| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Lithuania | 2,800[1] |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherAshkenazi Jews Belarusian Jews,Russian Jews,Latvian Jews,Ukrainian Jews,Estonian Jews,Polish Jews | |
Litvaks (Yiddish:ליטװאַקעס) orLita'im (Hebrew:לִיטָאִים) areJews who historically resided in the territory of the formerGrand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-dayLithuania,Belarus,Latvia, the northeasternSuwałki andBiałystok regions ofPoland, as well as adjacent areas of modern-day Russia andUkraine). Over 90% of the population was killed during the Holocaust.[2][3][4][5] The term is sometimes used to cover allHaredi Jews who follow anAshkenazi, non-Hasidic style of life and learning, whatever their ethnic background.[6] The area where Litvaks lived is referred to in Yiddish asליטעLite, hence theHebrew termLita'im (לִיטָאִים).[7]
No other Jew is more closely linked to a specifically Lithuanian city than theVilna Gaon (inYiddish, "the genius ofVilna"), Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (1720–1797). He helped make Vilna (modern-day Vilnius) a world center for Talmudic learning.[8]Chaim Grade (1910–1982) was born in Vilna, the city about which he would write.[9]
The inter-war Republic of Lithuania was home to a large and influential Jewish community whose members either fled the country or were murdered whenthe Holocaust in Lithuania began in 1941. Prior toWorld War II, the Lithuanian Jewish population comprised some 160,000 people, or about 7% of the total population.[10] There were over 110synagogues and 10yeshivas in Vilnius alone.[11] Census figures from 2005 recorded 4,007 Jews in Lithuania – 0.12 percent of the country's total population.[12]
Vilna (Vilnius) was occupied by Nazi Germany in June 1941. Within a matter of months, this famous Jewish community had been devastated with over two-thirds of its population killed.[13]
Based on data by Institute of Jewish Policy Research, as of 1 January 2016, the core Jewish population of Lithuania is estimated to be 2,700 (0.09% of the wider population), and the enlarged Jewish population was estimated at 6,500 (0.23% of the wider population). The Lithuanian Jewish population is concentrated in the capital, Vilnius, with smaller population centres includingKlaipėda andKaunas.[14]
TheYiddish adjectiveליטווישLitvish means "Lithuanian": the noun for a Lithuanian Jew isLitvak. The termLitvak itself originates fromLitwak, aPolish term denoting "a man from Lithuania", which however went out of use before the 19th century, having been supplanted in this meaning byLitwin, only to be revived around 1880 in the narrower meaning of "a Lithuanian Jew". The "Lithuania" meant here is the territory of the formerGrand Duchy of Lithuania.
Of the mainYiddish dialects in Europe, theLitvishe Yiddish (Lithuanian Yiddish) dialect was spoken byJews in Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia and northeastern Poland, including Suwałki, Łomża, and Białystok.
However, following the dispute between the Hasidim and theMisnagdim, in which the Lithuanian academies were the heartland of opposition to Hasidism, "Lithuanian" came to have the connotation of Misnagdic (non-Hasidic) Judaism generally, and to be used for all Jews who follow the traditions of the great Lithuanian yeshivot, whether or not their ancestors actually came from Lithuania. In modern Israel,Lita'im (Lithuanians) is often used for allHaredi Jews who are notHasidim (and notHardalim orSephardic Haredim). Other expressions used for this purpose areYeshivishe andMisnagdim. Both the wordsLitvishe andLita'im are somewhat misleading, because there are also Hasidic Jews from greaterLithuania and many Litvaks who are not Haredim. The termMisnagdim ("opponents") on the other hand is somewhat outdated, because the opposition between the two groups has lost much of its relevance.Yeshivishe is also problematic because Hasidim now make use ofyeshivot as much as the Litvishe Jews.
The characteristically "Lithuanian" approach toJudaism was marked by a concentration on highly intellectualTalmud study. Lithuania became the heartland of the traditionalist opposition toHasidism. They named themselves "misnagdim" (opposers) of the Hasidi. The Lithuanian traditionalists believed Hassidim represented a threat to Halachic observance due to certain Kabbalistic beliefs held by the Hassidim, that, if misinterpreted, could lead one to heresy as per theFrankists.[15] Differences between the groups grew to the extent that in popular perception "Lithuanian" and "misnagged" became virtually interchangeable terms. However, a sizable minority of Litvaks belong(ed) toHasidic groups, includingChabad,Slonim,Karlin-Stolin,Karlin (Pinsk),Lechovitch,Amdur andKoidanov. With the spread of theEnlightenment, many Litvaks became devotees of theHaskala (Jewish Enlightenment) movement inEastern Europe pressing for better integration into European society, and today, many leading academics, scientists, and philosophers are of Lithuanian Jewish descent.
