VILNIUS: LITHUANIAN JERUSALEM
09.08.2021
We started our lecture with the history of Lithuania and how Jews came there. During that time, Jews felt very comfortable thanks to the Magdeburg Law fore economic and financial freedom, despite the fact that the persecution of Jews was still strong in Europe.
Pasha described the period of the false Messiah and the origin of Hasidism, explaining the difference between Hasids and Litvaks. Then we moved to nowadays and discussed that last 20 years of growing interest in the Jewish world, although anti-semitism is still strong, even on the political level. In 2018 the project "Jews on the walls" appeared in Vilnius, so Pasha told us several stories about the people who appeared on those walls. The first one was about Yasha Heifets - the world famous violinist. The second was Tzemah Shabat, a prototype of Doctor Aibolit, by Korney Tchukovskiy. And of course we talked about the history of the city during Second World War.
I really like the idea of travelling online, especially with a guide as professional as Pasha. Thank you Shishi Shabbat for this opportunity to travel from our apartments!
Anna M.
