Category: Lithuania

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The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem – ORT Chernivtsi

In the lead up to the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2018 a series of recordings of The Partisan Song, Zog Nit Keynmol, sung and recited by ORT and other schools will remind us of the importance of remembering and commemorating The Holocaust.

Here is a new video of students of ORT Chernivtsi, Ukraine reciting The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem in Hebrew

HEBREW

שיר הפרטיזנים

אַל נָא תֹּאמַר: הִנֵּה דַּרְכִּי הָאַחֲרוֹנָה,
אֶת אוֹר הַיּוֹם הִסְתִּירוּ שְׁמֵי הָעֲנָנָה.
זֶה יוֹם נִכְסַפְנוּ לוֹ עוֹד יַעַל וְיָבוֹא,
וּמִצְעָדֵנוּ עוֹד יַרְעִים: אֲנַחְנוּ פֹּה!
זֶה יוֹם נִכְסַפְנוּ לוֹ עוֹד יַעַל וְיָבוֹא,
וּמִצְעָדֵנוּ עוֹד יַרְעִים: אֲנַחְנוּ פֹּה!

מֵאֶרֶץ הַתָּמָר עַד יַרְכְּתֵי כְּפוֹרִים
אֲנַחְנוּ פֹּה בְּמַכְאוֹבוֹת וְיִסּוּרִים
וּבַאֲשֶׁר טִפַּת דָּמֵנוּ שָׁם נִגְּרָה
הֲלֹא יָנוּב עוֹד עֹז רוּחֵנוּ בִּגְבוּרָה.
וּבַאֲשֶׁר טִפַּת דָּמֵנוּ שָׁם נִגְּרָה
הֲלֹא יָנוּב עוֹד עֹז רוּחֵנוּ בִּגְבוּרָה.

עַמּוּד הַשַּׁחַר עַל יוֹמֵנוּ אוֹר יָהֵל.
עִם הַצּוֹרֵר יַחֲלֹף תְּמוֹלֵנוּ כְּמוֹ צֵל.
אַךְ אִם חָלִילָה יְאַחֵר לָבוֹא הָאוֹר
כְּמוֹ סִיסְמָה יְהֵא הַשִּׁיר מִדּוֹר לְדוֹר.
אַךְ אִם חָלִילָה יְאַחֵר לָבוֹא הָאוֹר
כְּמוֹ סִיסְמָה יְהֵא הַשִּׁיר מִדּוֹר לְדוֹר.

אַךְ אִם חָלִילָה יְאַחֵר לָבוֹא הָאוֹר
כְּמוֹ סִיסְמָה יְהֵא הַשִּׁיר מִדּוֹר לְדוֹר.
בִּכְתַב הַדָּם וְהָעוֹפֶרֶת הוּא נִכְתַּב;
הוּא לֹא שִׁירַת צִפּוֹר הַדְּרוֹר וְהַמֶּרְחָב,
כִּי בֵּין קִירוֹת נוֹפְלִים שָׁרוּהוּ כָּל הָעָם,
יַחְדָּיו שָׁרוּהוּ וְנאַגאַנִים בְּיָדָם.

עַל כֵּן אַל נָא תֹּאמַר: דַּרְכִּי הָאַחֲרוֹנָה
אֶת אוֹר הַיּוֹם הִסְתִּירוּ שְׁמֵי הָעֲנָנָה.
זֶה יוֹם נִכְסַפְנוּ לוֹ עוֹד יַעַל וְיָבוֹא,
וּמִצְעָדֵנוּ עוֹד יַרְעִים: אֲנַחְנוּ פֹּה!
זֶה יוֹם נִכְסַפְנוּ לוֹ עוֹד יַעַל וְיָבוֹא,

—-

As part of World ORT‘s support of Eli Rabinowitz’s initiative to introduce the song to new generations, students at ORT schools around the world are this year making videos of the poem and the song.

