The Sabbath begins at 8:26 P.M. on Friday, April 26, and concludes at 9:49 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Friday also marks the anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station accident in 1986 and is observed in many of the affected countries. On December 8, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly also proclaimed April 26 International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.
by Efraim Zuroff
In recent years, we often encounter various attempts by people adversely affected by historical tragedies, or intent on campaigning for ostensibly “humanitarian” causes, to claim that their issue is equivalent to the Holocaust, or is in fact a case of genocide.
Whether it is those like PETA, who are campaigning for animal rights, who invoke Treblinka, one of the worst Nazi death camps, to pursue their goals, or those campaigning against abortions, who compare the plight of the aborted unborn children to that of the victims of the Shoa.
The same is true regarding the use of the term genocide, which in recent years has been applied in cases which do not fulfill the criteria of the original definition of that crime. What has happened in the past few decades, is that accusations of genocide have emerged as a political tool to be used against enemies to attain geographic and/or financial gains by claiming lost territory and/or reparations for damages incurred.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bnei Maskilim invite you to come and usher out Passover week together with a Mimouna celebration, led by Rabbi Nathan Alfred. Besides leading the ceremonies, Rabbi Alfred will also deliver a lecture on Jewish love in English.
The cost is 10 euros per person, children ten and under are free. For more information and to register, send an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or call (+370) 672 50699.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, April 30.
Place: Nykštukas Restaurant, Verkių street no. 27, Vilnius
The Ilan Club for children ages 7 to 12 is open again every Saturday, passing on Litvak traditions, offering a place for meeting like-minded friends and loads of fun activities. The club will now be open starting at 12:00 noon on Saturdays at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Contact Žana Skudovičienė for more information at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
The Knafaim Club is open again for young people aged 13 to 17. Games and learning about Judaism and the world is part of the program, followed by a Sabbath celebration, and it happens every Friday at 6:00 P.M. at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Žana Skudovičienė is happy to answer any questions, write her at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.
Leader of the Liberal Party Peter Dutton sends Passover greetings to the Jewish community:
On behalf of the Coalition, my warmest wishes to Australia’s resilient Jewish community as you celebrate Passover.
A festival that acknowledges the importance of faith, fortitude and freedom, Passover is of profound significance for Jewish people around the world.
This year, the events of October 7–and the unprecedented level of anti-Semitism that has ensued–have cast a shadow over Passover celebrations.
The world must never forget what happened last year on that day of depravity. The monsters of Hamas acted with glee as they tormented their victims. They brutally murdered 1,200 people in what was the greatest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust. And they vowed to repeat their savagery many times over until Israel is annihilated.
Dear reader,
Passover is one of the most important and most beautiful weeks on the Jewish calendar when we celebrate liberation from slavery and our becoming a free and proud people.
Every year we sit at the Passover table, eat the traditional foods, drink sweet wine, take joy in life and read the Haggadah and passages from the Song of Songs. The main thing is being together with family and that no one, whether rich or poor, be left unfed, if there is a way to invite him to our table. This is how it always has been, year after year and century after century.
Over the eight days of the holiday, we symbolically refrain from eating leavened food and we take joy in our freedom and in our historical homeland, Israel, which no one will ever be able to take away from us, not with rockets nor with drones.
We wish everyone freedom and dignity just as we wish these for the Jewish state, and we pray for the hostages still held in captivity.
Hag sameakh. Am Yisrael khai!
The entire embassy of Lithuania in Israel sends greetings to Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and the entire Community on the occasion of Passover.
Audrius Brūzga, ambassador
We are sad to report the untimely death of Gediminas Kirkilas. Born in 1952, he was a politician, a social democrat, served as prime minister and was a true friend of the Lithuanian Jewish Community. At the heart of the government and in opposition he was instrumental in Lithuania’s efforts to address the enduring injustice of the Holocaust and in compensation payments for lost, destroyed and nationalized Jewish communal and religious property. Our deepest condolences to his many friends and family members.
The Sabbath begins at 8:13 P.M. on Friday, April 19, and concludes at 9:33 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Passover begins at sundown at 8:18 P.M. on Monday, April 22.
Fresh Passover matzo bread has arrived. A one-kilogram box of matzo bread costs 10 euros, the 450-gram box 5 euros and matzo flour 5 euros as well. Purchase can be made at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius between 10 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on weekdays.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites everyone to Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath, the last Sabbath before Passover, an evening full of tradition which will serve as preparation for the Passover celebration.
Over the course of the evening, under the tutelage of Viljamas Žitkauskas, we will go over the main parts of the seder, learn about keara, the Passover seder plate, read the Haggadah and enjoy the Sabbath meal in pleasant company.
Registration required by sending an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt. The cost is 5 euros per person with children 3 and under free.
Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, April 19
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius
Reeling from the recent mass stabbings and mass murder in Bondi Junction, western Sydney became the target of a Hamas supporter who stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel six times as he delivered a sermon at his Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the Fairfield area.
While the Bondi Junction stabbing spree was originally believed to be an Islamist attack as well–the neighborhood is densely inhabited by Jews and is the location for Sydney’s main synagogue, it turned out the attacker there was mentally ill and targeted women.
The stabbing at the Good Shepherd was live-streamed. The bishop fell down as the attacker yelled Islamic catch-phrases, approached the podium and stabbed the surprised clergy man with a large knife.. Parishioners rushed the lectern, subdued the attacker and held him for police. The assailant lost several fingers during the subduction.
Fania Lewando was a legend of interwar Vilnius, an exceptional personality, an innovator, an excellent cook and an entrepreneur, inspiring thousands of fans even after her death.. An event organized by the Polish Institute and the Lithuanian Jewish Community and held last week was dedicated to her.
A detailed account based on years of research by Magdalena Maślak, a cultural historian and the curator of the Pauline Museum of Jewish History in Poland, painted a vivid portrait of the unusually strong personality of Fania Lewando, and Alessia di Donato, a chef from Rome, an expert in Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisine, prepared risotto with white wine according to one of Lewando’s recipes and revealed all the intricacies of her vegetarian cuisine.
“I am often asked why I became interested in Fania Lewando’s recipes. In fact, I admire not only her dishes, but also her personality. She was an extraordinary woman, brave, active, full of ideas ahead of her time,” says the Italian, who has been living and working in Poland for ten years.
The Sabbath begins at 7:59 P.M. on Friday, April 12, and concludes at 9:17 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.