The Sabbath begins at 9:41 P.M. on Friday, June 25, and concludes at 11:32 P.M. on Saturday.
Holocaust Anniversary Commemoration in Gargždai
The first procession in this year’s series of “Path of Memory” commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust was held in Gargždai, Lithuania, on June 23. The Lithuanian prime minister, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman and the chairmen of the Klaipėda and Palanga Jewish Communities attended and spoke at the event.
“We lost many of our fellow Jewish citizens during the Holocaust and we can only imagine what Lithuania’s academic, cultural and economic life might have been if not for the Holocaust,” Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė told reporters the day before the event.
The commemoration took the form of a march from the site of a former synagogue to the Jewish mass murder site where a ceremony was held and speakers spoke. Some attendees carried stones with the names of murdered Jews on them, in keeping with the Jewish tradition of placing stones at a grave.
Here are some photos from the first “Path of Memory 1941-2021” commemoration held in Gargždai.
Photographs by Laima Penek, the Chancellery of the Government of Lithuania and others.
They Can’t Come Back…
We all need to remember all of our innocent people who were murdered and will never return.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community has asked the Panevėžys regional administration to renew inscriptions on monuments and memorial plaques commemorating Jewish victims murdered in World War II. The inscription on the Ghetto Gates monument has already been renewed.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community is carrying out a project called “Let’s Maintain the Mass Murder Sites” to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania. We plan to visit all the mass murder sites in the Panevėžys district.
Through our work and contribution not only do we seek to remember the tragedy which began 80 years ago, but also to set an example for regional administration employees charged with maintaining Jewish mass murder sites and Jewish cemeteries under Lithuanian law. The area around the Kurganava mass murder site has been put in order this year, but saplings still need to be cut and the fence repaired.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community is grateful to our volunteers and staff, including Albertas and Virginija Savinčiai, Jurijus Grafmanas, Timūras Jerovickis, Borisas Marijampolskis, Ona Juospaitienė and others, for taking part in this project.
We are planning repair and upkeep next month as well, with Panevėžys Jewish Community members travelling to Žalioji forest, Ramygala, Raguva and other mass murder sites.
Choral Synagogue Prayer Service for Holocaust Victims
June 22, 1941, was the date the Nazis invaded Lithuania, Belarus and neighboring countries and the Holocaust began. Today the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius will hold a prayer service to remember the beginning of the Holocaust in Lithuania. Unlike in the West, Jewish victims in the East were mainly executed near their homes. Over just a few months in the summer and fall of 1941 the vast majority of the once-populous Jewish community of Lithuania were exterminated.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 9:40 P.M. on Friday, June 18, and concludes at 11:32 on Saturday, June 19.
Monument to Vilnius Jews
by Victoria Sideraitė-Alon
The old Jewish cemetery in the Šnipiškės (Shnipishok) neighborhood in Vilnius wasn’t destroyed in a single day. Back at the turn of the 19th to 20th century, the remains of 700 Vilnius Jews buried there were exhumed and reburied in a different part of the same cemetery during construction in the surrounding area.
Later during the Soviet era during the mid-20th century when work went on to extend what is now Šeimyniškių street, encroaching again on the old Jewish cemetery, these 700 burials were again exhumed and sent to a different grave. They were rediscovered in 2003 during construction of apartment houses next to Vilnius’s King Mindaugas Bridge. At the time, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairman Simonas Alperavičius resolved to have these 700 reinterred at the still-operational Jewish cemetery on Sudervės road in Vilnius. The reburial ceremony was attended by LJC officials and rabbis. The new grave there was marked with four posts.
Speech by President von der Leyen at the American Jewish Committee Virtual Global Forum 2021
June 9, 2021–European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen addressed thousands participating in the 2021 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum. She reiterated the Commission’s commitment to fighting antisemitism, fostering Jewish life, Holocaust remembrance and strong EU-Israel partnership.