 
ORT Specialized School #41, Chernivtsi

A Jewish school was opened in Chernivtsi in 1991.  In 2010, as a result of a three-way agreement of cooperation between the school, ORT and the educational department of Chernivtsi City Council, ORT established computer classes at the school. At the start of 2011 the school officially became an ORT school, and in 2012 an ORT IT Centre was established in the school.

Since 2010 the school has been ranked first amongst schools in the city.

Alongside the general education provided, the School also specializes in two advanced tracks of study: Jewish education and technology education

Source: http://jewschool41.ort.org.ua

April 2017 Recording – Video

GOPR0004

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

Join the World Jewish Congress in an unprecedented campaign: Take a photo of yourself holding up a sheet of paper with the words “We Remember” and post it to social media with the hashtag #WeRemember.

Source: www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/weremember-wjc-reaching-out-to-millions-on-social-media-in-honor-of-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-1-1-2017

  

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The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem – ORT Vilnius

Vilnius Jewish Community President and his daughters sing Zog Nit Keynmol

In the lead up to the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2018 a series of recordings of The Partisan Song, Zog Nit Keynmol, sung and recited by ORT and other schools will remind us of the importance of remembering and commemorating The Holocaust.

Here is a new video of Simon Gurevich, and his two daughters, Naomi and Avital, singing The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem in Yiddish. Naomi is a student at ORT Solomo Aleichemo School in Vilnius.

Simon is the President of the Jewish Community in Vilnius – the largest Jewish Community in Lithuania with over 2200 members.

Simon is also a Board Member of the Sholom Aleichem ORT school.

The translation of Yiddish spoken words in the video below:

Naomi: We are the Gurevich family from Vilnius, the Jerusalem of Lithuania.
Avital: My name is Avital. Here is my sister Naomi and our father Simon.
Naomi: Yiddish is a language that we speak at home and we love to sing songs
in Yiddish.
Avital: One of the nicest songs is the song of the Jewish partizans – “Zog Nit Keynmol …… Mir zeyen do” –  Never Say …… We Are Here!
Simon : I am very proud that with my wonderful kids, I have an opportunity to
read and sing the words of Hirsh Glick, once sung by our grandparents.

 

YIDDISH

Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho,
S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney,
Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey,
Un vu gefaln iz a shprits fun undzer blut,
Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut!

S’vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt,
Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt,
Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor –
Vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.

Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay,
S’iz nit keyn lidl fun a foygl oyf der fray,
Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
Dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent.

To zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
Es vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

—-

As part of World ORT‘s support of Eli Rabinowitz’s initiative to introduce the song to new generations, students at ORT schools around the world are this year making videos of the poem and the song.

 

Vilniaus Šolomo Aleichemo ORT gimnazija

Vilniaus Šolomo Aleichemo ORT gimnazija

Source: www.jewishschool.lt

The post from My June 2017 visit to the school

Solomo Aleichemo ORT School Vilnius

Students sing Zog Nit Keynmol for me: Pre-Internet Viral: Songs of the Vilna Ghetto – The Lithuanian Jewish Community by Geoff Vasil

Source: elirab.me/solomo-aleichemo-ort-school-vilnius/ 

April 2017 Recording – Video

GOPR0004

Source: youtu.be/ohA7TT2Ijss

 

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

#WeRemember: WJC reaching out to millions on social media in campaign to raise awareness of Holocaust

Join the World Jewish Congress in an unprecedented campaign: Take a photo of yourself holding up a sheet of paper with the words “We Remember” and post it to social media with the hashtag #WeRemember.

Source: www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/weremember-wjc-reaching-out-to-millions-on-social-media-in-honor-of-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-1-1-2017

 

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Saulėtekis School, Vilnius

The Saulėtekis School has presented a number of plays on Litvak culture and the Holocaust. The school has a strong Holocaust education component. In addition, student choirs often perform songs in Yiddish and Hebrew, most recently at the Holocaust commemoration at Ponar at the end of September where they performed the Vilnius ghetto anthem, Zog Nit Keynmol.

