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.
The Sabbath begins at 8:42 P.M. on Friday, May 5, and concludes at 10:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
The plaque commemorating Lithuanian Nazi Jonas Noreika has been removed from the wall of the Vrublevskiai Library in central Vilnius along with the candles and flowers placed by worshipers at the base of the brick column there as the library prepares for repairing its exterior walls. According to the news site delfi.lt the plaque was given to the ultranationalist Pro Patria party for safeguarding and will be replaced following the completion of construction work at the library.
Street in Kőszeg Gets Back Historic Name
Hungary Today, May 3, 2023
When the name of a public space in a municipality changes, it is usually associated with a political change. Perhaps the most striking example of this was when, after the fall of Communism, the names of public spaces given during the Communist period were changed en masse for ideological reasons. In the western Hungarian city of Kőszeg, the former Zrínyi Miklós Street was renamed Schey Fülöp Street on Tuesday, but the reason for the name change is different.
Fülöp Schey, the former patron of the town, the builder of the synagogue and a prominent figure of the local bourgeoisie, was commemorated in Kőszeg yesterday. Fülöp Schey’s descendants living abroad, members of the Schey-Ephrussi-de Waal family, also took part in the commemoration day organized jointly by the Kőszeg Municipality and the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK; Felsőbbfokú Tanulmányok Intézete).
Photo: European Commission coordinator for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe Katharina Schnurbein and LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky.
The European Union’s working group for implementing strategies for combating anti-Semitism is meeting in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky is there discussing the issues in Lithuania and other countries with high-ranking European Commission and international organization officials.
More than 80 guests, European Commission officials, representatives of different international organizations and local Jewish communities along with specialists from across the EU as well as guests from the Ukraine and Moldova are attending the three-day conference organized by the Government of Romania and the EC. The point is to discuss how to fight anti-Semitism, including implementing national strategies, discussing progress made in implementing the EU strategy for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe, lurking dangers, Holocaust distortion and denial and the value of preserving memory.
The Russian-language CursorInfo Israeli news site posted yesterday information from the Russian-language Telegram channel Israel Today the Vatican has agreed for the first time to put Jewish artifacts in its treasure-trove on exhibit. Some observers say this is a major move towards rapprochement between Rome and Jerusalem. The Vatican announced the Jewish regalia would be placed on display in the Vatican museum.
According to the report, the artifacts in question are mostly gifts from Byzantium in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Full story in Russian here.
The Sabbath begins at 8:29 P.M. on Friday, April 28, and concludes at 9:52 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club invites athletes and the athletically-inclined at any and all levels of proficiency to a three-day sporting festival at the Pailgo perlas recreational area on a scenic lake 30 kilometers outside Vilnius. The celebration will include more than just sports in a beautiful natural setting, with a Sabbath celebration, singing, dancing, concerts, bonfire parties, fishing and swimming, among other activities. Sports include badminton, kayaking, ping-pong, volleyball, soccer and perhaps others, depending on the weather. The camp will run from April 19 to 21, but attendees aren’t required to spend all three days there. For more information and to register, send an email to info.maccabilt@gmail.com.
The Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble will perform a concert called Promised Land to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel at 4:00 P.M. on May 14 at the House of Polish Culture in Vilnius. Tickets cost 10 euros. For tickets or more information, call +370 687 79 309 or +370 5 261 30 03.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad chairwoman Star Jones have signed an agreement for the restoration of the women’s gallery at the recently restored Žiežmariai wooden synagogue. The Commission pledged $75,000 for carrying out the restoration, with the LJC responsible for implementing the project.
“This is an extraordinarily important project for the preservation of Litvak culture. The Žiežmariai synagogue is a unique example of wooden architecture. There are only a handful of wooden synagogues still standing in Europe as a whole. I am so happy Ms. Star Jones, representing an influential US organization, appreciates the importance of Litvak culture and has decided to contribute to its preservation. The solution of cultural heritage problems and the preservation of historical memory, after all, are the best avenue for separate peoples to engage in dialogue,” chairwoman Kukliansky said following the signing of the agreement.
Star Jones was recently appointed by the executive branch and is making her first tour of Lithuania and has visited a number of sites, including the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius. The agreement for restoring the women’s gallery is her first international agreement in her post as director of the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. She is a professional attorney and has wide name recognition as one of the panelists on the left-wing ABC television talk show “The View.”
by Ignas Staškevičius, from recordings made on June 27, 2018, and June 26, 2019, in Vilnius
Q.: Mark, let’s begin with this question: how do you understand yourself?
A.: I believe I don’t understand myself fully.
I understood myself once in 1991. When I unexpectedly found myself [in a crowd] in Kaunas, defending the last… Defending… What sort of defense was that? Across the street from the so-called last free television station on Daukanto street I unexpectedly found myself in a crowd because I wanted to replace the announcer who was proclaiming in English: “S.O.S., nations of the world save us, this is the last free station in Lithuania!” But he was whining this over the air like some sort of famished kitten, so I decided the nations of the world wouldn’t understand a word of what he was saying, and I offered to replace him. I walked eleven kilometers from my house buried in snow, it was January, buried up to the door handle. No automobiles were driving. I walked eleven kilometers to the center of Kaunas because I decided to help, and there I found thousands of people and found myself facing tanks which were snoozing on the next street over. They weren’t moving, they were idling, and the barrels were so long that my entire classroom of students could’ve sat on one barrel. So then I went to the hotel across the street, back then there were these pay telephones which cost two kopeks, I inserted them and called the editorial office, saying: “You need to replace the announcer, what is he mumbling over there? Nobody understands him at all. You need a person who speaks English normally if you want to announce to the world you are perishing.” But they had already found someone, there was this woman from California in Kaunas at the time, and I finally heard abroad American pronunciation, a broad normal southern accent which reminded me of Voice of America a little bit, and everything was fine.
The Sabbath begins at 8:15 P.M. on Friday, April 21, and concludes at 9:36 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Several days ago the global Jewish community marked Yom haShoah, the day of remembrance of Holocaust victims and heroes. A large contingent of Litvaks from the Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel travelled to Lithuania to mark this commemorative date. They commemorated Holocaust victims in Alytus and Zarasai, where most of them had family roots.
On Monday the group went to Alytus, commemorating victims at the memorial to mass murder victims in Vizgiris Forest just outside town, where Jews from Alytus and the surrounding areas were killed. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein, German ambassador Matthias Sonn, Alytus mayor Nerijus Cesiulis and Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel director Arie Ben-An Grozdensky whose father’s family came from the nearby shtetl Miroslav honored the victims of the Holocaust there.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrated Passover in common with Jewish communities around the world starting on April 7. Besides the men, women, children and elderly of the community, the Panevėžys Jewish Community also received guests from Vilnius and Chicago at the seder table.
Kobi Katz, wife Rita and daughter Shelly from Israel visited Panevėžys for Passover as well, and spoke with Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman about family roots in the Lithuanian city. They also praised attorney and chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Faina Kukliansky for her help in locating documents concerning Kobi’s grandparents, and information about the burial of Katz relatives in Vilnius. Kobi Katz was born in Vilnius in 1967. At the age of ten he left for Israel where he resides till now. His grandfather Israel Moshe Kleiman was born in Panevėžys in 1898. The Katz family finally had the chance to visit Jewish locations in Panevėžys and said they would return next year to do the same.
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.
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