Eli Sharfstein 2024 — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

"At the Vilna House tonight, a home dedicated to commemorating and preserving the heritage of Litvaks as part of our literary series, we had the pleasure of hosting Yiddish writer and poet Eli Sharfstein from Kibbutz Maagan Michael. Alongside him was his unique family, as he brought to life his works in the rich dialect of Vilna Yiddish. A true delight for those who cherish the authentic Yiddish culture of our ancestors. We were captivated by his tales of King David of Minsk and Goliath of Vilna, of grand victories and stage mishaps in the Vilna theater, of the Babel of tongues that once filled Vilna, of battles against America, and of revenge, all beautifully accompanied by the music of his grandson Gilboa."Just before starting the event, we marked the 83rd anniversary of the 'Great Aktion' in the Kovno ghetto, which began on the morning of October 28, 1941. Yaarit Glazer read an excerpt from the memoirs of Rachel Rozentsveig, as recounted to her by Dr. Carol Hoffman: 'On October 28, the most traumatic event in the ghetto took place, the "Great Aktion."'

"The Germans demanded that the ghetto leaders gather all the residents in order to categorize and decide who would be deported and who would remain. The Jewish police, having no choice, decided to cooperate and announced that everyone must assemble at six o'clock in the morning in the main square, ironically named 'Democracy Square'. Those who remained at home were told to expect the worst. And so, we all left our homes early on the morning of October 28, dressed in our warmest clothes, our hearts filled with a sense of impending doom. Only the sick and the elderly remained in their homes. German soldiers searched for them and shot them dead.""About twenty-six thousand people were crammed into the square, and the Germans ordered us to line up and begin passing in front of a stage where SS men and officers stood. The selection began. The SS men gestured with their hands, indicating who should go right and who should go left. Their faces were expressionless. The process lasted for many hours. When our turn came, to my astonishment, I noticed that behind the German officers on the stage was the Jewish man who had been in our house and had brought me the letter from Miriam Servrovitz. I remember his figure to this day, tall with a completely bald head." "Since then, I never saw him again, but I knew who he was. He smiled at me a small smile and made an almost imperceptible sign with his hand. As if he was telling me not to worry... My family was sent to the 'good' side, the side of life, but about ten thousand, mostly families with small children and the elderly, were taken to the Ninth Fort, the fortress overlooking the city, and were massacred there."