This was recorded at the school

Tolerance Education Centre – Vilnius “Saulėtekis” Secondary School

Tolerancijos ugdymo centras – Vilniaus “Saulėtekio” vidurinė mokykla

As the 23rd of September commemorates the victims of the Lithuanian Genocide victims, Lithuanian general education schools, Tolerance training centres and all educational institutions are invited to participate in the “Memory path” civic initiative. The initiative seeks to visit the mass graves of the Jews, walking through the path to which innocent people were driven to death…….

Source: www.sauletekio.lt/ugdymas/tuc/

2017-09-22 “Memory path”

 

Please encourage your students to recite or sing the Partisan Song on the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day on or around 27 January 2018.

Don’t Give Up Hope

Don’t Give Up Hope

 Activities for your school, choir or community group for Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January 2018 A short video explaining the project The Power of Words: learn about the meaning, context and sign…

Source: elirab.me/hope/

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Chanukah In The Park

With Mickey Shaked
Rabbi Shalom White lighting the first candle

The lighting of the first candle was watched by students at the Atzalynas High School in Kedainiai, Lithuania. I used skype and my iPhone to stream this back live to Laima Ardaviciene and her class. This is the second year in a row we have engaged Laima and her class on Chanukah.

Viewing it all from the classroom in Kedainiai, Lithuania

I introduced my friend Heiny Ellert to the class. Heiny, 95, is a Holocaust survivor from Neishtot-Tavrig, today Žemaičių Naumiestis, in Lithuania.

With Heiny Ellert earlier this year

See Heiny Ellert’s Testimony

Heiny Ellert’s Testimony

Heiny Ellert, a Lithuanian Holocaust survivor, tells his story to Eli Rabinowitz. Accompanying him is his wife Toby, also from Lithuania, but who escaped to …

Source: youtu.be/118HN2_NYHs

Žemaičių Naumiestis

Žemaičių Naumiestis

Žemaičių Naumiestis Town in Lithuania Žemaičių Naumiestis is a town in Klaipėda county, Šilutė district municipality. It is located in western Lithuania between Klaipėda and Kaliningrad Oblast. The…

Source: elirab.me/zemaiciu-naumiestis/

The miracle of Chanukah and the miracle of survival for Heinry Ellert!

This is a second year in a row that:

Maoz Tzur Sung in Perth Heard in Keidan

Maoz Tzur Sung in Perth Heard in Keidan

Just think of this – when was the last time Maoz Tzur was heard in Keidan, Lithuania, sung by a Jewish kid? Maybe 75 years ago! When Laima Ardaviciene, the English teacher at Atzalyno Gymnazi…

Source: elirab.me/maoz-tzur-sung-in-perth-heard-in-keidan/

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TILTAI-BRIDGES-בריקן

A ceremony was held on Wednesday to thank those in Kedainiai, Lithuania who organised the recent cleaning of the Jewish cemetery and the matsevot.

Tzvi Friedl, Natan Katzel, Jill Rabinowitz and I  joined those at the meeting at the Atzalynas School in Kedainiai  just after 8pm Perth time. We joined online from CHABAD Perth, Australia. We thanked those involved in undertaking this huge mitzvah. There are no Jews living in Kedainiai today.
Here is the report from teacher Laima Ardaviciene in Kedainiai – translated from the Lithuanian below:

Valentinas Tamulis, governor of the town of Kėdainiai and Rimantas Žirgulis, director of the Kedainiai Regional Museum, visited Kėdainiai Atzalynas gymnasium. During the meeting the members of the gymnasium community thanked them for their cooperation in carrying out project TILTAI-BRIDGES-בריקן activities related to the Jewish community in Kedainiai. The students shared a recent presentation about the old Kedainiai Jewish Cemetery. Eli Rabinowitz (Australia), rooted in Kedainiai, and Rabbi Natan Katzel joined the meeting virtually and thanked the headman of Kėdainiai for his contribution to the old Kedainiai Jewish cemetery in honor of the Kedainiai Jewish people, Jewish music was played by Tzvi Friedl. Further cooperation activities were discussed during the meeting. The guests were presented with the Kedainiai drawings.

