The Litvak Memorial Garden created by the Jakov Bunka Charity and Support Fund dedicated to Litvaks from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has become the first location to host a memorial to late Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres. The memorial to Peres was placed in the metal apple tree sculpture “planted” at the garden which is located in the Žemaitija National Park. Žemaitija is an ethnographic region in western Lithuania.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community will be closed October 3 and 4 for the Jewish New Year.
Happy New Year to all members of the Community, young and old! We are ushering out what was a successful year, and we have reason to be happy and proud of it, and now we look forward to an even better year. I wish everyone strong health and a sweet and successful year ahead for you and your families. I invite everyone to do at least on good deed for the community over the coming year, and I especially invite those to do this who believe there are things that aren’t right within the community. Do what you think is right, don’t be afraid to do good deeds and let’s not fear the consequences. I wish you love of the country in which you live, to love Israel, and to raise your children as Jews, the future members of our community.
שנה טובה ומתוקה
An overflow crowd turned out to celebrate Rosh Hashana together with the Jewish community this year. May the new year bring sweet success. Shana Tova u’metuka!
Photo album here.
Ina Norkienė, a member of the Social Programs Department and the Kaunas Jewish Community, passed away on October 2. She was born on January 1, 1930.
Our deepest condolences to her family.
by Andrés Spokoiny
In 2007, at Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin, scientists conducted a troubling experiment. They put people into an MRI machine and asked them to press one of two buttons in front of them. The subjects were told to do this several times, and to choose freely which button to press.
One part of the results was nothing new: around a second before the button was pressed, the parts of the brain associated with conscious decision-making lit up. But looking more carefully, the scientists noted that there was a pattern of neural activities around six or seven seconds before the decision was actually taken. That pattern predicted with great accuracy the decision that the person ended up taking.
The researchers were shocked, because these findings suggest that decisions are not really conscious. Rather, they are subconscious neural processes that are complete before our “command and control” functions ever activate. We may think that we’re about to consciously decide something, but in fact, our subconscious has already (and irrevocably) decided.
by David Harris
Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish identity. How painfully sad! In response, and with the High Holy Days just around the corner, let me share, as I have on occasion in the past, what being Jewish means to me.
1. It means championing what is arguably the single most revolutionary concept in the annals of human civilization—monotheism—introduced to the world by the Jews, and its corollary, the inherent belief that we are all created in the image of God (in Hebrew, B’tzelem Elohim).
2. It means embracing the deep symbolic meaning the rabbis gave to the story of Adam and Eve. Since all of humanity descend from the “original” couple, each of us, whatever our race, religion, or ethnicity, shares the same family tree. No one can claim superiority over anyone else.
3. It means entering into a partnership with the Divine for the repair of our broken world (in Hebrew, Tikkun Olam), and recognizing that this work is not to be outsourced to a higher authority, or to “fate,” or to other people, but that it’s my responsibility during my lifetime.
4. It means affirming life – “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse, therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Hebrew Bible) – and the moral choice that lies in the hands of each of us to bring a little closer the Jewish prophetic vision of a world at peace and in harmony.
5. It means celebrating the fact that Jews were early dissidents, among the very first to challenge the status quo and insist on the right to worship differently than the majority. Today, we call this pluralism, and it is a bedrock principle of democratic societies. It also ought to be an essential component of Jewish communities everywhere.
6. It means welcoming the pioneering Jewish effort to establish a universal moral code of conduct and seeking to act as if that code of conduct were my daily GPS—to pursue justice, to treat my neighbor as I would wish to be treated, to welcome the stranger in our midst (and, I might add, the newcomer to the Jewish people), to be sensitive to the environment, and to seek peace. It’s not by accident that America’s Founding Fathers chose words from the Hebrew Bible for our nation’s Liberty Bell: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Or that the Ten Commandments continue to be an ethical guidepost for so many around the world.
by Menachem Rephun
World Jewish Congress leaders recently visited Ukraine in connection with the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, in which over 33,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis in 1941.
“Babi Yar is one of the most infamous pieces of ground in the entire world,” World Jewish Congress leader Ronald Lauder said. “Tens of thousands of our people were killed there for only one reason: because they were Jewish.”
