Religion – Page 47 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

Kaunas Jewish Community Distributing Sabbath Care Baskets

The Kaunas Jewish Community has redirected efforts under quarantine and is using the telephone and internet to make sure members, especially the elderly, don’t feel cut off from the world.

Many Community members celebrate Sabbath together and miss face-to-face interaction at the Sabbath table. While conditions aren’t allowing that to resume yet, the Kaunas Jewish Community, in the spirit of fellowship and keeping with tradition, is offering a free Sabbath care basket to members so that everyone can celebrate the Sabbath at home. Now members can break challa bread alone but at the same time together. The care baskets contain more than just challa, though, and include other traditional Sabbath dinner dishes.

KJC chairman Gercas Žakas is pleased this initiative has received the approval of the Goodwill Foundation and the interest and support of so many KJC members. One member said: “It really does feel as if you aren’t alone, but are celebrating Sabbath together with the entire community.” Look for the Jewish communities in other cities and towns to do the same thing, Žakas predicted.

2020-04-292020-05-04

Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day

Yom haZikaron is the day Israel marks to honor its fallen soldiers, victims of terrorism and all who have died defending the state of Israel. According to the Jewish reckoning of time, it began on the evening of April 27 this year at around 8:00 P.M. and lasts until the evening of the next day.

President Rivlin spoke in the square in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and said it was sad there couldn’t be a mass public commemoration because of the virus epidemic. He said while we can’t cry together, we still remember and give honor to the 23,861 soldiers and victims of terrorism.

In Israel the commemorative holiday begins with an air-raid siren. People simply stop whatever they are doing and give honor to the dead. Those driving pull over and get out of their cars. All commercial activity ceases and people at the dinner table stop eating and sit in silence.

2020-04-282020-05-04

Greetings from Lithuanian Parliament on Gaon’s 300th Birthday

Dear Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Mrs. Faina Kukliansky, dear Lithuanian Jewish Community,

We mark the 300th anniversary of that most exalted Litvak, Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, the Vilna Gaon. The parliament of the Republic of Lithuania named this year, 2020, the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History, to stress the priceless contribution the Jewish community, an inseparable part of our society for 700 years now, has made to Lithuania’s history, culture, learning and consolidation of statehood through your adherence to tradition and social activity.

In all times there have been people who do not conform to the canons of their era, who through their creativity and unconventional thinking have changed the world. The Jewish people have given so much to the world. One of them, the Gaon or Genius of Vilna, Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, was a scholar of Jewish texts and law and a Talmud interpreter and scholar. This was a brave challenge during his times but, happily, Eliyahu grew up in an intellectual environment and was supported by his family and appreciated by the community. Rumors about the young sage and his intellect spread far beyond the limits of Vilnius. The Vilna Gaon became the most renowned religious authority and he changed people’s life paths, thought and the concept of Litvak, and turned Vilnius into a Jewish spiritual center, the Jerusalem of Lithuania. This is a priceless historical, cultural and philosophical legacy of the Jews and Lithuanians of Vilnius and Lithuania and of the other peoples who live in Lithuania.

The Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History is a great opportunity for all of us today, in the words of the Gaon, “to see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears and feel with our entire heart” what significant and rich heritage we have in creating the Lithuania of our future. Congratulations!

[signed]
Gediminas Kirkilas, deputy speaker, chairman of the European Affairs Committee
Lithuanian parliament

2020-04-242020-04-24

Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Sends Congratulations on 300th Birthday of Gaon

April 24, 2020

Dear friends!

The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine sincerely congratulates you on the 300th anniversary of the Vilna Gaon who is a symbol of wisdom and spirituality for Jews around the world.

The memory of the great leader of the best Jewish traditions and laws stands beyond the constraints of time and brings together generations of Jews.

May the brilliant heritage of the Vilnius Gaon help the Lithuanian Jewish Community to successfully develop and increase the traditions embodied in his philosophical teaching.

Jewish Confederation of Ukraine

2020-04-24

Anniversary of Gaon Central in Conversation between Israeli and Lithuanian Presidents

April 23 was the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Vilna Gaon, the outstanding Torah-Talmud scholar from Vilnius in the 18th century. Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and Israeli president Reuven Rivlin called each other to offer congratulations on the occasion.

