Religion

Passover at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius

Passover at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius

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.

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Results from Passover Drawing Contest

Results from Passover Drawing Contest

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.

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Passover in Panevėžys

Passover in Panevėžys

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.

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Why Are Thousands Flocking to a Small Town in Central Lithuania?

Why Are Thousands Flocking to a Small Town in Central Lithuania?

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.

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Lesson on Passover

Lesson on Passover

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

First Sabbath after Passover

First Sabbath after Passover

A ceremony to mark the first Sabbath following Passover took place at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius last Friday evening. It was attended by several Jewish journalists from South Africa as well as Community members.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:02 P.M. on Friday, April 14, and concludes at 9:20 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

Mimouna Shabbat

Mimouna Shabbat

You’re invited to the first Sabbath celebration following Passover at 6:30 P.M. on Friday, April 14, with the ceremony upstairs at the Lithuanian Jewish Community and kiddush at the Bagel Shop Café at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. The cost is 12 euros per adult and free to those aged 16 and under. Register with Viljamas by sending a message to viljamas@lzb.lt.

Lithuanian PM Sends Passover Greetings

Lithuanian PM Sends Passover Greetings

Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė has issued greetings on the Jewish holiday of Passover:

“The Passover holiday has been associated with essential values for millennia and testifies to the spiritual rebirth and aspiration to freedom of the Jewish people. This is an important reminder especially today to all of us that only free people are capable of overcoming the most horrific losses, only they can be happy and only they are able to create a life for themselves and the state courageously. The special spirit of this holiday teaches us that, led by faith, we can cross the driest dessert, cross the most powerful seas, and reach the Promised Land. I sincerely greet the Jews of Lithuania and the world on the occasion of Passover and wish the joy of sharing accompanies your seder, and that faith, love and hope never abandon your heart nor your home. Hag Pesakh sameakh!”

UN Ambassadors Attend Israeli UN Seder

UN Ambassadors Attend Israeli UN Seder

Photo: US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan at a mock Passover Seder hosted by Erdan at UN headquarters on March 28, 2023.

The UN’s mock Seder tradition was started in 2016 by Gilad Erdan’s predecessor Danny Danon.

NEW YORK–Diplomats from all over the world joined Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan for a mock Passover Seder at the organization’s headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday, just one week before the Jewish holiday.

Some 70 ambassadors took part in the festivities, including US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Ukrainian ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.

The mock Seder included traditional holiday foods and a reading from the Hagaddah, a text narrating the Seder.

Attendees talked about Passover traditions and customs in a discussion led by the Aish Global Jewish outreach organization.

Full article here.

Passover Drawings Sought

Passover Drawings Sought

Every Jewish family celebrates the ancient holiday of Passover, commemorating the exodus from slavery in Egypt, and every family has their own holiday traditions. With that in mind, the Lithuanian Jewish Community is inviting the youngest members of the community to draw pictures about Passover and send them in by e-mail to katrina@lzb.lt before April 13. Every young artist can expect to receive a package of chocolate-coated matzo.

Great Synagogue Listed as Protected Heritage Site

Great Synagogue Listed as Protected Heritage Site

The site of the former Great Synagogue in Vilnius with associated mikvot has been listed as a state-protected cultural heritage site, according to Baltic News Service.

The Lithuanian Culture Ministry issued a press release Thursday naming this site and the site of the first Lithuanian gymnasium in Vilnius was established on Basanavičiaus street. The YIVO occupied part of the latter space at its inception in 1925 before moving headquarters to Vivulskio street in Vilnius. The ministry reports state protection means more opportunities for funding protection and restoration of these sites.

The exact date the synagogue was built isn’t known. The Great Synagogue with adjacent ritual purification baths was part of a larger complex of synagogues, libraries and schools located around the Great Synagogue and the home of the Vilna Gaon.

Ownership of the ruins of the Great Synagogue and mikvot were passed to the Goodwill Foundation in 2020. Various plans for commemorating the site have been proposed, but so far the most likely is a humble protected excavation exhibit showcasing the subterranean main hall with bimah and floor.

Photo: Tunnel dug by archaeologists leading to central bimah, by Valdas Kopūstas, courtesy BNS.

Nancy Sasson Travels to Panevėžys Seeking Family Roots

Nancy Sasson Travels to Panevėžys Seeking Family Roots

Last week Nancy Sasson from the United States arrived in Panevėžys seeking genealogical information about her family. She believes her grandfather and perhaps great-grandfather lived in Panevėžys. She was accompanied by her old friend from Lithuania Vaida Zlatkutė and a guide who travelled from Israel to help.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman received them warmly and he and the Israeli guide gave the two women a tour of the city, pointing out significant Jewish locations and telling the Litvak story, the many important cultural contributions Litvaks made and the horrific end they suffered.

Nancy Sasson was visibly moved during the tour down the streets and sidewalks once traversed by her forebears.

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