Litvaks on the Streets of Israel
On September 27, exhibition “Litvaks on the Streets of Israel” was opened in the museum’s Tolerance Center.
The guests of the opening event were greeted by the curator of the exhibition Aušra Rožankevičiūtė, authors of the exhibition Roza Litay and Dr. Carol Hoffman and Ambassador of Israel to Lithuania Amir Maimon. The event was moderated by the head of museum’s Education and Visitors Information Department Irina Pocienė.
The exhibition, inspired by Israeli streets named after prominent Litvaks, will be exhibited in the museum‘s Tolerance Center (Naugarduko St. 10/2, Vilnius) until January 7, 2019.
Litvaks in Picture
In honor of the visit to Israel of the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, a conference of Litvaks was held at which a photographic exhibition entitled "Litvaks in Israel through the lens of the camera", mounted by Dr. Carole Hoffman and Rosa Lita'i, was displayed. The President of Lithuania and the Cultural Attache at the Lithuanian embassy in Israel, Saulius Pilinkus were among the visitors to the exhibition.
What does it mean to be a Litvak?
Belonging to such a special group – the Jewry of Lithuania – means following in the footsteps of your ancestors who were highly educated and aimed at excellence: people who led a tradition. They were rabbis, researchers, scientists, writers and philosophers, statesmen, sculptors and actors.
Places of Note
Not for nothing was Lithuania called "Jerusalem of the North" –"Jerusalem in Lithuania" with institutions such as the Ponevezh Yeshiva and the Slobodka Yeshiva.
Famous People
The Vilna Gaon, the writer Avraham Mapu, the violinist Yasha Heifetz, the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, the founder of the Mussar movement, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter were all renowned Litvaks. In the darkest times, there were those who stood on the frontlines in the struggle for justice and liberty – the fighters in the underground and the partisans, the pioneers of the modern Zionist movement.
Symbolic Figures
Abba Kovner, a partisan fighter and poet, a man of the book and the sword.
Yehezkel Pularevitch who composed the Prisoners of Zion's anthem during his exile in Siberia. His son, Dr. Shabi Ya'akov Pularevitch Ma'or was the doctor on the Israeli submarine Dakar that disappeared mysteriously in a stormy sea.
Nehama Lifshitz, the symbol of the silent Jewry of the U.S.S.R., whose repertoire included Yiddish and Hebrew songs; Nehama's forbidden songs played on in the hearts of her audiences and accompanied them to Israel.
We, the Litvaks in Israel, pass on this golden chain from generation to generation, so that our children and their children will embrace our rich Litvak heritage and be able to share and claim proudly that they too are Litvaks.
Contact us:
Our Facebook