Atžalyno gimnazijoje lankėsi Kėdainių miesto seniūnas Valentinas Tamulis ir Kėdainių krašto muziejaus direktorius Rimantas Žirgulis. Susitikimo metu gimnazijos bendruomenės nariai padėkojo už bendradarbiavimą vykdant projektą TILTAI-BRIDGES-בריקן apie Kėdainiuose buvusią žydų bendruomenę. Gimnazistai pasidalino pastaruoju metu sukurtu pristatymu apie senąsias Kėdainių žydų kapines. Susitikimo metu prisijungė Eli Rabinowitz (Australija), kuris kėdainiečių žydų vardu padėkojo miesto seniūnui už jo indėlį tvarkant senąsias Kėdainių žydų kapines, padėkos žodį tarė ir rabinas Natan Katzel, o muzikiniu kūriniu pasidalino Tzvi Friedl. Susitikimo metu buvo aptarta tolimesnė bendradarbiavimo veikla. Svečiams buvo padovanoti gimnazijos mokinių piešti Kėdainių miestą vaizduojantys piešiniai.

We made three videos:

Participants in Kedainiai:

Valentinas Tamulis, the headman of Kėdainiai                    
Rimantas Žirgulis, the director of the Kėdainiai Regional History Museum
Gintaras Petrulis, the director of Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium
Rasa Cicėnienė, the assistant of Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium
Lina Blinstrubienė, the assistant of Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium
Giedrius Galvanauskas, a student
Aistė Vosilytė, a student
Šarūnė Makaraitytė, a student

More about the project – Building Bridges In Kedainiai

Building Bridges In Kedainiai

Kedainiai Atžalynas gymnasium students continue the Project: TILTAI-BRIDGES-בריקן . We thank Valentinas Tamulis, the mayor of Kedainiai, and Rimantas Žirgulis for organising cleaning activities in the old Jewish cemetery. Not a single tombstone is covered by a growing tree or a bush now. All the matsevot remind us about the Jewish community that lived in Keidan. We are presenting the recent view of the Old Jewish Cemetery of Keidan.

Source: elirab.me/bridges/

The video of the cemetery

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Building Bridges In Kedainiai

Atzalynas High School, Kedainiai

Drawings by Julija Chomenko featured in the video below.

Julio completed her schooling  at Atzalyno High School last year.

From Laima Ardaviciene, teacher:

Kedainiai Atžalynas gymnasium students continue the Project: TILTAI-BRIDGES-בריקן . From the bottom of our heart we thank Valentinas Tamulis, the headman of Kedainiai, and Rimantas Žirgulis for organising cleaning activities in the old Jewish cemetery. Not a single tombstone is covered by a growing tree or a bush now. All the headstones remind us about the Jewish community that lived in Keidan. We are presenting the recent view of the Old Jewish Cemetery of Keidan.

Why BRIDGES?

Tiltai-Bridges-בריקן
​      Kedainiai Atzalynas gymnasium

Source: bridges2015.weebly.com/why-bridges.html

Keidaners in Israel

Atzalynas Gimnazija Kedainiai Visit 2017

The Keidaner Family tree on Laima’s classroom wall – an unique work of art! The complex of two synagogues and the tree featuring the names of Keidaners, including  my 3rd great grandfat…

Source: elirab.me/atzalynas-gimnazija-kedainiai-visit-2017/

 With Viktorija Orlovaite in 2014
Her sketch of the two synagogue complex
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The Power Of Words

The Power of Words by Tali Feinberg

tangential travel

Don’t Give Up Hope!

Read about the next stage of the project.

Learn about the meaning, context and significance of Hirsh Glik’s words in your language.

Source: elirab.me/hope/

Visit the website for additional resources

elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/

Zog Nit Keynmol

With thanks to Joel Schechter

The Partisan’s Song: A Lesson Plan

Source: elirab.me/study/

The Partisan’s Song: A Lesson Plan

Teaching The Holocaust Through Poetry Lesson Plan Grades 9-12  Subjects: History, Language/Arts, Media, Social Studies. This website is translatable into 103 languages…..

