The Kaunas Jewish Community ushered in the Jewish new year 5784 with greetings from chairman Gercas Žakas to a large number of members who assembled for the celebration, tables laden with holiday dishes, singing, games and lively conversation.
Snapshots from the party below.
Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of Vilnius Ghetto: Play “Symphony of Dance from the Jerusalem of the North”
The dance troupe Lietuva and the Prabudimo orkestras present a song and dance spectacular called “Symphony of Dance from the Jerusalem of the North.” The performance is based on Jievaras Jasinskis’s work “Simfonija iš Šiaurės Jeruzalės” [Symphony from the Jerusalem of the North]. The story begins 4,000 years ago and extends till the present. The performance will take place on different dates around Lithuania. Tickets available here.
Schedule:
7:00 P.M. on September 23 at the State Youth Theater in Vilnius, by invitation only.
6:00 P.M. on September 24 at the State Youth Theater in Vilnius
7:00 P.M. on September 27 at the State Drama Theater in Kaunas
6:00 P.M. on October 7 at the Concert Hall in Palanga
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Panevėžys Jewish Community Celebrates New Year
Rosh Hashana is one of the most important Jewish holidays. The new year 5784 has begun. A small picnic took place in the courtyard of the Panevėžys Jewish Community on September 17 with apples and honey and challa bread, and warm wishes were expressed for Jews around the world.
This year for the first time this century Lithuanian Jewish scouts from Vilnius visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community. They were returning from the Žalioji Forest where they had camped for two days with scouts from Panevėžys. The Panevėžys Jewish Community treated them to a tour of the town including stories about the Jews of Panevėžys and the Holocaust.
After a brief rest at the Community, the scouts joined Community members for a holiday meal including the traditional dishes which according to custom should be sampled in greeting the Jewish New Year.
Rosh Hashana at the LJC
Last Friday the Lithuanian Jewish Community hosted a bnei maskilim–followers of Progressive Judaism–Kabalat Shabat ceremony and marked the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashana, 5784, at the same time. Shana tova!
Thanks to Viljamas Žitkauskas for providing photos of the event below.
Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Conference at Parliament “Communism and Anti-Semitism”
The Lithuanian parliament will host an international conference called “Communism and Anti-Semitism” beginning at 10:00 A.M. on November 28. The organizers of the conference include the Lithuanian Jewish Community, YIVO, the POLIN institute and the Goodwill Foundation. It will be broadcasted on the parliament’s website www.lrs.lt and via the parliament’s youtube channel. Stay tuned for more details.
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Eightieth Anniversary of Liquidation and Uprising of the Vilnius Ghetto: Film “Jerzy Orda: Anarchista w duchu św. Augustyna”
“Jerzy Orda: Anarchistas pagal šv. Augustiną” aka “Jerzy Orda: Anarchista w duchu św. Augustyna” [Jerzy Orda: The Anarchist Who Followed St. Augustine] (2022, Lithuania) is a flim about the man Jerzy Orda who said he was a Vilniusite by choice and whom others called an “integral humanist” and “a man of paradoxes.” During the period between the two world wars, he called himself “an anarchist inspired by St. Augustine.” He also rescued people from the Holocaust and was posthumously awarded Lithuania’s Order of the Life Saver’s Cross. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion at the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius starting at 6:00 P.M. on September 26. The film consists of recollections and interviews in Polish and Lithuanian and there will be Lithuanian subtitles for the Polish segments.
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Eightieth Anniversary of the Liquidation of and Uprising in the Vilnius Ghetto: Loïc Salfati’s Documentary Secrets of the Great Synagogue
Loïc Salfati’s documentary film “Secrets of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius” will be screened at 6:00 P.M. on September 20 at the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius. The film uses archival documents, testimonies and interviews with archaeologists from Israel, Lithuania and the USA to reveal hitherto little-known facts about the Great Synagogue which stood more or less intact for centuries, was heavily bombed during World War II and razed by the Soviet government in 1950. The director will talk about his film before the screening. The film is in Lithuanian and English with Lithuanian subtitles for the English-language segments.
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Lithuanian PM Offers Rosh Hashana Greetings
Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė presented the following greeting on the occasion of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year:
“Today when the Jewish communities in Lithuania, Israel and the whole world celebrate the birth of the world, in the name of our entire Government I greet you with the New Year, on the occasion of Rosh Hashana. The New Year with the call of the Shofar horn and the sweetness of apples dipped in honey begins a sacred time of reflection, repentance and renewal. It is a time to stop and look inward. It is a time to ask what sort of people we want to be and how we achieved that over the foregoing year, what we can still do for tranquility and peace in our countries and the world. I wish everyone a happy and peaceful year. May Rosh Hashana bring happiness, health and success to your families and peace to your homes. Shanah tovah u’metuka! A good and sweet year!”
LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky on Meaning of Rosh Hashana
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky spoke about the significance of the New Year holiday Rosh Hashana and wished everyone health and a good and meaningful coming year surrounded by those who love you in a video address in Lithuanian.
Shana tova!
European Days of Jewish Culture in Prienai
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bagel Shop Café were invited to participate at the European Days of Jewish Culture in Prienai, Lithuania, on the eve of Rosh Hashana, where around 40% of the population was Jewish before the Holocaust. The local organizers of the event there demonstrated a keen interest in the Jewish past of their town and in what was until now exotic Jewish cuisine.
The event kicked off at the synagogue, one of two and the only one left standing, in the early afternoon with a planting of crocus bulbs outside the synagogue. Participants walked from there to the Vėlyvė café which used to house a famous restaurant belonging to the Milstein family. Litvak snacks, challa bread and humous were served with fresh bagels. Local genealogist Janina Paplauskaitė-Leonavičienė then told the story of the synagogue and the restaurant which belonged to the Milstein family.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:18 P.M. on Friday, September 15, and concludes at 8:28 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.