Lithuanian Jewish Community

Ping-Pong Camp Successful

The ping-pong camp supported by the Goodwill Foundation and the Lithuanian Jewish Community from August 1 to August 25 at the Simonas Daukantas pre-gymnasium in Vilnius has ended. Some 27 young athletes, most of them from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium, attended. The three-week intensive workshop was taught by Khen and Neta Alon and Šimonas Lukša.

A new season of training begins September first, twice weekly at Sholem Aleichem and at the Simonas Daukantas pre-gymnasium. For more information contact Neta at 862957005 or Khen at 861375124, write an email to stalotenisoklubas@yahoo.com.

2022-08-30

Jerusalem of the North Orchestra Camp in Preila

The Jerusalem of the North Orchestra Camp for children and young people was held in Lithuania’s sea-side resort Preila over the summer with about 20 young people from music schools in Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Klaipėda attending. They held daily repetitions, improvisational evenings and music-reading at the public library in Preila in the evenings. The final joint concert with the Vilnius St. Christopher’s Chamber Orchestra was performed August 25 at a church in nearby Nida, attended by parents, local residents, vacationers and others.

In addition to music, students learned dance from physical therapist, psychologist and dancer Kamile Pundziūtė; attended lessons on Litvak history, traditions and culture under the tutelage of Algirdas Davidavičius and went on cultural tours of the local area with historian, guide and writer Raimonda Meyer.

2022-08-30

Lost Shtetl Museum Takes Part in Blue Family Picnic in Šeduva

On the last weekend of summer we participated in the Blue Family Picnic which has been held in the Šeduva city park for seven years now. The Blue Family Picnic is intended to strengthen community, reduce social inequality and carry on family traditions.

We came up with all sorts of activities for attendees, including recognizing Jewish religious regalia, teaching them to write their names in Hebrew, a puzzle made up of period photographs of the town/shtetl, how to make traditional Sabbath challa and how to set the Sabbath table. Younger attendees made models of the shtetl, learned how to arrange food items on the plate for Passover seder and spun and taught other children to spin the dreidl. We treated everyone to traditional Litvak dishes as well.

So many friendly and eager to learn families came to the picnic. We wanted to share with them in a fun way the culture and traditions of the Jewish community of Šeduva and to remind them of the town’s not-so-distant past, the shtetl of Šeduva where Jews and Lithuanians lived peacefully together. Two special guests attended, two women from Šeduva for whom the shtetl isn’t lost in the mists of time. They spent their childhoods in the shtetl and have shared their memories with us numerous times.

2022-08-30

Happy Birthday to Larisa Vyšniauskienė

We wish a very happy birthday to Larisa Vyšniauskienė, guardian of the eternal creative flame of the Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble. We wish you even greater success, health and artistic achievement! Mazl tov. Bis 120!

2022-08-30

Memory Stones Laid to Commemorate Rabinovitch Family

The Lithuanian Human Rights Center is responsible for the laying of six new memory stones dedicated to the memory of the Rabinovitch family at Gedimino prospect nos. 37 and 46 in Vilnius.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky attended the unveiling ceremony and said: “Today I attended a very moving ceremony. Next to the buildings located at Gedimino prospect number 37 and number 46 six memory stones commemorating the Rabinovitch family were laid. They were murdered at Ponar. I am glad their memory and the memory of their relatives has come back to Vilnius. Thank you to the relatives who found the energy to preserve the memory of their loved ones and to travel to Vilnius for that purpose.”

2022-08-30

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:08 P.M. on Friday, August 26, and concludes at 9:22 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2022-08-252022-08-25

European Days of Jewish Culture in Vilnius

This year will be the seventh the Lithuanian Jewish Community is holding events for the European Days of Jewish Culture. This year’s theme is renewal.

Renewal is woven into almost all aspects of Jewish life. Jewish life is continually building on the past in new ways, bringing a sense of constant change along with a reassuring sense of continuity. The Jewish New Year opens with the festivals of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. These holy days through their traditions and prayers present an opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge our past actions while looking ahead with new resolutions, optimism and determination. During this period we reconcile personal and communal differences within ourselves and with others as we actively strive to renew our aspirations for the coming year, and beyond.

We invite you to attend the events, all of which are free and open to the public.

Program:

2022-08-252022-08-26

Arkadijus Gotesmanas on Klezmer Music and More

The Lithuanian state radio and television website has an extensive interview with Litvak musician Arkadijus Gotesmanas on music, life and upcoming appearances in Lithuania.

Full article and interview in Lithuanian here.

2022-08-25

Vilnius City Council Changes Name of Road to Ponar Memorial Complex

The Vilnius city council has decided to change the name of the portion of Agrastų street leading to the Ponar Memorial Complex to Memorialo (Memorial) street. They also resolved to name several unnamed roads in and around the village of Ponar.

2022-08-25

Condolences

We extend our deepest condolences on the death of Polina Zingerienė at the age of 101 to her sons Markas and Emanuelis and her many friends and relatives.

She was born in Kaunas where she was graduated from high school. Her adolescence was cut short by World War II. She was imprisoned in the Kaunas ghetto and later sent to a concentration camp. After the Allies liberated the camp, Polina returned to Kaunas.

Her painful experiences and struggle to survive the Holocaust led her to go into medicine. She received in diploma in natal and developmental nursing. She worked in her field of medicine till the age of 76.