The most famous Lithuanian institution of Jewish learning wasVolozhin yeshiva, which was the model for most later yeshivas. Twentieth century"Lithuanian" yeshivas includePonevezh,Telshe,Mir,Kelm, andSlabodka, which bear the names of their Lithuanian forebears. American "offspring" of the Lithuanian yeshiva movement includeYeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin,Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary,Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen ("Chofetz Chaim"), andBeth Medrash Govoha ("Lakewood"), as well as numerous other yeshivas founded by students of Lakewood's founder, RabbiAharon Kotler.
In theoretical Talmud study, the leading Lithuanian authorities wereChaim Soloveitchik and theBrisker school; rival approaches were those of the Mir and Telshe yeshivas. In practicalhalakha, the Lithuanians traditionally followed theAruch HaShulchan, though today, the "Lithuanian" yeshivas prefer theMishnah Berurah, which is regarded as both more analytic and more accessible.
In the 19th century, the Orthodox Ashkenazi residents of theHoly Land, broadly speaking, were divided intoHasidim andPerushim, who were Litvaks influenced by theVilna Gaon. For this reason, in modern-day IsraeliHaredi parlance the termsLitvak (noun) orLitvisher (adjective), or inHebrewLitaim, are often used loosely to include any non-HasidicAshkenazi Haredi individual or institution. Another reason for this broadening of the term is the fact that many of the leading Israeli Harediyeshivas (outside the Hasidic camp) are successor bodies to the famous yeshivot of Lithuania, though their present-day members may or may not be descended from Lithuanian Jewry. In reality, both the ethnic make-up and the religious traditions of themisnagged communities are much more diverse.Customs of Lithuanian non-Hasidic Jews consist of:
Jews began living in Lithuania as early as the 13th century arriving from the Rhineland valley, France, Spain and Belgium/Netherlands. In 1388, they were granted a charter byVytautas, under which they formed a class of freemen subject in all criminal cases directly to the jurisdiction of the grand duke and his official representatives, and in petty suits to the jurisdiction of local officials on an equal footing with the lesser nobles (szlachta),boyars, and other free citizens. As a result, the community prospered.
In 1495, they were expelled byAlexander Jagiellon, but allowed to return in 1503. The Lithuanian statute of 1566 placed a number of restrictions on the Jews, and imposedsumptuary laws, including the requirement that they weardistinctive clothing, including yellow caps for men and yellow kerchiefs for women.
TheKhmelnytsky Uprising destroyed the existing Lithuanian Jewish institutions. Still, the Jewish population of Lithuania grew from an estimated 120,000 in 1569 to approximately 250,000 in 1792. After the 1793Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Litvaks became subjects of theRussian Empire.
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The Jewish Lithuanian population beforeWorld War II numbered around 160,000, or about 7% of the total population.[17] At the beginning of the war, some 12,000 Jewish refugees fled into Lithuania from Poland;[18] by 1941 the Jewish population of Lithuania had increased to approximately 250,000, or 10% of the total population.[17]
During the German invasion of June 1941, 141,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators.[19] Notable execution locations were thePaneriai woods (seePonary massacre) and theNinth Fort.[20]
Litvaks have an identifiable mode of pronouncing Hebrew and Yiddish; this is often used to determine the boundaries ofLita (area of settlement of Litvaks). Its most characteristic feature is the pronunciation of the vowelholam as[ej] (as against Sephardic[oː], Germanic[au] and Polish[oj]).
In the popular perception,[by whom?] Litvaks were considered to be more intellectual and stoic than their rivals, theGalitzianers, who thought of them as cold fish. They, in turn, disdained Galitzianers as irrational and uneducated. Ira Steingroot's "Yiddish Knowledge Cards" devote a card to this "Ashkenazi version of theHatfields and McCoys".[21] This difference is of course connected with theHasidic/misnaged debate, Hasidism being considered the more emotional and spontaneous form of religious expression. The two groups differed not only in their attitudes and their pronunciation, but also in theircuisine. The Galitzianers were known for rich, heavily sweetened dishes in contrast to the plainer, more savory Litvisher versions, with the boundary known as theGefilte Fish Line.[22]
The Lithuanian Jewish population may exhibit a geneticfounder effect.[23] The utility of these variations has been the subject of debate.[24] One variation, which is implicated in familialhypercholesterolemia, has been dated to the 14th century,[25] corresponding to the establishment of settlements in response to theinvitation extended by Gediminas in 1323, which encouragedGerman Jews to settle in the newly established city ofVilnius. A relatively high rate of early-onsetdystonia in the population has also been identified as possibly stemming from the founder effect.[26]
Among notable contemporary Lithuanian Jews are:
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