“After taking office as Commission president in 2019, I stepped up Europe’s fight against anti-Semitism. This is why, later this year, the Commission will adopt its first-ever ‘EU Strategy on Combating Anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life’ … All European students should learn about the Holocaust, no matter their background, family history or country of origin. … We want to foster Jewish life in Europe in all its diversity. We want to make sure that Jews are free to follow their religious and cultural traditions. … The European Commission has significantly increased the budget for preventing and addressing anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life, and we will also take action if European money is used to call into question Israel’s right to exist.”
Full speech here.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 9:35 P.M. in Vilnius and the Vilnius district on Friday, June 10, 2021. The Sabbath concludes at 11:27 P.M. on Saturday, June 11, 2021.
Times for Sabbath
This Sabbath on June 4, 2012, begins in Vilnius and Vilnius district with the lighting of the candles at 9:27 P.M. and concludes at 11:13 P.M. on June 5.
LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Part of Žiežmariai Synagogue Supervisory Assessment Commission
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky has participated in the commission for the final supervisory assessment of work done to restore the synagogue in Žiežmariai, Lithuania. Work on the ground floor is now complete.
Work on the building is drawing to an end and the synagogue is set to begin hosting educational, cultural, tourist and other public activities. Following completion, it could become an important community site and tourist attraction.
Currently the synagogue is hosting an exhibit of reproductions of drawings by Dora Pilianskienė. She came from Žiežmariai and as a young Jewish woman left her hometown, but at an advanced age began drawing and painting images she cherished from Žiežmariai. Her relatives have bequeathed her works to the Žiežmariai Culture Center.
Breakfast for the Minyan at the Community
Members of the Choral Synagogue minyan were treated to a breakfast made by the Bagel Shop Café at the Lithuanian Jewish Community with LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky in attendance on the first day of calendar summer, June 1.
From Lazdijai to Hollywood: The Achron Phenomenon
“From Lazdijai to Hollywood: The Joseph Achron Phenomenon” is a lecture celebrating Joseph Achron’s 135th birthday.
Joseph Achron (or Akhron, 1886-1943), the violin prodigy and composer born in Lazdijai, Lithuania, charmed audiences in Warsaw, Grodno, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Kiev and other cities around Europe, and went on to play Carnegie Hall. Having achieved fame in New York and Los Angeles, he remains little known in Lithuania. A close friend of Jascha Heifetz and Arnold Schönberg, he was humble on stage. He composed his greatest hit, Hebrew Melody, in barely an half hour.
How did his religious family support the young virtuoso’s musical career? What did Tsar Nikolai’s mother present as a gift to Achron? What did Achron contribute to the creation of professional Jewish music? Find out the answers and other interesting matters in Kamilė Rupeikaitė’s lecture “From Lazdijai to Hollywood: The Joseph Achron Phenomenon” at 3:00 P.M. on May 25.
Lithuanian Jews Wish Peace for Israel
As Jews prepare for the Sabbath this Friday, blessing the wine and the end of the week with prayer, we would like to bless Israel with a more peaceful situation as a cease-fire comes into effect after 11 days of thousands of rockets raining down from the Gaza Strip. We will light candles and say a blessing for Israelis to hold peace and a peaceful life dear. Shabat shalom!
“What we are depends on what the Sabbath is to us. The law of the Sabbath day is in the life of the spirit what the law of gravitation is in nature” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) writes on page 89 in his book “The Sabbath” (1951).
On Fridays Jews in Israel always wish one another “shabat shalom,” the peace of the Sabbath, and Lithuanian Jews wish the Jews in Israel and everywhere the same thing. Shabat shalom!
Shavuos Greetings
Illustration: Shavuot: The Harvest by Harry Lieberman, c. 1934
Greetings on Shavuos (Shavuot) or the Feast of Weeks with an educational video in Lithuanian about the holiday.
Court Gives Go-Ahead on Palace of Sports Reconstruction
15min.lt
The Vilnius Municipal District Court rejected a suit filed by Israeli citizens seeking an injunction to stop construction planned on the former Palace of Sports in Vilnius and protection of former Jewish cemetery grounds around the site.
