International Yiddish Center at the World Jewish Congress and Vilnius Jewish Public Library have initiated a new way of presenting Yiddish topics to the general public in Vilnius, who are interested in the history of the local Jewry. These are walking tours across Jewish sights of the Lithuanian capital.

The second walk of this kind took place on March 19, 2017, whereas the first one is dated July 10, 2016.

The recent event gathered 20 participants. The guide, professional historian Ilya Lempertas, told them about the beginning of Jewish history in Vilnius, the Great Synagogue, the Gaon of Vilnius, Jewish life in XVII – XVIII centuries.

Ilya Lempertas has been dedicated to the Lithuanian Jewish history for more than 40 years. He worked in various museums, teaching institutions and research centers; he also acts as a Jewish tourist guide in Vilnius since 1988.

The excursion passed by the statue of Tzemach Shabad, the place where one of the leading Yiddish writers of the XX century Chaim Grade lived before the war, and many other Jewish sites of the Lithuanian capital.

This program is due to last one year at least, comprising 12 tours in total – one walk per month. The Excursions will be guided by Ilya Lempert as well as by the teacher Vytautas Toleikis.

Such tours are intended for people, who are not much aware about numerous Jewish writers, composers, famous rabbis, who lived and created in Vilnius before the WWII, for those who have little idea about how Vilnius lived and looked like till the middle of 20th century. They are free of charge.