Lauder noted Ukrainian collaboration with the Nazis to murder Kiev’s Jews.
“While Babi Yar was organized by the Nazis, there were willing helpers in the Ukrainian militia,” Lauder said. “This happened all across Europe. In almost every occupied country, local people helped the Germans round up their Jews.”
Ilan Club and their youngest group leaders opened the club for fall. Children returning from the summer camps were full of emotion, and the counselors were filled just as much with enthusiasm and new ideas.
On September 18 the Ilan club officially opened for the fall and about 30 of our youngest friends turned out for the event. The first activity was getting to know the new club members and the counselors. During the activities session the children participated in skits where children’s favorite things were showcased–cartoons, music, games, etc. During play the children had the chance to introduce themselves to the group and to play as teams. After the skit there was our weekend ceremony and a symbolic dinner with many delicious items.
KIEV, UKRAINE September 29, 2016–Today the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (NCSEJ) joined with government leaders from the U.S. and Europe and members of the Jewish community from around the world at an official ceremony to remember the 1941 massacre of Jews by Nazi forces at the Babi Yar ravine in Kiev, Ukraine.
A delegation of over twenty NCSEJ officers and board members traveled to Ukraine this week to participate in the ceremony and attend commemorations relating to the Babi Yar anniversary.
VILNIUS, September 30, BNS – Lithuania on Friday is paying last respects to late Israeli president Shimon Peres.
Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė and foreign minister Linas Linkevičius attended his funeral in Jerusalem, and Vilnius residents and guests can express their condolences at the Israeli embassy.
“We bid farewell to a great man of the world, a man of peace, an example of tolerance, a man important to all, including Lithuania, because he considered Lithuania, this region, his birthplace and called himself a Litvak,” Grybauskaitė said.
“His visit several years ago marked a significant improvement in the relationship between our states, which is very important for us not only as we look to the future, but also as we reflect on our painful past,” she said.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky also attended his funeral in Jerusalem.
Peres was born only 100 kilometers from Vilnius in a small town in what then was Poland in 1923.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes Ella Gurina a happy 70th birthday. She has been a constantly active member of the Community, a doctor, a member of the board of executives who participates in everything and is extremely demanding of herself.
Dear Ella, please accept our birthday wishes for continued health and great happiness and may all your days be beautiful ones brightened by your joy and hope. Happy birthday on this important milestone. May every day bring you greater success and happiness!
Mazl tov!
The Ukraine Thursday marked the 75th anniversary of the murder of about 34,000 Jews during the Holocaust in a Kiev suburb.
The Babi Yar mass murder site is a ravine in the capital Kiev and has been subject to intense controversy within the Ukraine about the role Ukrainians played in the Holocaust.
Story in Lithuanian here.
The following is an official letter sent by the Lithuanian Jewish Community to concerned government agencies.
September 27, 2016
To:
Remigijus Šimašius
mayor, city of Vilnius
Alminas Mačiulis
Government chancellor
Šarūnas Birutis
minister of culture
Linas Linkevičius
minister of foreign affairs
Diana Varnaitė
director, Cultural Heritage Department under the Ministry of Culture
On the Reconstruction of the Great Synagogue
As public interest has grown recently in the history and cultural legacy of Lithuanian Jews (Litvaks) and specifically regarding artifacts uncovered at the site of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius, we feel it our duty to again present our view, that of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, regarding the issue of the conservation of surviving parts and the possible reconstruction of the Great Synagogue, a building with extraordinary significance to the Lithuanian and the global Jewish community.
As we have said before many times, we support all meaningful initiatives to preserve, protect and commemorate the legacy and heritage of the Jews of Lithuania, but we do not support unreasonable projects to rebuild non-existing buildings which are carried out in the name of Jews. It seems that is what we are facing again in the idea developing over many years by certain government institutions and possibly including hidden business structures to rebuild the Great Synagogue complex in Vilnius.