The court found Lithuania’s state privatization bank Turto Bankas had acted properly. The court said the institution knew of the importance of the cemetery and the need to protect it, and that due attention would be paid to commemorating the site during reconstruction.
Turto Bankas director Mindaugas Sinkevičius said: “Not only are we following all binding laws, but the Government has also made it incumbent upon us that we work with the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe. So Jewish religious beliefs and laws will be taken into account during reconstruction. Both preparatory work and construction later will be performed under the supervision of rabbis in order to safeguard human remains and graves and preserve this site for the future.”
Full article in Lithuanian here.
Germany: Synagogues Vandalized, Anti-Jewish Marches for Palestine
Police vehicle at synagogue in Bonn, Germany. Photo courtesy Deutsche Welle.
Amid Israel’s heightened tensions two synagogues and a memorial site have been vandalized in Germany. Lawmakers and religious leaders said the acts were “shameful” and called for greater protection for places of worship.
All three incidents occurred Tuesday night in the cities of Bonn, Düsseldorf and Münster in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The incidents were reportedly motivated by the current violence in Israel and Gaza.
German broadcaster RTL reported a march by Palestine supporters outside a synagogue in Gelsenirchen also in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia Wednesday night which included the shouting of anti-Semitic slogans.RTL also reported a pro-Palestinian march in Hamburg. They reported increased security around synagogues in Germany and mentioned the city of Hesse in particular.
Litvaks in Israel Talk about Horrific Attacks
by Birutė Vyšniauskaitė, lrt.lt
“It was very cozy and even fun because all the neighbors gathered in one hiding place. We also took in a married couple from the neighboring building because they didn’t have anywhere to hide after the danger signal,” Litvak woman Dusia Lan Kretchmer told Lrytas.lt about the Hamas rocket attacks on Tel Aviv Wednesday night. She left Lithuania about 50 years ago.
Kretchmer said she was in disbelief Hamas rockets were targeting Lod, the city on the way towards Israel’s main Ben-Gurion International Airport, on Wednesday.
“I have taught chemistry for twenty years in this city. Over that entire time I have witnessed Jews and Arabs living together in peace. Many times I have celebrated holidays with the city’s communities, Arabs celebrated their holidays with Jews, Jews with Arabs. So many Arabs live there, I can’t wrap my head around why Hamas would take aim at their own people,” she said.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
Virtual Sabbath Discussions Continue
We invite you to a virtual Sabbath discussion at 7:00 P.M. on May 15 of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot or Shavuos, moderated by Vijamas Žitkauskas. We will discuss the significance and traditions of the Feast of Weeks as it is known in English. The discussion will be held in Russian and prior registration is required. Registration form here.
Newly Renovated Synagogue in Žiežmariai to Host Cultural Events
The renovated synagogue in Žiežmariai will become a new cultural center. The first synagogue in appeared sometime between 1690 and 1696. In the 19th century there three synagogues. Not surprising, since the majority of the population were Jewish. This synagogue which has survived and has now been renovated stands in the southern part of town between Vilniaus and Žalgirio streets, with the Strėva river flowing from southeastward from there. This synagogue was build in the mid-19th century and is one of only a handful of surviving wooden synagogues in Lithuania.
The plan is to use the refurbished synagogue to host cultural exhibits and events.
“At first there was doubt the synagogue could even be saved. It was so abandoned and ruined. Even so, we resolved to renovate it and now we are very proud we have such a beautiful building,” director of the Strategic Planning and Investment Department of the Kaišiadorys Regional Administration Ramutė Taparauskienė said.
LJC Holds Virtual Sabbath with Rabbi Nathan Alfred of European Union for Progressive Judaism
The Lithuanian Jewish Community held a joint virtual Sabbath celebration with Rabbi Nathan Alfred of the European Union for Progressive Judaism last Friday. The meeting included cantorial students from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Portugal and other countries in Europe. Participants sang hymns and Sabbath prayers. LJC program director Viljamas Žitkauskas set up the virtual meeting.