Religion

Condolences

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.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

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.

Matzo Available

Matzo Available

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.

Shabbat Hagadol

Shabbat Hagadol

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

Communal Violence in Australia: Hamas Supporter Stabs Bishop in Sydney, Congregation Fights Back

Communal Violence in Australia: Hamas Supporter Stabs Bishop in Sydney, Congregation Fights Back

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.

Evening Dedicated to the Legendary Fania Lewando

Evening Dedicated to the Legendary Fania Lewando

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.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

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.

Culinary Evening

Culinary Evening

You’re invited to attend an evening of discussion, demonstration and sampling of the recipes of interwar vegetarian restaurant owner and cook Fania Lewando. Lewando operated a restaurant in Vilnius with a cult following in the period between the two world wars. Artists and the city elite frequented her establishment. Chef Alessia di Donato originally from Rome will provide samples of dishes made according to the recipes Lewando left us in her cook book. Cultural anthropologist Magdalena Maślak from Poland will also tell stories about Lewando.

Registration is required by sending an email to info@lzb.lt. Everyone is invited to attend.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Thursday, April 11
Place: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius

Women’s Club to Meet Friday

Women’s Club to Meet Friday

Women are invited to the Women’s Club meeting this Friday where we’ll prepare for Passover which is coming soon. We’ll talk about traditions from over the millennia and from more recent times and we’ll learn how to make Litvak matzo kneydlakh and a huge matzo cake.

Time: 6:30 P.M., Friday, April 12
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Registration required. Send an email to zanas@lzb.lt or call (+370) 678 81514.

We hope to see you there.

Jewish Australians Lodge Vilification Complaints against Anti-Semitic Islamic Preachers

Jewish Australians Lodge Vilification Complaints against Anti-Semitic Islamic Preachers

Two Islamic clerics who described Jewish Australians as “vile,” “vermin,” “monsters,” “rats” and “bloodthirsty” have had vilification complaints lodged against them. One appeared to be calling openly upon Muslims to murder Jews.

The largest body of Jewish Australians has launched a vilification complaint against Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, over a sermon delivered last year.

In complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry says the two “anti-Semitic sermons” delivered by western Sydney clerics Wissam Haddad and Sheikh Ahmed Zoud included “derogatory generalisations about Jewish people”.

The complaint also names Haddad’s Al Madina Dawah Centre and the trading company of Zoud’s mosque.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 7:46 P.M. on Friday, April 5, and concludes at 9:02 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 6:32 P.M. on Friday, March 29, and concludes at 7:47 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Daylight saving time begins at 2:00 A.M. Sunday morning, so set your clock ahead one hour to 3:00 A.M. Sunday is Easter with many businesses closed, and Monday is part of the official holiday in Lithuania with government agencies closed and some businesses and grocery stores open.

Purim in Panevėžys

Purim in Panevėžys

Members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community gathered to celebrate Purim, a happy holiday in the first month of spring.

“The holiday of Purim is full of fun, a sense of community and the belief in the Jewish people as a strong nation able to withstand all misfortunes,” Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman said. A letter from Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and holiday greetings from friends of the local and national Community were also read.

There were the traditional Purim skits, carnival costumes and masks. Passages from the Book of Esther were dramatized, with Aleksandras Narevič playing Persian king Ahasuerus, Katrin Krasnačarova as Esther, Rolandas Paltinas as Mordechai and Timuras Jarovskis playing the evil Haman.

Purim at the LJC

Purim at the LJC

There are many holidays throughout the year we celebrate at home with close family members, but Purim isn’t one of them. The point is to go out, celebrate, enjoy life and have fun. On Sunday the Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bnei Maskilim held a public Purim celebration in Vilnius with costume play, a reading from the Book of Esther, holiday treats and much sincere conversation.

LJC and Sholem Aleichem School Celebrate Purim

LJC and Sholem Aleichem School Celebrate Purim

An audience of more than 400 from the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium celebrated Purim at the Legendos music club in Vilnius Friday. The selection of costumes was fantastic and there was a program entertaining to young and old alike with song and dance by the students, a drumming concert which involved all assembled, imaginative tricks by master-of-ceremonies Michailas Frišmanas and delicious food.

Thank you to the entire student body and staff of Sholem, LJC executive director Michailas Segalas and everyone who sang, danced, beat drums, laughed and took part in this unforgettable evening of celebration.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 6:19 P.M. on Friday, March 22, and concludes at 7:33 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Purim begins at sundown on Saturday and Sunday is the Christian holiday Palm Sunday marking the beginning of the week leading up to Easter.

Purim Celebrations for Young and Old Sunday

Purim Celebrations for Young and Old Sunday

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come and celebrate Purim this Sunday with event programs for young and old.

The Dubi Club for children aged 3 to 7 will stage a great program with skits, games, songs and other fun activities.

At the same time Bnei Maskilim invites you to a reading of the Book of Esther, tzedakah and mishloach manot, and the traditional potluck feast.

Everyone is welcome.

Time: 12:00 noon, Sunday, March 24
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

Don’t forget your masks and costumes!

Please note: registration is required for the Bnei Maskilim event. Please send an email to viljamas@lzb.lt.

Kupiškis’s Righteous Gentiles Remembered

Kupiškis’s Righteous Gentiles Remembered

The Kupiškis regional government staged an event to remember local Righteous Gentiles on March 14, the day before the official Lithuanian day of remembrance, called “Remembering the Rescuers of Jews from the Kupiškis Region.” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman and Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein attended.

Also attending were Virginija Bunevičiūtė, assistant for cultural projects at the Israeli embassy, and the Lithuanian prime minister’s advisor on cultural affairs Gabrielė Žaidytė, grandson of Righteous Gentiles Vidmantas Markevičius and others.

Participants visited the graves of Markevičius’s grandparents Elena and Juozapas and he spoke about their lives there. On October 10, 1991, they met Sholom Sherenzon, whom they had rescued from the Holocaust, in Israel.

Purim in Panevėžys

Purim in Panevėžys

Dear members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community,

Greetings on the up-coming holiday of Purim. We kindly invite you to come celebrate it together with us at the Panevėžys Jewish Community starting at 2:00 P.M. on March 24. Please indicate your intention to attend (because we need to know how much of what kinds of food to purchase) by sending an email or by calling.

Chairman: +370 61120882, genakofman@yahoo.com
Administrator: +370 61017608