{{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 67,500 , langs = {{hlist,

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian , rels =

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, related-c = Other

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

Belarusian Jews The history of the Jews in Belarus begins as early as the 8th century. Jews lived in all parts of the lands of modern Belarus. In 1897, the Jewish population of Belarus reached 910,900, or 14.2% of the total population. Following the Poli ...

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

, Latvian Jews,

Ukrainian Jews The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jews, Jewish communities have existed in the modern territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultura ...

, Estonian Jews,

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

{{Jews and Judaism sidebar , Population Litvaks ({{Langx, yi, ליטװאַקעס) or Lita'im ({{Langx, he, לִיטָאִים) are

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

who historically resided in the territory of the former

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

(covering present-day

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, the northeastern

Suwałki Suwałki (; ; or סוּוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. A relatively young ci ...

and

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

regions of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, as well as adjacent areas of modern-day Russia and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). Over 90% of the population was killed during the Holocaust. The term is sometimes used to cover all

Haredi Jews Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

who follow an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

, non-

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

style of life and learning, whatever their ethnic background. The area where Litvaks lived is referred to in Yiddish as {{lang, yi, {{Script/Hebrew, ליטע {{lang, yi-Latn, Lite, hence the

term {{lang, he-Latn, Lita'im ({{lang, he, {{Script/Hebrew, לִיטָאִים ). No other Jew is more closely linked to a specifically Lithuanian city than the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

(in

, "the genius of

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

"), Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (1720–1797). He helped make Vilna (modern-day Vilnius) a world center for Talmudic learning.

Chaim Grade Chaim Grade (, GRAHD-uh) (April 4, 1910 – June 26, 1982) was one of the leading Yiddish writers of the twentieth century. Grade was born in Vilnius, Vilna, then within the Russian Empire, and died in The Bronx, New York (state), New York. He i ...

(1910–1982) was born in Vilna, the city about which he would write. The inter-war Republic of Lithuania was home to a large and influential Jewish community whose members either fled the country or were murdered when

the Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian (Litvaks) and History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in ''Generalbezirk Litauen'' of the ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'' in the Occupation of Lithuania by Na ...

began in 1941. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Lithuanian Jewish population comprised some 160,000 people, or about 7% of the total population. There were over 110

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s and 10

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s in Vilnius alone. Census figures from 2005 recorded 4,007 Jews in Lithuania – 0.12 percent of the country's total population. 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. 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 including

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

and

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Etymology

{{further, Lithuanian Yiddish, Ostjuden The

adjective {{lang, yi, ליטוויש {{lang, yi-Latn, Litvish means "Lithuanian": the noun for a Lithuanian Jew is {{lang, yi-Latn, Litvak. The term {{lang, yi-Latn, Litvak itself originates from {{lang, pl, Litwak, a Polish term denoting "a man from Lithuania", which however went out of use before the 19th century, having been supplanted in this meaning by {{lang, pl, Litwin, only to be revived around 1880 in the narrower meaning of "a Lithuanian Jew". The "Lithuania" meant here is the territory of the former

. Of the main

Yiddish dialects Yiddish dialects are varieties of the Yiddish language and are divided according to the region in Europe where each developed its distinctiveness. Linguistically, Yiddish is divided in distinct Eastern and Western dialects. While the Western dia ...

in Europe, the Litvishe Yiddish ( Lithuanian Yiddish) dialect was spoken by

in Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia and northeastern Poland, including Suwałki, Łomża, and Białystok. However, following the dispute between the Hasidim and the

Misnagdim ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged / mitnaged'') was a Jewish religious movements, religious movement among the Eastern European Jewry, Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Has ...

, 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, {{lang, he-Latn, Lita'im (Lithuanians) is often used for all

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Jews who are not

Hasidim Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish ...

(and not

Hardal Hardal (also spelled Chardal; , acronym for , , plural ) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology (in terms of outlook on the secular world, or in their ...

im or

Sephardic Haredim Sephardic Haredim are Jews of Sephardi and Mizrahi descent who are adherents of Haredi Judaism. Sephardic Haredim today constitute a significant stream of Haredi Judaism, along with Sephardic Hasidim, and the Ashkenazi Hasidim and Lita'im. ...