The Lithuanian president expressed respect for the Vilna Gaon, the Rabbi Eliyahu ben Soiomon Zalman, who put Vilnius on the map as a center for Torah learning. He told the Israeli president the year 2020 had been declared the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History in Lithuania to honor the Gaon’s bright memory.

“The intellect and erudition of the Vilna Gaon made Vilnius the spiritual center of Jews in Europe, famous throughout the world. It was thanks to him that Vilnius appeared on the world map as the capital of Torah-Talmud scholarship and became the religious center of Judaism. The Gaon’s teaching, based on thoroughness, patience and dedication to revealing spiritual power and to seeking wisdom, is an inspiration in difficult times,” the Lithuanian president said.

President Nausėda emphasized Lithuania remains the home of the large Litvak community spread throughout the world. The Lithuanian Jewish Community maintains active ties with Litvaks living in Israel, the USA, South Africa, France and elsewhere, Nausėda noted.

The two presidents also discussed the health situation in their two countries and measures for restoring economic life. They agreed this time full of challenges the world faces demands special attention to international relations and solidarity between the nations.

At the end of their conversation the Lithuanian president greeted Israel on the 72nd anniversary of statehood and invited the Israeli president to visit Lithuania.

Information from the President’s Communication Group

2020-04-242020-04-29

Letter from WJC President to Member Organizations: Getting Back to Normal

Subject: The Jewish imperative of the coronavirus crisis
From : Ronald S. Lauder, WJC President
To: Affiliate organizations

Dear Friends,

I hope that, despite the difficult circumstances, you and your families had a good Pesach, and that you are managing to deal with the difficulties of the current situation without too much hardship.

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread around the world and impact all of our lives significantly on a daily basis, I have been giving a lot of thought to how we, as representative of Jewish communities around the world, should act now and also start to prepare for the challenges of transition to the post-corona world.

I hope that you will find my views on this critical issue, published in the Jerusalem Post, to be of interest:

Click Here to Read

Of course, I would be most interested to hear your reactions.

Please keep well and stay safe. If there is anything at all that we can do to be of assistance to you or your community, at this time, please let us know.

Best wishes and Shabbat Shalom,

Ronald

2020-04-24

Small Gathering Honors Memory of Vilna Gaon at Nominal Grave in Vilnius

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevičius and Israeli ambassador Yossef Levy gathered at what is considered the final resting place of the mortal remains of the Vilna Gaon in the Jewish section of the Sudervės road cemetery in Vilnius April 23, the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Gaon.

The Lithuanian foreign minister expressed the hope events planned to mark 2020 as the Year of the Vilna Gaon which were postponed because of the virus epidemic will take place later in the year.

2020-04-232020-04-28

Three Hundredth Birthday of the Vilna Gaon

The Lithuanian parliament has proclaimed 2020 the Year of the Vilna Gaon, the 18th century scholar and cultural figure Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, and the Year of Litvak History. This anniversary has also been listed on UNESCO’s list of anniversaries for 2020 and 2021. On April 23 we mark the 300th birthday of the Vilna Gaon.

Scholars consider the Gaon the greated Talmudic scholar in Eastern European Jewish history. He is also the father of the rabbinical movement’s struggle against Hasidism and is considered the primary figure in rabbinical learning among Eastern European Jews. The Gaon and his followers, mitnagdim or misnagdim (literally “opponents,” i.e., of Hasidism) are sometimes called prophets of learning.

The Vilna Gaon had a deep interest in different branches of the exact sciences and his texts on geometry, astronomy and geography are often ascribed to the Haskalah, the Jewish enlightenment which arose in the 1770s in Central and Western Europe. Alan Nadler, professor emeritus of religious studies and formerly the director of a Jewish studies program in the USA, says the Gaon’s interest in secular subjects stimulated the expansion of many academic fields and the Gaon became a symbol of educated Judaism.

