The fifth World Litvak Congress started at the Lithuanian Seimas on May 23. Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the patron of the congress noted: “This World Litvak Congress is taking place against the backdrop of raging aggression in Ukraine, when the fever of war is gripping the whole region significant for Lithuania, both historically and today, and for the whole Yiddish cultural world”.
According to Faina Kukliansky, chair of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, the congress sends a message that Jewish culture in Lithuania has more than just a past. “These days, we are inviting you to an open conversation about the future of the Litvak culture and how important it is to pass it on to our children and grandchildren. I am sure the state of Lithuania is also interested in ensuring that all Litvaks around the world feel at home in their ancestral homeland,” she said.
The congress’ opening conference included presentations and discussions on anti-Semitism, Litvak history, education, and other topics touching on Lithuanian Jewish culture and the Holocaust were discussed. Guest speakers at the conference came from various institutions in Israel, USA and Canada.
The four-day program included visits to historical sites and cultural activities in Vilnius and Kaunas, as well as exhibitions of Litvak artists’ work and the opening of the Saul Kagan Welfare Centre.
The Congress was to have been held two years ago on the 300th anniversary of the birth of Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, the Vilna Gaon, the renowned rabbi, kabbalist and student of the Torah and Talmud, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
