History of the Jews of Lithuania: Vilnius, Kaunas, Trakai, Siauliai

The first Jews in Lithuania lived since the VIII century (when the Grand Duke Gediminas invited people of "all nations and faiths" to come to Lithuania to build a new capital, the city of Vilnius), then the community began to call Vilnius "North Jerusalem". The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an island of tolerance in a sea of ​​anti-Semitism; Jews received rights that they did not have in many other parts of Europe, including property rights and religious freedom. By the 18th century, Vilnius became the world center of Talmudic scholarship; there was the largest number of theologians in the world who could interpret the Talmud. The most famous of them, Eliyahu Ben-Shlomo Zalman (1720–1797), known as the Vilnius Gaon, was one of the most prominent figures in Jewish history. Today, the Jewish community in the country is small, but there is an extensive Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States and other countries. After World War II, almost the entire Jewish population of Lithuania was destroyed. Today, only 4,000 Jews live in Lithuania, who make up a small but very active community. Works in Vilnius: Vilnius Gaon State Jewish Museum, Sholom Aleichem Jewish High School, Center for Judaic Studies at Vilnius University; cultural events are held here.