The Lithuanian Jewish community is inviting Jews of Lithuanian descent from all over the world to come to Vilnius to participate in the fifth World Litvak Congress.
The May 23-26 event includes talks, visits to historical sites, and cultural activities revolving around Lithuanian Jewish heritage, and a nod to the achievement of the community around the world, LRT reported.
The main event of the summit will be the opening gala at the Seimas (Lithuanian parliament), with Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the Seimas, as the official patron of the Congress. This will be followed by a concert from cantor Professor Joseph Malovany at the Vilnius Choral Synagogue.
There will also be a concert entitled “A Date with Vilnius” performed by celebrated Lithuanian musicians who will be commemorating the lives of Jews who lived in Lithuania, and a change to taste traditional Litvak foods and dishes.
“The World Litvak Congress in Vilnius sends a message to the whole world that Jewishness in Lithuania has more than just a past,” the president of the Lithuanian Jewish community Faina Kukliansky told LRT.
Kukliansky added that it was important to pass on Litvak culture to future generations.
“I am sure that the Lithuanian state is also interested in ensuring that all Litvaks around the world feel at home in their ancestral homeland,” she said.