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Shavuot Celebrations

Shavuot Celebrations

Shavuot or Shavuos, the Feast of Weeks, begins on the evening of Friday, May 26, and extends into May 27 until sundown this year. The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to attend several events to mark this important holiday on Sunday, May 28.

Israeli dance lesson with Julija Potašnik

Location: Cvirka Park, across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.
Time: from noon on

Enjoying nature with children

The LJC’s children’s clubs Dubi and Ilan are inviting youngsters and their parents to spend Sunday in a beautiful natural setting along the river. Every family is invited to bring their own food for a potluck and barbecue. Water and snacks will be provided.

Location: Valakupiai (Valakampiai) beach no. 2 at the northeastern reach of Vilnius, GPS coordinates 54.742762, 25.293022.
Time: noon

Registration is required for participants at both events. Please contact Žana Skudovičienė by telephone at (+370) 678 81514 or write an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt to register and for more information.

Avoiding a Third Wife in Lithuania

Avoiding a Third Wife in Lithuania

“If I lived in Lithuania, I would be an active member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, at least in order to avoid a third marriage,” a guest from the United States visiting the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius while on a tour of Litvak heritage sites said.

The old joke goes like this: in Lithuania, a man must marry three times: a Polish woman, a Jewish woman and a Lithuanian woman. The first wife is to show him what true passion is. The second wife teaches him how to treat money, and the third wife will tend his grave beautifully.

The group from the Taube Center for Jewish Life and Learning are visiting Jewish heritage sites in Lithuania and Poland.

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Ilan Club for Children Aged 7-12

Ilan Club for Children Aged 7-12

They’re not yet adolescents, but already have a firm opinion on almost everything, are constantly coming up with new and unusual words and get excited about things we don’t always understand. More than mobile phones and as much as the oxygen they breathe, they need to spend time with people their own age. Ilan Club is intended for children aged 7 to 12, and meets every Sunday at noon at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. For more information, contact LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė by e-mail at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

Dubi Club for Children Aged 4-6

Dubi Club for Children Aged 4-6

Members of the Dubi Club engage in fun activities every Sunday. Last time they learned to make desserts. They did a great job and their parents were happy to try the treats and watch their young ones learn practical life skills. Dubi Club is for children aged 4 to 6 and meets at noon every Sunday at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. For more information, contact LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė by e-mail at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

LJC Chairwoman Greets Veterans

LJC Chairwoman Greets Veterans

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman made home visits to greet WWII veterans on the occasion of Victory Day this year. Usually the LJC holds an event on May 8 and/or May 9, VE Day and Victory Day, respectively, at the LJC in Vilnius under the aegis of the Seniors Club, but our aging soldiers are finding it more and more difficult to make that trip, so chairwoman Kukliansky went to them instead. She visited 99-year-old Community member Eliziejus Rimanas and Aleksandras Asovskis who will celebrate his 102nd birthday in the next few days.

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Seniors Club Meets

Seniors Club Meets

Last week the Seniors Club of the Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrated several holidays at once, including Lag b’Omer, the Bar Kokhba uprising against the Romans and Victory Day marking the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Holocaust.

Seniors shared a meal and lit the traditional six candles in remembrance of those who have perished. LJC Social Commission doctor Ela Gurina spoke about her family’s experience in the Holocaust.

LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė said one of the main goals of the meeting was just to bring old friends back together, contemporaries who might otherwise remain isolated.

LJC Seniors Club Celebrates 25th Birthday

LJC Seniors Club Celebrates 25th Birthday

The Seniors Club at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius celebrated its 25th birthday on Wednesday, April 26.

“Back when the seniors club began operation and now as well the date coincides with the anniversary of Israeli independence. Back in 1988 Israel was turning 50, and now 75. So it’s a double celebration and twice the fun,” LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė who has been director of the seniors club for its entire 25 years, said.

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Condolences

Tatyana Arkhipova-Efros has died at the age of 100. A long-time member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a World War II veteran, she was born in 1922. We mourn her passing and extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

Condolences

With deep sadness we announce the death April 3 of Ezra Eta Gurvičiūtė. She was born in 1920 and was preparing to celebrate her 104th birthday this month. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community from the beginning and served for decades as a volunteer at the Community’s medical consultation center. Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and the entire Community extend our sincere condolences to her son Eduardas Elija, grandchildren Tomas and Julija and her great-grandchildren. Final farewells can be made today, April 4, at 6:00 P.M. at the Nutrūkusi styga funeral home in Vilnius. The burial will take place at the Jewish cemetery on Sudervės road in Vilnius at 12 noon April 5.