2022-08-25

Last Summer Sabbath Dance

Come to celebrate the last sabbath of the summer at the Cvi Park Israeli food kiosk with Israeli dancing. The event starts at 6:00 P.M. on Friday, August 26. The event is free and open to the public.

2022-08-25

Thousands Gather for Jerusalem Funeral of Shas Spiritual Leader Rabbi Shalom Cohen

Police and emergency services spread out in force along procession’s route in the capital; event expected to disrupt traffic

Thousands of people are now taking part in the Jerusalem funeral of Rabbi Shalom Cohen, the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party’s spiritual leader.

Police are spread out in force along the funeral procession’s route from the Porat Yosef Yeshiva that he led in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood toward the Sanhedria cemetery.

Traffic disturbances are expected.

Large numbers of emergency personnel are also on hand. Magen David Adom has urged attendees to bring water, avoid crowding and refrain from climbing on roofs or poles to get a better view.

Full story here.

2022-08-22

Dybbuk Exhibit in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Theater Archive and Museum is hosting an exhibit to mark the 100th anniversary of the staging of S. An-sky’s “Dybbuk” at the Habima Theater in Moscow. The exhibit opened August 8 at Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, according to Birobaidzhaner Shtern.

An-sky’s “Dybbuk, or, Between Two Worlds” was written in Yiddish. The Moscow production was translated to Hebrew by Evgeny Vakhtangov and Haim-Nahman Bialik. The Vilner Troupe presented the play in Yiddish in Warsaw in 1920, directed by Dovid Herman. The Polish film “Dybbuk” directed by Michał Waszyński was shot in 1937 and marks the birth of Yiddish cinema. The Hebrew-language production in Moscow, however, is considered special because its success became a kind of calling card for Habima, which in turn eventually became the National Theater of Israel.

Full article in Yiddish here.

2022-08-222022-08-22

New Israeli Ambassador Presents Credentials

The Israeli embassy to Lithuania reports Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein arrived as the new Israeli ambassador to Lithuania three days ago. She worked as an Israeli diplomat earlier in Serbia, Costa Rica, Canada and Austria. Her deputy ambassador is Erez Golan, pictured left in the photograph above. On Monday afternoon, August 22, she presented her credentials to Neilas Tankevičius, the head of the State and Diplomatic Protocol Department at the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

2022-08-222022-08-25

Russian Court Grants Recess in Sokhnut Trial

Photo: Attorenys Maxim Dyatlov (center) and Andrey Grishaev (right) at the trial on the liquidation of the Sokhnut agency in Russia. Photo by Sergey Karpukhin courtesy TASS.

The Jewish Agency for Israel, commonly known as Sokhnut, asked the Moscow court trying the case to postpone proceedings in order to study evidence submitted by Russia’s Justice Ministry. This came after the court rejected Sokhnut’s motion for a two-month period of reconciliation in order to remedy the situation, to which the Justice Ministry objected. The trial will now resume September 19.

Russian authorities claim Sokhnut has violated personal data privacy laws. The Israeli television channel 13Reshet is now saying Russia fears a new brain-drain, since Sokhnut actively works to repatriate Jews to Israel. Russian officials deny that is the case. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the media it was purely a matter of compliance to Russian law. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Israel’s president Isaac Herzog discussed the case by telephone and decided the relevant courts and government agencies in both countries should deal with the issue. Sokhnut has said they might leave Russia completely and work remotely via telephone and internet there.

Information from RBK television.

2022-08-222022-08-22

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:24 P.M. on Friday, August 19, and concludes at 9:41 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2022-08-192022-08-19

Shalom in All the World Events in Klaipėda

The International Festival of Jewish culture “Shalom in All The World” returns to Klaipėda.

This year, the International Festival dedicated to learning about the history, culture, art, and traditions of the Jewish society will be held for the second time and is part of the program of events dedicated to the 770th anniversary of the city of Klaipėda. During the events of the Festival, the aim will be to emphasize the historical roots of the Jewish society in Memel, specifically the contribution of the Jewish residents to the development of the city in that time

Full of events, an enthralling and significant Festival will again invite everyone, regardless of their nationality, religion, beliefs, to meet at the concerts, talks, movie screenings, exhibitions, creative workshops, traditional Jewish dance lessons, excursions.

Youth, adults, families, regardless of age, education, interests are very welcome! All events are free of charge! Be with us and among us!

Full program here.

2022-08-182022-08-19

News from the Panevėžys Jewish Community

Every month the Panevėžys Jewish Community celebrates its members’ birthdays and anniversaries. In July and August we congratulated Diana Narevič and Rimantas Rimkus and Jurijus and Svetlana Grafman on their anniversaries.

We also provided and provide material support to our members.

Despite summer vacations, cultural and athletic events are being held and members are participating in Panevėžys regional events and scouting activities.

In the summer we usually have a large number of guests who care about their family histories. They often talk about their families over a cup of tea at the Panevėžys Jewish Community. One of the newer stories is about a family who emigrated to South Africa, then later between 1900 and 1910 they went their separate ways to Canada, China, England and Israel. They came back to Lithuania to learn about the former shtetl where their forebears once lived.

2022-08-18

Happy Birthday to Semionas Finkelšteinas

We wish a very happy milestone birthday to Semionas Finkelšteinas, modern founder and president of the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club and head of Lithuanian Makabi delegations abroad. We wish you great health, happiness and a continued sharp wit. Mazl tov. Bis 120!

2022-08-17