2020-04-232020-04-24

Eliyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman, the Vilna Gaon

Eliyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman

(Gaon of Vilna; 1720–1797), Torah scholar, kabbalist, and communal leader. The Gaon of Vilna (known also by the acronym Gra, for Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu) was a spiritual giant, a role model and source of inspiration for generations, and the central cultural figure of Lithuanian Jewry. Eliyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman was born into a rabbinical and scholarly family, and following a short period of study in a heder, studied Torah with his father. At age 7, he was sent to study with Mosheh Margoliot, rabbi of Keydan (Lith., Kėdainiai). Soon thereafter, he began to study on his own, and at 18, left Vilna to go into “exile”—a period of wandering through Jewish communities of Poland and Germany.

Upon Eliyahu’s return to Vilna, he shut himself in his house and devoted his energy to Torah study. He continued in this path throughout his life, supported by the local Jewish community. When Eliyahu was 35 years old, Yonatan Eybeschütz, who was suspected of Sabbatian leanings, turned to him, seeking support and referring to him as “one who is unique, saintly, holy, and pure, the light of Israel, possessing all-embracing knowledge, sharp and well-versed, with 10 measures of esoteric knowledge . . . whose praise is recognized in all of Poland . . .” (Eybeschütz, Luḥot ha-‘edut [1756], p. 71). It seems, then, that the Gaon of Vilna had already achieved legendary status during his lifetime.

2020-04-20

Fayerlakh Performs Next Year in Jerusalem by Internet

During Passover this year the members of the Fayerlakh song and dance group didn’t meet for seder or perform a concert, but they did sing Next Year in Jerusalem together from their homes.

2020-04-20

Jewish Holiday of Freedom Celebrated without Foods Recalling Slavery

Judita Gliauberzonaitė, 42, chairwoman of the Vilnius Lithuanian Jerusalem Jewish community, recalls how her grandmother Cilė Žiburkienė every spring before Passover would cleanse the entire house so that, God forbid, not even a grain of flour would remain, which would mean leavened bread remained in the house, a sign recalling the enslavement of the Jews in the land of Egypt.

Jews around the world who count their history in millennia begin celebrating their Passover holiday on the 15th day in the month of Nisan (March or April), lasting for seven days in Israel and eight elsewhere in the world. Secular Jews who keep to tradition usually celebrate the first and last days of Passover, gathering as families for dinner.

Judita Gliauberzonaitė says more religious Jews attend synagogue every day of Passover.

Passover often coincides with Catholic Easter. This year it began on April 8 and continues till April 15.

2020-04-162020-04-16

Katharina von Schnurbein Sends Passover Greetings

Dear friends,

On behalf of the European Commission, we wish you all a happy Passover.

The message of hope going out from it could not be more relevant in these challenging times and are inspiration to us all.

Please find below a video message by Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life.

Chag Pesah sameah!

Office of the EC Coordinator on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life
European Commission
Directorate-General for Justice

2020-04-10

We Did It, We Got Matzo to Our Seniors

Two weeks ago the Community accepted the challenge to distribute and home-deliver more matzo to more than 900 seniors living in Vilnius. Today we can truly say, mission accomplished.

It would have been mission impossible without the help of our volunteers who heeded the Community’s call for help. We had from 3 to 4 teams of Community staff and volunteers on the street daily.

The distribution of matzo took place so very smoothly because we were able to harness so many who offered to help.

A mitzvah should be done quietly and without fanfare, but the Community has a right to know who its heroes are.

2020-04-102020-04-24

Menachem Rosensaft Sends Passover Greetings

Dear Friends,

I want to wish all of you and yours a peaceful and health-filled Pesach. May we all succeed in adapting to the pandemic crisis sufficiently to have meaningful Seders, in many (most) cases connecting remotely to family members who should have been sitting with us.

In advance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I also want to share with you a video that the World Jewish Congress produced, in cooperation with the World Federation of Bergen-Belsen Associations, (WFBBA) about the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the Belsen Displaced Persons camp, and the more than 2,000 children born in the DP camp’s Glyn Hughes Hospital:
https://youtu.be/Jv9M0yvi_J0

I hope that the example of the survivors’ resilience, determination and optimism as they emerged from the horrors of the Holocaust will inspire us at this difficult and anxious time. Please feel free to share the video widely.