). Other expressions used for this purpose are {{lang, yi-Latn,

Yeshivish Yeshivish (), also known as Yeshiva English, Yeshivisheh Shprach, or Yeshivisheh Reid, is a sociolect of English spoken by Yeshiva students and other Jews with a strong connection to the Orthodox Yeshiva world. "Yeshivish" may also refer t ...

e and {{lang, he-Latn,

. Both the words {{lang, yi-Latn, Litvishe and {{lang, he-Latn, Lita'im are somewhat misleading, because there are also Hasidic Jews from greater

and many Litvaks who are not Haredim. The term {{lang, he-Latn, Misnagdim ("opponents") on the other hand is somewhat outdated, because the opposition between the two groups has lost much of its relevance. {{lang, yi-Latn, Yeshivishe is also problematic because Hasidim now make use of

yeshivot A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish education, Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in par ...

as much as the Litvishe Jews.

Ethnicity, religious customs and heritage

{{further, Timeline of Jewish history in Lithuania and Belarus Telz purim

The characteristically "Lithuanian" approach to

was marked by a concentration on highly intellectual

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

study. Lithuania became the heartland of the traditionalist opposition to

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

. They named themselves "

misnagdim ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged / mitnaged'') was a Jewish religious movements, religious movement among the Eastern European Jewry, Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Has ...

" (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 the

Frankists Frankists may refer to: * Frankists (Judaism), a Sabbatean sect of the 18th and 19th centuries, followers of Jacob Frank * Frankists (Croatia), a Croatian political grouping of the 20th century, followers of Josip Frank {{disambig ...

. 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) to Hasidic groups, including

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

Karlin-Stolin Karlin-Stolin is a Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic List of Hasidic dynasties and groups, dynasty, originating with Rebbe Aharon of Karlin (I), Aaron ben Jacob of Karlin (Pinsk), Karlin in present-day Belarus, and later expanded to nearby Stolin. One of ...

, Karlin (Pinsk), Lechovitch, Amdur and

Koidanov Dzyarzhynsk, or Dzerzhinsk, formerly known as Koydanava until 1932, is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dzyarzhynsk District. As of 2025, it has a population of 29,630. History In the Middle Ages, the ...

. With the spread of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, many Litvaks became devotees of the ''

Haskala The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Europe and th ...

'' (Jewish Enlightenment) movement in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

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 was

Volozhin yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious LItvak yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin in the Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Khayim Volozhiner, a student of the ...

, which was the model for most later yeshivas. Twentieth century "Lithuanian" yeshivas include Ponevezh, Telshe,

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

, Kelm, and Slabodka, which bear the names of their Lithuanian forebears. American "offspring" of the Lithuanian yeshiva movement include

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin () is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. The school's divisions include a preschool, a ''yeshiva ketana'' (elementary school), a ''mesivta ...

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim (also known as the Rabbinical Seminary of America) is an Orthodox yeshiva based in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York, United States. It is primarily an American, non-chasidic Haredi Talmudic yeshiva. The yeshiva is lega ...

("Chofetz Chaim"), and

Beth Medrash Govoha Beth Medrash Govoha (, pronounced: ''Beis Medrash Gavo'ha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Jewish Litvishe ''yeshiva'' in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It was founded by Rabbi Aharon Kotle ...

("Lakewood"), as well as numerous other yeshivas founded by students of Lakewood's founder, Rabbi

Aharon Kotler Aharon Kotler (February 2, 1892 – November 29, 1962) was a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and in the United States, where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. ...

. In theoretical Talmud study, the leading Lithuanian authorities were

Chaim Soloveitchik Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (Yiddish: חיים סאָלאָווייטשיק, ), also known as Chaim Brisker (1853 – 30 July 1918), was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the Brisker method of Talmudic study within Judaism ...

and the Brisker school; rival approaches were those of the Mir and Telshe yeshivas. In practical

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

, the Lithuanians traditionally followed the

Aruch HaShulchan ''Arukh HaShulchan'' (Hebrew: עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן #Title.html" ;"title="r, arguably, עָרֹךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן; see #Title">§ Title below is a work of halacha written by Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1908). The work ...

, though today, the "Lithuanian" yeshivas prefer the

Mishnah Berurah The ''Mishnah Berurah'' ( "Clear Teaching") is a work of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (Poland, 1838–1933, also known as ''Chofetz Chaim''). It is a commentary on ''Orach Chayim'', the first section of the ''Shulchan Aru ...

, which is regarded as both more analytic and more accessible. In the 19th century, the Orthodox Ashkenazi residents of the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, broadly speaking, were divided into

and

Perushim The ''perushim'' () were Jewish disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, which was then part of Ottoman Syria. They were from the section o ...

, who were Litvaks influenced by the

. For this reason, in modern-day Israeli

parlance the terms ''Litvak'' (noun) or ''Litvisher'' (adjective), or in

''Litaim'', are often used loosely to include any non-

Haredi individual or institution. Another reason for this broadening of the term is the fact that many of the leading Israeli Haredi

yeshivas A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studyin ...