Senior Citizens Visit High School Freshmen

Senior Citizens Visit High School Freshmen

As part of the “From Generation to Generation” project by the Anu Museum of the Diaspora in Israel, seniors from the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s social center met with 9th-grade students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius to share thoughts and bridge the generations.

A few weeks ago the high school students visited the Seniors’ Club at the LJC. This time the seniors went back to school where they were given a tour of the facilities including the modern classrooms, labs and an art exhibit currently on display there. Our seniors also attended a Sabbath ceremony with students from all grades. The students presented drawings they made to the seniors as gifts. Seniors and students later met in the library and shared stories, which were recorded and will be sent to the Anu Museum in Tel Aviv.

Matzo Here

Matzo Here

Matzo has arrived and will be distributed to Saul Kagan Social Welfare Center clients at room 220 from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on March 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24.

Purim for Seniors at the Community

Purim for Seniors at the Community

One of the distinguishing features of the Lithuanian Jewish Community is how we care about our oldest and wisest members, both in daily life and during the holidays. So we celebrated Purim together with our venerable senior citizens in the Jascha Heifetz Hall at the Community building in Vilnius, decorated for the occasion. A pleasant evening was had by all with dinner and a concert performance by members of the Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble, now celebrating their 50th birthday.

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Dubi Club Purim

Dubi Club Purim

The Dubi Club continues to meet at noon on Sundays. This Sunday the children will receive a Purim surprise. All children aged 4 to 6 are invited to attend. For more information, contact Margarita Koževatova by telephone at +37061800577.

Condolences

We are sad to report the death of long-standing member and volunteer Izabela Svešnikova. She was born in 1933. We extend our deepest condolences to her son Aleksejus, her family and many friends.

Dubi Mishpocha Club Open for Children Aged 0 to 3

Dubi Mishpocha Club Open for Children Aged 0 to 3

Traditions are a treasure we pass on from generation to generation. We are glad to be able to share that treasure with others and to see how children grow up and take their children to the Lithuanian Jewish Community youth clubs.

It is so important for the younger generation of Jews to learn and practice our traditions from a very early age, so the Dubi Mishpocha Club welcomes you and your children aged 0 to 3 every Wednesday from 10:30 A.M. The club is located inside the LJC.

For more information, contact LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė by e-mail at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

Knafaim Club Open Again

Knafaim Club Open Again

After a short vacation, the Knafaim Club for youth aged 13 to 17 has reopened, ready to receive members and friends every Friday at 6:00 P.M., with different games and activities to improve Jewish and general knowledge, followed by a ceremony to greet the Sabbath. For more information, contact programs director Žana Skudovičienė at zanas@sc.lzb.lt or call+370 678 81514.

Applications Being Accepted Now for Compensation for Personal Property Lost in Holocaust

Applications Being Accepted Now for Compensation for Personal Property Lost in Holocaust

The Goodwill Foundation is planning to disburse from 5 to 10 million euros to those who lost personal property during the Holocaust and their heirs and who meet specific criteria.

Those who survived the Holocaust in Lithuania and their heirs are eligible to make application until December 30, 2023. Compensation is planned to be paid by July 1, 2025.

No claims can be made for plots of land, but applications made by those seeking recompense for commercial buildings, residential homes and apartments will be considered seriously.

Those eligible to apply include Jewish property owners who lived in Lithuania until May 8, 1945, and whose property was seized by the Nazis or Soviets from June 15, 1940, until March 10, 1990, and who didn’t have an opportunity to receive their property and get compensation for it because they weren’t Lithuanian citizens from June 18, 1991, until December 31, 2001. Inheritors eligible for compensation are widows or widowers of former Jewish property owners, parents or children of such, and in the event they are dead, then grandchildren or spouses of grandchildren. Those left property in last wills and testaments are also eligible, as are their widows or widowers, parents, children, grandchildren or spouses of grandchildren.

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Bringing the Generations Together

Bringing the Generations Together

The Israeli International Museum Anu in Tel Aviv, the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium and the Lithuanian Jewish Community are conducting the “From Generation to Generation” project, bringing ninth graders together with seniors from the Community. The first meeting this year happened last week.

Sholem Aleichem principal Ruth Reches said: “Children especially enjoy this project and the seniors appreciate it as well. This moving and meaningful bringing-together of different generations makes people care, enriches the soul and let’s us understand one another better.”

LJC program director Žana Skudovičienė said the first meeting was very friendly, and marked the Tu b’Shvat holiday, with delicious dates from Israel. “It was very nice and warm. We discovered we shared interesting relatives in other countries. There was a lot of emotion because of that, and these will be good memories,” she confided.