I am also pleased to share with you a second video, also produced by the WJC together with the WFBBA, based on the beautiful photography of Debbie Morag featuring daughters of Auschwitz survivors:
https://youtu.be/b_PrrHLp8U4

Again, I wish you and yours a peaceful, health-filled Pesach.

With all warm regards,

Menachem

§§§

Menachem Z. Rosensaft (born 1948 in Bergen-Belsen, Germany) an attorney in New York and the Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Survivors, is a leader of the Second Generation movement of children of survivors,[1] and has been described on the front page of the New York Times as one of the most prominent of the survivors’ sons and daughters.

2020-04-10

LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and Lithuanian Jewish Religious Community Chairman Simas Levinas Send Passover Greetings to Community

Dear Community members,

So Passover, the holiday eagerly awaited by Jews around the world, has come.

The seder night is so important to Jews, when we eat matzo, meditate and remember G_d’s revelation during the flight from Egypt. We do this year after year. This is what our fathers and forefathers have done, and we do it, and we teach it to our children.

This year the seder won’t be so large, not all family members are able to come to the table, not here in the Diaspora and not in our historical homeland Eretz Israel.

This has happened to Jews many times before–slavery, the Inquisition, wars and other misfortunes have separated families so many times before, leaving some of us alone, turning some of us into outsiders. This year we celebrate Passover during a time which is difficult not just for Jews.

Nonetheless, let’s try. Let’s remember and tell in our thoughts the story of the exodus from Egypt. Let’s pose the questions to ourselves and find the correct answers. Let’s remember at least a few of the 248 mitzvot, let’s believe in miracles if only briefly, and in the arrival of the Messiah.

Let’s believe, let’s dream, let’s think and let’s thank the Most High that we are alive and spring has come, and let’s give thanks for every day lived and believe in the future.

Next year will be better. We just have to believe it.

A happy holiday to all, be free and be happy.

2020-04-102020-04-23

Panevėžys Jewish Community Sends Passover Greetings

Despite the complicated time in the world, the dates assigned by the Torah to the holidays don’t change and they are part of the history and story of the Jewish people. Passover is one of the main Jewish holy days. Over the days of Passover Jews remember their historic liberation from slavery.

During these difficult days I wish you patience, the love of those around you and endurance. Maintain hygienic requirements and adhere to the safety measures as we fight the corona virus.

Gennady Kofman, chairman
Panevėžys Jewish Community

2020-04-072020-04-07

Thank You for Helping LJC Seniors

Lithuanian Jewish Community administrative secretary Liuba Šerienė would like to send a big thank-you to Social Department director Michailas Segalas and staff members Ema Jakobienė, Ninel Skudovičiūtė, Rokas Dobrovolskis and Neringa Stankevičienė and colleagues, and to Michailas Tarasovas, Aušra, Snieguolė, Danutė Lena, Žana and Sonia for their great work helping our Social Department clients and senior citizens. Thank you so very much.

2020-04-032020-04-20

We Can’t Give Up Hope Now

Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky. Photo: Blanka Weber

by Blanka Weber

The country’s Jewish community is watching the time of pandemic with alarm

Faina Kukliansky is currently managing her life and that of her members from her home office in Vilnius. “This is a time that demands everything from us,” the 65-year-old chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community says.

This is a time when preparations for Passover would be underway normally. The Bagel Shop next to the Community building on Pylimo street is now only open for a few hours and only accepts cards for payment. Cash is forbidden. There are strict rules here, too. Matzo will be distributed to Community members here and should be delivered in the next few days.

2020-04-032020-04-23

Chief Rabbis Call on Jews to Keep It Together

An open letter

An open letter from the Chief Rabbis of the world

8 Nisan 5780
2 April 2020

This Shabbat–the Shabbat before Pesach–is called Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat.

It was first celebrated at the birth of the Jewish people, moments before the dawn of our deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

Every Jewish family, alone in their homes in Egypt, sat fervently anticipating the united dream of deliverance and nationhood.

Three thousand, three hundred and thirty-two years later, this Shabbat HaGadol, we too sit, isolated in our own homes, once again united in our fervent prayer for relief from the global pandemic that has shaken our world to its core.

2020-04-032020-04-03