 

 

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Shtetl Love Song

Shtetl Love Song

A new book by Grigory Kanovich

Source: www.amazon.com/Shtetl-Love-Song-Grigory-Kanovich/dp/0995560021/ref=sr_1_1?s=books

Grigory Kanovich was born in Jonava, Lithuania

In 2016 I travelled with my friend, Laima Ardaviciene, the English teacher at Kedainiai High School, to Jonava

Jonava

Quick facts
Jonava is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of ca 30,000. It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, 30 km north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport.Wikipedia
  • Municipality:
    • Jonava District Municipality
  • Area:
    • 13.67 km²

IMG_7211

Jewish buildings, including the former synagogue.

Information posters on the buildings.

IMG_7213

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Former synagogue Former synagogue

The Jewish Cemetery

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The amphitheatre and holiday entertainment

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More about Grigory Kanovich’s book – Shtetl Love Song

From Amazon:

Winner the Liudo Dovydeno Prize awarded by the Lithuanian Writers’ Union In Shtetl Love Song Grigory Kanovich writes about his mother and in doing so peels back the surface of the rich community that lived in pre-war Lithuania. It is a requiem for the pre-war Jewish shtetl, for a people and a way of life that was destroyed. Shtetl Love Song won the Liudas Dovydenas Prize awarded by the Lithuanian Writers’ Union. About the author Grigory Kanovich is one of the most prominent Lithuanian writers and winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for 2014. Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava in 1929. Since 1993 the writer has lived in Israel. He is a member of the PEN club in both Israel and Russia. He is also a renowned playwright. About the translator Yisrael Elliot Cohen, B.A. Harvard College, Ph.D. Yale University, taught Russian literature and humanities at the University of Illinois. He settled in Israel in 1979, working as a professional translator from Russian into English and as an English-language editor. At Hebrew University he was co-editor of Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe' and worked on a bibliography project for the Centre for the Study of Anti-Semitism. Currently at Yad Vashem, he is working onTh e Untold Stories: Holocaust Murder Sites in the Soviet Union’. Dr. Cohen has translated several books. His non-academic interests are his grandchildren and attempting to apply the teachings of the Biblical prophets to the contemporary social and political situation. Praise for the novel Set in the rural Lithuanian landscape on the eve of World War II,Shtetl Love Song’ is full of tender affection, soft irony, and sharp observations. Guided by the memory of his beloved mother, the masterful narrator takes us into the very midst of his enchanted family world, recreating the past that is irrevocably destroyed and yet fully alive in his memory. Kanovich, himself a child of a Lithuanian shtetl who survived the Holocaust almost by a miracle, made it his mission to serve, against all odds, as a custodian of the collective memory of generations of Litvaks, Lithuanian Jews.’ – Mikhail Krutikov, Professor of Slavic and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 

 

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More From Lithuania

The International Commission for the Evaluation
of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania

Extract from the newsletter

Kėdainiai “Atžalynas” gymnasium Tolerance education Centre administrates an international project on Jewish festivals

Since 2012 Kėdainiai “Atžalynas” gymnasium Tolerance Education Centre has been administrating a project aimed at educating students about the Jewish community history in Kėdainiai region. A special guest from Australia Eli Rabinowitz visits the gymnasium every year to share his knowledge and insights. The project is conducted in English, thus the students not only broaden their outlook, but use the foreign language and develop their English skills.

This year the project focused on Jewish festivals. In winter Eli Rabinowitz held a virtual conference to introduce a festival for the students and in summer, during the visit to Lithuania, the guest continued with stories about other traditional Jewish celebrations.

****************************

Atzalynas Gimnazija Kedainiai Visit 2017

Atzalynas Gimnazija Kedainiai Visit 2017

The Keidaner Family tree on Laima’s classroom wall – an unique work of art! The complex of two synagogues and the tree featuring the names of Keidaners, including  my 3rd great grandfat…

Source: elirab.me/atzalynas-gimnazija-kedainiai-visit-2017/

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