and Jewish Life
My Litvak Powerpoint slides
Two quite different schools on opposite sides of the world, will link up in a Litvak Hangout.
A joint session between students of Herzlia, the Jewish Day School in Cape Town, South Africa and those of Atzalyno Gimnazija, a high school in Kedainiai, Lithuania will be held at 11am South African and Lithuanian time.
Eli Rabinowitz will make some introductory comments about Jews of Lithuania and South Africa and how the Litvaks got to SA.
Three of the Lithuanian students will talk about the Jewish history, the importance of Kedainiai and the Jewish sites in the town.
Three Herzlia students will talk about their Lithuanian heritage, their family shtetl, and when and how their family came to SA.
And then we will talk about the future!
Click here for the link to watch this event live on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/dvnv7q6arAY
Several people around the world have been working hard to make this event happen:
Laima Ardaviciene, the English teacher at Atzalyno in Kedainiai
Mark Helfrich, Curriculum Head at United Herzlia Schools, Cape Town
Steve Sherman, Chief Imagination Officer at Living Maths, Cape Town
Eli Rabinowitz, Perth Australia.
Read more about Eli’s bond with Atzalyno:
http://elirab.me/australia/my-bond-with-atzalyno-gimnazija-a-school-in-kedainiai-2/
The students take me on a multicultural tour of Kedainai, the last stop being the two former synagogue complex, one of only a handful in Lithuania. The centre is run by Rimantas Zirgulis, director of the Museum and includes a permanent Jewish display, one of the first towns in Lithuania to do so.
The video report on a Lithuanian TV channel with a synopsis in English by two of the students: Juste & Julija
Kedainiu Zinios 7:21 – 9:55 – meeting at our school
The English teacher Laima Ardavičienė surprises her students every single lesson. She is diversifying her lessons with various tasks and even guests.
Laima says, „ Last year I was working on a project and the main idea was to introduce different cultures to students. I found a video of Jewish weddings which reflected Jewish traditions. After watching this video, I asked the author if I was able to use it and I got shocked when he replied „ Laima, you can use it. By the way, you can be really surprised, but I‘m rooted in Kėdainiai“. The author of the video was our guest Eli Rabinowitz. It‘s the second time Eli Rabinowitz is visiting our school. Last year he was a participant in our project too, while students were learning about different communities in Kėdainiai. Meetings like this never end. We keep in touch via skype and have skype meetings with students.
An article in the Lithuanian press:
Anglų kalbos pamokos kitaip
Iš arčiau 2015/05/29 by Vilija Mockuvienė
Vieni „Atžalyno“ gimnazijos mokiniai mokytojos Laimos Ardavičienės anglų kalbos pamokų laukia su baime, kiti – su džiaugsmu. Gimnazistai žino, kad šios patyrusios pedagogės pamokose nebus nei nuobodulio, nei tuščio laiko leidimo.
Paįvairindama pamokas „Atžalyno“ gimnazijos mokytoja Laima Ardavičienė į Kėdainius pakvietė Australijoje gyvenantį žydą E. Rabinovičių, kuris turi sąsajų su šiuo miestu ir mielai bendrauja su jaunimu.
For further see:
http://muge.eu/anglu-kalbos-pamokos-kitaip/
My images are supplemented with some provided by Vilius, a delightfully engaging student, who would like one day, to have sports photography business, possibly in South Africa!
[huge_it_slider id=”19″]
The choir in 1982 – thanks to Marc Kopman, top row middle.
A Bloemfontein reunion Shabbat dinner will be held in Johannesburg on Saturday February 20.
Last night in Perth, Australia, Rabbi Shalom Coleman reminisced about his years as the Jewish spiritual leader in Bloemfontein from 1949 to 1959
Those of you who do not know Rabbi Coleman, he has the most phenomenal memory, and recently celebrated his 97th birthday!
Rabbi Coleman with his book: Life Is A Corridor which includes photos and stories from his time in Bloemfontein.
