The Sabbath begins at 6:21 P.M. on Friday, March 24, and concludes at 7:35 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Senior Citizens Visit High School Freshmen
As part of the “From Generation to Generation” project by the Anu Museum of the Diaspora in Israel, seniors from the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s social center met with 9th-grade students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius to share thoughts and bridge the generations.
A few weeks ago the high school students visited the Seniors’ Club at the LJC. This time the seniors went back to school where they were given a tour of the facilities including the modern classrooms, labs and an art exhibit currently on display there. Our seniors also attended a Sabbath ceremony with students from all grades. The students presented drawings they made to the seniors as gifts. Seniors and students later met in the library and shared stories, which were recorded and will be sent to the Anu Museum in Tel Aviv.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 6:08 P.M. on Friday, March 17, and concludes at 7:21 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Getting Acquainted in Panevėžys
The Union of People with Disabilities from the Panevėžys Region hosted a two-day getting-acquainted session with the Lithuanian Jewish and Roma communities.
The activities over the two days were intended to teach about other ethnic communities living in the same area, their traditions and culture, and to stop the spread of stereotypes anti-Semitism and Romophobia.
The program was prepared in concert with specialists from #PadėkPritapti #LietuvosŽydųBendruomenė and #Lietuvosžmogausteisiųcentras.
You can find out more about upcoming getting-acquainted sessions here:
https://www.lzb.lt/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2-dienų-patyrimo-kelionė-INFO-4.pdf
Oldest Nearly Complete Hebrew Bible to Sell at Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s will auction off the oldest surviving, nearly complete Hebrew Bible, known as the Codex Sassoon, the auction house announced. The 1,100-year old volume carries an estimate of $30 million to $50 million which could make it the most valuable historical document ever sold at auction.
The Codex is named after businessman, philanthropist and Judaica collector David Solomon Sassoon who once owned the item. According to Sotheby’s it predates the earliest entirely complete Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, by nearly a century. While the Aleppo Codex at the Israel Museum is older than the Codex Sassoon, almost two-fifths of its pages are missing.
“Codex Sassoon has long held a revered and fabled place in the pantheon of surviving historic documents and is undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history,” Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts Richard Austin said in a statement.
Purim in Panevėžys
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.
Condolences
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 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.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 5:54 P.M. on Friday, March 10, and concludes at 7:07 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Purim for Seniors at the Community
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’s Lecture on Purim
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.
LJC Chairwoman Delivers Purim Treats to Ukrainian Child Refugees
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.
Purim Celebration at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius
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.
Hag Purim Sameach!
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 Wouldn’t Be the Same without Hamentashen
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:
State Protection Proposed for Great Synagogue Ruins
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.
Overnight Scouting Camp for Lithuanian Independence Day
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.
Choral Synagogue Seeking New Minyan Members
The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius needs new minyan members and substitute members according to a flexible schedule of participation. Financial support is available for permanent minyan members. Jewish men of majority are invited to contact Shmuel Yatom by telephone at +370 614 21 513 or send an email to info@sinagoga.lt.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 5:40 P.M. on Friday, March 3, and concludes at 6:53 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.