Category: Jewish

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Protecting Our Litvak Heritage

Two weeks ago I spoke on Litvaks on the Move at the Claremont Wynberg Shul in Cape Town:

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This week I presented the Perth version of this Litvaks on the Move slideshow at the WA Jewish Historical & Genealogical Society at Noranda Shul.

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Perth:

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Some slides from the show:

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I included slides from my recent trip to South Africa where I visited the Kaplan Centre and Gitlin Library in Cape Town and the Archives and Friends of the Beth Hatsutsoth in Johannesburg.

I also visited the Liliesleaf Museum in Rivonia.

One of highlights was the 4½ walking tour of Doornfontein run by Ishvara Dhyan.

Posts to follow.

At the end of my presentation, Sue Levy presented me with a certificate and the customary book was donated to our local genealogical society library on my behalf.

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I was blown away by what book Sue chose!

The title is “Preserving Our Litvak Heritage”, something I have been passionately working on for a while now. The name of the author – Josef Rosin z”l.

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In June last year, I noticed that the Birzh KehilaLink had not been updated for long time. I made some enquiries and found out that this website had been compiled by Josef Rosin, who had passed away in Israel in the previous November. When I showed interest in adopting the Birzh site, I was asked by Joel Alpert if I would be happy to adopt 25 others, all the work of late Josef Rosin.

http://elirab.me/litvak-portal/kehilalinks/

I have spent the last eight months updating these Lithuania kehilalinks, the work that Josef Rosin had done so brilliantly over so many years!

A tribute by Joel Alpert to Josef Rosin:

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http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/birzai/Joseph_Rosin.html

I have previously corresponded with Joel in early 2014. He wanted to use my image of broken matsevot at the Brest Fort for the cover of the new Brest Yizkor book. That photo was one of the slides I used in my Litvaks on the Move presentation – eerie or what!

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Muizenberg – A Surfers Paradise

Here are a few of the photos I took at Muizenberg last week.

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The people and cultures on this popular South African beach present quite a contrast to the heydays of the Litvaks, who were here in the 40s, 50s and 60s and then left!

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Here is a short video clip:

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On my last day in Cape Town, I arrived in time to see the sunrise. I enjoyed the walk to St James and back. These photos will appear in a later post.

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Muizenberg Comes To San Diego

Save the date for South Africa’s most popular and travelled exhibition:

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Memories of Muizenberg  is coming to San Diego!

After successful runs in South Africa, Israel, the UK, Australia and Canada, the exhibition is about to hit the USA.

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Visit the KehilaLink for more on Muizenberg:

kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/muizenberg

Litvaks On The Move

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Visit: litvak-portal

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Jeppestown Walking Tour

Ishvara Dhyan’s walking tour of Doornfontein two weeks ago was fabulous – a highlight of my visit to South Africa.

I will be posting my photographic memories of it shortly

Ish is leading another tour this weekend. I am not sure if there are places available, but email him at:

ancientsecrets@absamail.co.za

This is what he says:

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    The Jeppestown Walk  ~ on Saturday 27th Feb 2016

     ..will begin at 10 am  

     we are meeting at the HOUSE of BAOBAB No 20 Kruger St 

      at the Maboneng Precinct near Arts on Main – 

       there is secure parking in the surrounding streets.. the walk ends at the same place at approx 13h30 

 

   Jeppestown is Johannesburgs oldest residential suburb. (1889)

  We will visit many places of historical & cultural interest on the walk, including :

* the mosaics at Maboneng Precinct by artist Hannelie Coetzee
* the Jooste & Bryants Building ( Victorian Beauty)

* the Mentis Building ( Art Nouveau ) 
* the Jozi Mall ( Somali shops – designed as a result of xenophobia )
* old Jewish shops & homes of Jeppestown
* the scenes of the 2008 xenophobic attacks
* the Anglican Church – Joburgs oldest (still functioning) church
* the restaurant used in the movie “ Long Walk to Freedom “  
* traditional herbalist shops of Zulu Inyangas 
* scene of the Jeppestown massacre 2006

* the first Lithuanian Shul 1903 – 1926
* the Main Jeppestown Synagogue 1926 -2002
* Salisbury House – Philosophy school 1903
* St James Preparatory School 1905 

We return to the Maboneng Precinct for an optional lunch  at your own expense

( Senegalese buffet ) at ” The House of Boabab ”  restaurant.
 
Cost : R150-00 per person

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Claremont Shul, Cape Town

My Litvaks on the Move talk took place at Claremont Shul last Sunday night.

An audience of about 80, mostly of Litvak heritage, attended the presentation.

Question time was held afterwards. Discussion centred around finding ones shtetl.

Thanks go to Rabbi Matthew Liebenberg and Steven Sherman for organising this most successful event.

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Images of the evening’s talk

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The main synagogue

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The small shul

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Walls covered with the history of both Claremont and Wynberg Shuls

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Images from the archives at the Kaplan Centre, UCT.

My thanks to the librarian, Juan-Paul Burke, for his assistance and allowing me to use this amazing material housed at the Kaplan Centre.

 

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Jerry Zinn’s barmitzvah photo in 1953. Jerry is not in the photo!

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Litvak Hangout with Cape Town & Kedainiai: A Unique Event!

On 11 February 2016, a unique event will take place!

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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/

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My bond with Atzalyno Gimnazija, a school in Kedainiai

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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!

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