Dear reader,
This year we mark Yom Kippur in difficult times when many of our brothers and sisters are suffering from the ongoing, awful war and hatred. Today, on the eve of Yom Kippur, when we will all stand and reflect on the past, I wish everyone, first of all, to find peace, tranquility and courage within.
G’mar chatima tova.
Dear friends,
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and Repentance, we put aside mundane concerns and reflect on what has happened in our lives.
May our thoughts be heard this day, may our thoughts become pure and our hearts kinder. Good health and strength to everyone, may our mistakes be corrected and our weaknesses overcome. May all continue life’s journey with dignity, sincerity and integrity. Peace and love.
G’mar chatima tova.
Members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Bnei Maskilim progressive Judaism community were pleased to have US Army chaplain Rabbi Hanoch Fields lead celebrations of the High Holy Days Rosh Hashanah and presently Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and remission from sin, the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar, will be observed Saturday. No matter how religious or not, no Jew risks travelling, bathing or eating during Yom Kippur. The holiday must be observed correctly, so the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Bnei Maskilim progressive Judaism community invite you to observe the holy day together with us and Rabbi Hanoch Fields from the United States.
Program of events at the LJC in Vilnius:
October 11
6:30 P.M. Kol nidrei
October 12
10:00 A.M. Torah reading
5:00 P.M. Yizkor
5:15 P.M. Neila
6:30 P.M. Blowing of the shofar
7:00 P.M. End of fast, shared feast
Registration required. To register, contact viljamas@lzb.lt
Senior citizens and elderly members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community gathered for a different kind of Rosh Hashanah celebration at the LJC in Vilnius on the weekend.
With the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 invasion and mass murder of Israelis last year, there was less of the usual music and fun and more prayers in Yiddish and Hebrew performed by Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom. The cantor’s wife Natalja Cheifec spoke about the history and traditions of Rosh Hashanah and the role of the woman in the Jewish family.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrated Rosh Hashanah last week with music and food, including apples and honey. The prayer was performed before blowing the shofar. Yekaterna Radionova performed Jewish melodies on violin and members of the Community wished one another well in the coming year.
Natalja Cheifec’s #EDUKACIJOS discussion club invites you to join the zoom call at 5:30 P.M. this Thursday, October 10. She’ll discuss Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and what these holidays mean to Jews, traditions for observance and what to avoid to protect yourself from misfortune.
Zoom credentials available here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRZKhoOgl_UbN-IxT4SO7m4uerwQONUveXaWQvFMKDghE-1A/viewform
Everyone is welcome.
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The Kaunas Jewish Community celebrated Rosh Hashanah with gusto and flair, and with a large number of Community members, friends and musicians.
Participants ate and chatted, and listened to Jewish melodies, which led to dancing. There was a quiz to test knowledge of the holiday, well-wishes for the coming year and prayers for more peace, love and human warmth in the world.
The Šiauliai Jewish Community came together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah Thursday evening. It began with a prayer and blowing the shofar horn, followed by breaking of challa and apples with honey, other dishes, well-wishes for the coming year 5785 and a glass of wine with a hearty “lechaim!”
The Sabbath begins at 6:28 P.M. on Friday, October 4, and concludes at 7:37 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Sunday is also Tzom Gedaliah, a minor fast day falling after the end of Rosh Hashanah. It is observed with dawn-to-dusk fasting on the third day of Tishrei starting at dawn. This day laments the assassination of the Babylonian-appointed official named Gedalia who was appointed to administer the Jewish population after the destruction of the First Temple and the resulting exile of the Jews in 586 B.C. Also known as the Fast of Gedalia, this fast day’s history can be traced back over 2,600 years to immediately after the death of Gedalia.
Monday is World Architecture Day. Observed annually on the first Monday in October. World Architecture Day is a holiday celebrating the world’s ancient, classical, mediaeval and modern architectural structures. It us also a day to celebrate the architects who designed these works of art. It dates from 1985 and was instituted by the International Union of Architects.
Dear reader,
Today Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashana, the New Year 5785. At this difficult time it is more important than ever to take pride in our identity and to celebrate our traditions. So I wish you to sit down with your families and friends at the table laden with challa and sweets, to share your joy and smiles, but not to forget our brothers and sisters target by rockets in our homeland, nor the 101 hostages still held by Hamas. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
A peaceful and sweet new year. Shana tova u’metuka.
Photo: Police at Palace of Sports by Paulius Skučas
A group of 50 masked, knife-wielding teenage boys has turned the crumbling Palace of Sports complex built on top of the old Jewish cemetery in Vilnius into their gang clubhouse and have threatened pedestrians in the area, including children, with their weapons, as well as attacking a lone security guard in charge of the site, according to Paulius Skučas, an LNK television reporter who posted on Instagram as well as did a Lithuanian state radio interview about the situation.
Skučas posted photos of the incident on Instagram with textual explanations:
This is how the Palace of Sports looked after the massive attack by teenagers this evening. Police and security stood guard for several hours. It seems the gang of teenagers are so uncontrollable and undetainable that all the residents of the surround neighborhoods and buildings have become hostages.
Dear Community members, readers and friends,
May the new year 5785 bring you and your loved ones good fortune and health, happiness and a willingness to share your love with others. May all past and future errors and ill-chosen words be forgiven. May the New Year generously bestow upon all of us good news and good deeds, peace, prosperity and abundance.
Shana tova!
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