In 2015 the municipal government enterprise Vilniaus Planas was commissioned by the municipality’s Urban Development Department to prepare draft construction proposals for a memorial to the Great Synagogue under pre-project proposals submitted by the architect Tzila Zak. The terms of reference of the planning task itself revealed the client’s attitude towards the rebuilding of the Great Synagogue as an attractve real estate development project: the primary task presented to planners was to submit a list of the buildings proposed for rebuilding, to name the rooms and premises slated for reconstruction and to calculate floor space.
Israeli dance lessons with Karina and Valerija, beginners’ group from 11:00 A.M. to 12 on Sundays, advanced group Sunday from 12:15 P.M. to 1:15 and Wednesdays 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. at the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius.
For more information write karina.semionova@gmail.com
Editorial board of Di Yiddishe Stime, 1924. Sitting, right to left: Nathan Goren, Roza Khazan-Feigin, Moshe Cohen, David Cohen, Reuven Rubinstein, Moritz Helman, Rafael Khasman. Standing, right to left: Ya’akov Feigin, Israel Zhufer, Moshe Rabinowitz, Eliezer Shibolet. Photo courtesy jewishgen.com
Jews were the largest ethnic and religious minority in Lithuania in the period between the two world wars. The Jewish culture of Lithuania, just like that of Eastern Europe as a whole, was multifaceted and diverse, and the Yiddish language was an important vehicle of communication. When Isaac Bashevis Singer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in December of 1978, he wasn’t just speaking in vain when he said: “There are some who call Yiddish a dead language, but so was Hebrew called for two thousand years. It has been revived in our time in a most remarkable, almost miraculous way. … It is a fact that the classics of Yiddish literature are also the classics of the modern Hebrew literature. Yiddish has not yet said its last word. It contains treasures that have not been revealed to the eyes of the world. It was the tongue of martyrs and saints, of dreamers and Cabbalists—rich in humor and in memories that mankind may never forget.
VILNIUS, September 28, BNS–Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė Wednesday awarded nearly 50 persons with Life Saving Crosses for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.
The majority, 44, were awarded posthumously.
Speaking at the ceremony at the President’s Office, Grybauskaite invited all participants to stand in a minute of silence to honor the memory of Israel’s former president Shimon Peres who passed away earlier that day.
by Aurelija Servienė
Last week was special for Jews. On September 23 the Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews was marked. To mark the day, a club of mentally disabled people in Žemaitija called Telšių Atjauta [Empathy of Telšiai] under their chairman Kazimieras Mitkus did a good deed: they cleaned up the Jewish cemetery in Telšiai.
Mitkus said the club engages in activities which are unusual for similar organizations. He said they strive to make the activities meaningful for the community as well as organization members.
“One of the sectors we care for and maintain is the Telšiai Jewish cemetery. Last week was special, in that we took the initiative without waiting for anyone else and cleaned up the cemetery. In the belief that there might be guests coming this special week,” the club chairman commented.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky says late Israeli president Shimon Peres was a person of exceptional intellect and always stressed his ties with Lithuania.
“It’s important for us, for Lithuanian Jews, that he was one of our own, we always considered him a Litvak and he considered himself a Litvak. After all, he came from Vishnev, a village 70 kilometers from Vilnius in what is now Belarus but which was Lithuanian territory then. It was so nice for us that our countryman was so intelligent, so educated, such an erudite, and could speak on any and every topic even at a venerable age. Our entire community is in mourning. We know human life has an end, but when you encounter death, great sadness overtakes you,” Kukliansky said.
Peres visited Lithuania three years ago and Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė met him when she visited Israel last year. This last spring he was decorated with the Lithuanian order of the Great Cross “For Contributions to Lithuania.”
In celebration of World Tourism Day, a new tourist route called the Shekel Route around Klaipėda was unveiled. The Klaipėda District Tourism Guild presented the route to the public. The route was created in cooperation with the Klaipėda Jewish Community. The author was Laurencija Budrytė-Ausiejienė. Partial funding for the route came from the Klaipėda Jewish Community using funding from the Goodwill Foundation.
As soon as news appeared on the internet about the route, all available spaces were snatched up.
The Tourism Information Center of the Palanga municipality has prepared a brochure called “Jewish Sites to Remember in Palanga.”