(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 the misnagged communities are much more diverse. Customs of Lithuanian non-Hasidic Jews consist of: # Wearing of

tefillin Tefillin (Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ; Modern Israeli Hebrew, Modern Hebrew pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls o ...

during non-sabbath days of the intermediate days of the festival

chol hamoed ''Chol HaMoed'' (), a Hebrew phrase meaning "mundane of the festival", refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. As the name implies, these days mix features of ''chol'' (mundane) and ''moed'' (festival). On Passover, ''Chol HaMoe ...

. # Variations in pronunciation (not practiced by most modern-day Litvaks) #*The pronunciation of the

holam Holam or cholam (modern , , formerly , ') is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign represented by a dot above the upper left corner of the consonant letter. For example, here the holam appears after the letter '' mem'' ‎: . In modern Hebrew, it indica ...

as /ej/ (''ei''). #* The '' shin'' being pronounced as /s/, making it difficult to differentiate from ''sin'', a phenomenon known as {{Lang, yi-latn,

Sabesdiker losn (Yiddish: ) is a dialectal feature characteristic of the Northeastern dialect of the Yiddish language ( NEY, , ), which is the replacement, or merger of the "hushing" (post-alveolar) consonants "ch", "sh" ( IPA: , ), with the "hissing" (alveolar) ...

('Sabbath Lingo').

History

{{main, History of the Jews in Lithuania Jews began living in Lithuania as early as the 13th century.{{citation needed, date=December 2012 In 1388, they were granted a charter by

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

, 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 The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

''),

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

, and other free citizens. As a result, the community prospered. In 1495, they were expelled by

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...

, but allowed to return in 1503. The Lithuanian statute of 1566 placed a number of restrictions on the Jews, and imposed

sumptuary laws Sumptuary laws (from Latin ) are laws that regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furnitu ...

, including the requirement that they wear distinctive clothing, including yellow caps for men and yellow kerchiefs for women. The

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

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 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Litvaks became subjects of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Litvaks in the Second World War

{{More citations needed section, date=April 2014 The Jewish Lithuanian population before

numbered around 160,000, or about 7% of the total population.Lithuania
(updated June 20, 2014). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2015-04-14. At the beginning of the war, some 12,000 Jewish refugees fled into Lithuania from Poland;Levin, Dov (2010).
Lithuania
. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 2015-04-14. by 1941 the Jewish population of Lithuania had increased to approximately 250,000, or 10% of the total population. During the German invasion of June 1941, 141,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators. Notable execution locations were the Paneriai woods (see

Ponary massacre The Ponary massacre (), or the Paneriai massacre (), was the mass murder of up to 100,000 people, mostly Jews, Poles, and Russians, by German '' SD'' and '' SS'' and the Lithuanian '' Ypatingasis būrys'' killing squads, during World War II a ...

) and the

Ninth Fort The Ninth Fort () is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, built in the late 19th century. During the Soviet occupation, the fort was used as a prison and way-statio ...

LITVISH-An Atlas of Northeastern Yiddish

Culture

Litvaks have an identifiable mode of pronouncing Hebrew and Yiddish; this is often used to determine the boundaries of Lita (area of settlement of Litvaks). Its most characteristic feature is the pronunciation of the vowel

as {{IPA, j} (as against Sephardic {{IPA, ː}, Germanic {{IPA, u} and Polish {{IPA, j}). In the popular perception,{{by whom, date=November 2013 Litvaks were considered to be more intellectual and stoic than their rivals, the

Galitzianers Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating and developed in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and Bukovina from contemporary western Ukraine (Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblas ...

, 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 the Hatfields and McCoys". This difference is of course connected with the

/ 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 their

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

. The Galitzianers were known for rich, heavily sweetened dishes in contrast to the plainer, more savory Litvisher versions, with the boundary known as the Gefilte Fish Line.

Genetics

{{further, Genetic studies on Jews The Lithuanian Jewish population may exhibit a genetic

founder effect In population genetics, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. It was first fully outlined by Ernst Mayr in 1942, us ...

. The utility of these variations has been the subject of debate. One variation, which is implicated in familial

hypercholesterolemia Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), ...