Here is the video clip in which Rabbi Coleman talks about Bloemfontein:
Visit the Bloemfontein KehilaLink. If you have photos and stories connected to Jewish Bloemfontein, please email me at eli@elirab.com
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/bloemfontein
More about Rabbi Coleman
http://elirab.me/jewish/spiritual-treasure-book-launch-at-the-perth-hebrew-congregation/
I am pleased to advise that I am now working on five new KehilaLinks.
I compile and manage these Jewish websites as a volunteer for Jewishgen.org, the world’s largest Jewish genealogical organisation.
JewishGen should be the first stop in the journey of discovery of your family history.
If you have roots in these towns, please contact me at eli@elirab.com
I hope you are able to share your family’s story and photos of Jewish life in these places.
Ziezmariai (Zhezhmir)
Ukmerge (Vilkomir)
Jelgava (Mitau)
Benoni
Graaff Reinet
Have a look at the list of KehilaLinks I manage:
http://elirab.me/litvak-portal/kehilalinks/
Thanks
Eli
On Sunday the 7th February 2016 at 10 am
… we will walk through the old Jewish neighbourhood of Doornfontein Johannesburg.
Some of the highlights include :
* the Lion Shul : 1906
* Yiddishe Arbeiter Klub : the Jewish Workers Club : 1928
* the Alhambra Theatre
* the Yiddishe Altesheim : Jewish Old Age Home
* Beit Hamedrash Hagodel : the Sherwell St Shul
* the first Greek Orthodox Church in Joburg : 1913
* the Beit St shops – Wachenheimers , Nussbaums etc
* the Ottoman Embassy : home of Henri Bettelheim
* the University of Johannesburg Campus
* the Jewish Govt School : IH Harris Primary
* the Hebrew High School : Talmud Torah
* the old Victorian homes on Sivewright St
* the Great Synagogue on Wolmarans St : 1914
Times : 10h00 till 14h00
R150-00
If you wish to attend, please confirm that there is available space by sending an email to :
ancientsecrets@absamail.co.za for banking details and further instructions
Space is limited – so confirmation is essential
Please note : men please bring a yarmulke for entering the synagogues and women please dress modestly.
Visit the Lion’s Shul on the Johannesburg KehilaLink
In Your Pocket is Europe’s leading provider of urban information, supplying locally produced, practical information for over one hundred cities all over the region. Vilnius In Your Pocket was launched in December 1991.
A number of the In Your Pocket websites have Jewish themes and I have embedded some for you here.
Vilnius
………………
Kaunas
…………….
Klaipeda
…………….
Wroclaw
…………….
Warsaw
…………….
Tarnow
……………
Katowice
One day last May, I visited two schools in Lithuania, one in Kedainiai, the other in nearby Krakes.
I was able to see the outstanding work two teachers have been doing in educating young Lithuanian students on the Jewish history of their towns.
I have previously written about my special morning in Kedainiai with the students of Atzalyno Gimnazija.
Click below for my report:
Later that day, Atzalyno’s English teacher, Laima Ardaviciene and I visited the small town of Krakes.
We met the history teacher, Robertas Dubinka at the Krakes Community Centre where he spoke about the Jews of Krakes and the school project he had led.
In 2002 Robertas and his students at the Mikalojaus Katkaus Gimnazija undertook a project in which they interviewed some Jewish residents of Krakes, who have since passed away. This project was translated into English and submitted to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem. Robertas went to Jerusalem to make the presentation.
Laima and Robertas outside the Krakes Community Centre
A short video of Robertas talking about the Jews of Krakes
Buildings of Krakes
Mikalojaus Katkaus Gimnazija
Robertas with some pages from the report
The Jewish houses on the map of Krakes
More about the Jewish aspects of Krakes
My post on my Virtual Heritage Tour on JewishGen.org:
Mikalojaus Katkaus Gimnazija’s website:
Good news for those who support and attend Carmel School in Perth.
It was the top school in the 2015 league table, just announced.
Something to consider for those parents thinking of moving their children to a non Jewish private school!
The news video is also embedded, may take a few moments to load
School’s website: carmel.wa.edu.au