Traces of the Vilna Gaon and Yiddish Culture in Vilnius
Exceptional subjects of history are related to Vilnius in the Jewish tradition. Due to its cultural and religious importance Vilnius has acquired the honourable name of “Jerusalem of Lithuania”.(01) Legends about Vilnius prominent traditional Jewish community that has many educated and prominent rabbi have lived on since the 17th century. It is true; Vilnius is not the only “Jerusalem” in Europe: Toledo was called “Jerusalem of Spain”, Troyes – “Jerusalem of France”, Prague – “Jerusalem in Bohemia”. Granting this name means the recognition of the cities that gave refuge to the most prominent Jewish communities. Historically the establishment of the Jewish community in the most attractive city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – Vilnius was not easy and rather late. In 1633 the Great Synagogue (02), was built, as well as the historical Jewish quarter (03) was started to be formed. The fame of the Vilnius Jewish community is mainly related to the Vilnius Gaon – Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720-1797) (04), who, by his activity, authority and with the community’s support, precluded the spread of Hasidism to Vilnius and determined the establishment of the misnagds. Vilnius became the centre of religious books (05) and the centre of the Orthodox Judaism. After Vilna Gaon died there was no other famous and universally recognised religious scholar and interpreter of biblical texts. Wisdom and tradition that he spread through his disciples inspired the world known eminent Jews from Vilnius.(06) The most varied and active life of “Jerusalem of Lithuania” was ended by Holocaust: on 6th of September 1941 the Ghetto in Vilnius (07) was set up. Today the “Jerusalem of Lithuania” as the whole of personalities, phenomena, important events and institutions is the most popularised and best-known symbol of the more than six-hundred-year-old Jewish history in Lithuania. It connects the following characterisations of the city – the citadel of an anti-Hasidic movement and orthodoxy, the centre of religious and world Jewish culture, the beginning of the current Hebrew literature and periodicals, the place of the development of the Yiddish culture and literature, the city of deep traditions of Zionism, the place of the establishment of the socialist Bund movement, the space of the development of creative work of the group of artists “Jung Vilne”, (8) a source of YIVO (09) functioning in New York up till now. The Jewry of Lithuania and the world is constantly reminded of the exceptionality and significance of Vilnius, ever new signs of the city’s phenomenal character are discovered, and many Litvaks hope that their family has a connections with Vilna Gaon and his family. Today the Lithuanian Jewish Community (10) inherits the image of “Jerusalem of Lithuania“.
Jerusalem of Lithuania
Since the 18th century Vilnius has been recognized as a metropolis of Jewish culture, the Judaic religion, and intellectual and artistic aspirations (01-1). The cramped, impoverished, crowded streets with arcades of the Vilnius Jewish quarter became the icon of “Jerusalem of Lithuania,” also known as “Jerusalem of the North” and the symbol of Jewish Vilnius. Jewish writers and artists have always felt the need to spend some time in Vilnius, to take in the spirit of the place and to take inspiration for their own work (01-2). The city which on the eve of World War Two was home to more than 100 synagogues, has only one working synagogue today (01-3).
The Great Synagogue of Vilnius
At different historical times the Great Synagogue of Vilnius served as the spiritual and cultural center for Jews and eventually became one of the brightest symbols of the “Jerusalem of Lithuania.” Built during the Renaissance and later renovated, the exterior of the Great Synagogue was made of simple classical styles. In the 19th century the building of the Mattiyahu Strashun Library was built near the synagogue (02-1). Architect Johannes Christopher Glaubitz added baroque and rococo features to the fancy and luxurious interior of the synagogue in the second half of the 18th century (02-2). Over time a complex of buildings arose in the shulhoif—the courtyard—with prayer houses, ritual sites and public buildings belonging to different associations and guilds (02-3). The synagogue and surrounding buildings, damaged during the war, were demolished (02-3) from 1955 to 1957 as part of a Soviet urban renewal project (02-4).