, has been dated to the 14th century, corresponding to the establishment of settlements in response to the invitation extended by Gediminas in 1323, which encouraged

German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

to settle in the newly established city of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. A relatively high rate of early-onset

dystonia Dystonia is a neurology, neurological Hyperkinesia, hyperkinetic Movement disorders, movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions occur involuntarily, resulting in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed po ...

in the population has also been identified as possibly stemming from the founder effect.{{cite journal , last1=Risch , first1=Neil , last2=Leon , first2=Deborah de , last3=Ozelius , first3=Laurie , last4=Kramer , first4=Patricia , last5=Almasy , first5=Laura , last6=Singer , first6=Burton , last7=Fahn , first7=Stanley , last8=Breakefield , first8=Xandra , author-link8=Xandra Breakefield , last9=Bressman , first9=Susan , year=1995 , title=Genetic analysis of idiopathic torsion dystonia in Ashkenazi Jews and their recent descent from a small founder population , journal=Nature Genetics , volume=9 , issue=2 , pages=152–159 , doi=10.1038/ng0295-152 , pmid=7719342 , s2cid=5922128

Notable people

Among notable contemporary Lithuanian Jews are: *

Mendele Mocher Sforim Mendele Mocher Sforim (, ; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich (, ) or S. J. Abramowitch, was a Jewish author and one of the founders of modern Yiddish and Heb ...

, was a Jewish author and one of the founders of modern Yiddish and Hebrew literature *Brothers

Emanuelis Zingeris Emanuelis Zingeris (born 16 July 1957) is a Lithuanian philologist, museum director, politician, signatory of the 1990 Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, currently serving as a Member of the Seimas (1990–2000 and since 2004) ...

(a member of the Lithuanian

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

) and {{ILL, Markas Zingeris, lt (writer) *

Ephraim Oshry Ephraim Oshry (1914–September 28, 2003), was an Orthodox rabbi, posek, and author of ''The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry''. He was one of the few European rabbis to survive the Holocaust. Early life Ephraim Oshry was born in Kupiškis, Li ...

, one of the few Rabbis to survive the Holocaust *{{ILL, Anatolijus Šenderovas, lt, composer, Laureate of the Lithuanian National Award * Arturas Bumsteinas, composer and sound artist *{{ILL, Gidonas Šapiro, lt, pop singer from the group

ŽAS Ž.A.S. (Žiertva ant smūgio) is a Lithuanian musical group that mostly performs pop music and hip hop. The band formed out of the members of the death metal band "Regredior" and other as well, it was established in 1993 as a gangsta rap Ga ...

Leonidas Donskis Leonidas Donskis (13 August 1962 – 21 September 2016) was a Lithuanian-Jewish philosopher, political theorist, historian of ideas, and social analyst. In addition to this, he was also a political commentator, professor of politics and head o ...

, philosopher and essayist *

Icchokas Meras Icchokas Meras (8 October 1934 – 13 March 2014) was a Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian writer. Biography Meras was born in 1934 to Jehuda and Miriam Meras in a Jewish family in Kelmė, Lithuania, which contained one of the country's notable Jewish ...

, writer *{{ILL, Benjaminas Gorbulskis, lt, composer * Grigorijus Kanovičius, writer *{{ILL, Rafailas Karpis, lt, tenor opera singer *

David Geringas David Geringas (; born 29 July 1946 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian cello, cellist and conducting, conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the baryto ...

, cellist and conductor *{{ILL, Arkadijus Gotesmanas, lt, jazz percussionist *

Ilja Bereznickas Ilja Bereznickas (born January 1, 1948, in Vilnius, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian animator, illustrator, scriptwriter and caricaturist. Biography In 1970 he graduated in architecture from Kaunas Polytechnic Institute. In 1985 he graduated from the ...

, animator, illustrator, scriptwriter and caricaturist *{{ILL, Adomas Jacovskis, lt, scenographer *{{ILL, Marius Jacovskis, lt, scenographer *{{ILL, Aleksandra Jacovskytė, lt, painter *

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...

, actor * Jakovas Bunka, sculptor

Notes

{{Reflist, 2

References

* ''Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture. Themes and Phenomena of the Jewish Diaspora, Volume 1''. Avrum M. Ehrlich, ABC-CLIO, 2009. {{ISBN, 978-1-85109-873-6.

External links

Official website of Jewish Community of Lithuania
{{in lang, en

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111023825/http://www.archyvai.lt/exhibitions/zydai/e1.htm , date=2012-11-11 *

studies
on contemporary and historic Litvak culture and Litvish *

Reading list
for the proposed field of Litvak Studies
MACEVA: Lithuania Jewish Cemetery Project

– on the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website {{Europe topic, History of the Jews in {{Jews and Judaism Jewish ethnic groups * Ashkenazi Jews topics