Historical Jewish Quarter
Individual Jews began to settle in Vilnius in the late 16th century. In 1633 the community received legal permission from the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Wladyslaw Vasa to settle in the area of Žydų, Mėsinių (Jatkų), (03-1) Šv. Mikalojaus and Vokiečių streets. In 1742 Jews were allowed to live anywhere in the city except for two main streets, from the Gates of Dawn to the Castle, and from Trakai Gate to St. John’s Church. (03-2) This regulation was renewed by Tsarist authorities and was in force until 1861. The Vilnius Jewish community was very diverse, ranging from world-famous religious authorities, noted intellectuals, musicians and actors to the majority of extremely impoverished groups within the community. (03-2) Advertising inscriptions in Yiddish from the interwar period can be seen on buildings along Žemaitijos street today. (03-4)
Vilna Gaon
One of the greatest authorities of the 18th century, Rabbi Elyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (04-1) edited and provided commentary on the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and wrote on almost every aspect of religion. (04-2) The mausoleum built for the Vilna Gaon in the current Jewish cemetery in Vilnius (Sudervės road 28) is visited by Jews from around the world where pilgrims leave notes with prayers, like at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. (04-3) A street was named in honor of the Gaon in the Vilnius Old Town during the interwar period and regained the name in 1989. The living quarters of the Vilna Gaon were there, where Žydų street ran next to the Great Synagogue. A statue was erected there in 1997 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of the Vilna Gaon. (04-4)
Publishing Center
History of book publishing in Vilnius is connected with the Romm family publishers. The family began printing here in 1799 and for some time were the only publishing enterprise in the Russian Empire given permission to print Jewish books. (08-1) Romm, who published books in Hebrew and Yiddish until 1940, were best known for their edition of the Babylonian Talmud. (08-2). In the interwar period, when there was a blossoming of periodicals and literature in Yiddish, the printing house of Boris Kletskin (later relocated to Warsaw), was noted for the quantity of material published. (08-3) Unique Jewish book treasures were collected in Vilnius. (08-4)
Famous Jews from Vilnius
Sculptures and memorial plaques tug at historical memory in Vilnius today, reminding residents and guests of famous Jewish figures from the city’s past: sculptor Mark Antokolski; Samuel Finn, an author of the first book about Vilnius in Hebrew (06-1); and writer Romain Gary, a two-time winner of the Goncourt award (06-3). Vilnius has always been a central theme in the work of people rooted in the “Jerusalem of the North”. (06-4) The choir musical education and training tradition started by Herman Perelstein continues in Vilnius to this day. For several years Vilnius has hosted a festival of young musicians named in honor of violinist Yasha Heifetz.
Vilnius Ghetto
On 6 September 1941 about 40,000 people were herded into the first ghetto and about 10,000 into the second ghetto in Vilnius (07-1). More than 13,000 people were exterminated before the ghettos were established in the area of the oldest Jewish part of the Old Town (07-2). Various “actions” named after the targeted group were carried out in the extermination of Lithuanian Jews. Victims were mainly brought to Ponar (Paneriai) and shot (07-3). Resistance in the ghetto took on the most different forms, from cultural and intellectual activities (07-4) to armed resistance. Vilnius ghetto existed until September 23, 1943. Only 2,000-3,000 Jews survived the Vilnius ghetto, out of a pre-war population of about 70,000 Jews in Vilnius.
Jung-Vilne
The names of Moyshe Kulbak (1), chairman of the global Jewish PEN Club and author of famous poems about Vilnius, and of the literati and artists who formed the Jung-Vilne group are considered symbols of modern Yiddish literature. (2) The interwar generation of artists sought to renew and ennoble Jewish cultural traditions in a new age. The logo of the group (4), a small tree growing out of an archway over a narrow street, speaks to the common cultural identity forming in interwar Vilnius.
YIVO Institute
Although the interwar Jewish population of Vilnius was not the largest, a meeting of famous Jewish historians and philologists in Berlin in 1925 chose the city as the place to establish YIVO (Jidiše visenšaftleche organizacie or Jewish Scientific Organization) – the most important and largest Yiddish studies institution in the world. (09-1) One of YIVO’s main tasks was standardizing Yiddish orthography and pronunciation. The institute had branches in Warsaw, Paris and New York and had research operations doing investigations in several fields, offered doctoral studies, made Yiddish language rules and other academic publications, and collected a large library. (09-2) Honorable members of the institute included Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernstein and Simon Dubnov. (09-3) When the work in Lithuania became impossible during the WWII, the US branch in N.Y. became the YIVO center. (09-4)
Lithuanian Jewish Community
The Lithuanian Jewish Community, with headquarters in the former Tarbut Gymnasium of J. Epstein (10-1), has since 1989 published a newspaper called Jerusalem of Lithuania in Yiddish, English, Russian and Lithuanian. (10-2) A Jewish high school named after writer Shalom Aleichem (Justiniškių street 65) and Salvija Kindergarten (Jasinskio street 17) operate in Vilnius. The Lithuanian Jewish Museum reopened in 1989 and in 1997 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of the Gaon of Vilna, was renamed the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. (10-3) In the last decade one of the greatest Yiddish philologers and researchers, Dovid Katz, has lived in Vilnius and continued his work on Yiddish (4). The Vilnius Yiddish Institute (Universiteto street 7) holds annual Yiddish summer courses.
