File photo: Rabbi Krinsky conducts a Torah study session with local Jews.

Shliach to Lithuania Forcibly Removed from Shul

Leaders of Lithuania’s small and fractious Jewish community hired security guards to prevent a local Chabad rabbi and his supporters from attending synagogue in Vilnius (Vilna).

From the JTA:

Guards prevented Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky, who settled in Vilnius in 1994, from entering a Jewish community center on Oct. 28, which functioned on that day as a house of worship due to renovations at the city’s main synagogue, according to Kalev Krelin, who earlier this year was appointed the chief rabbi of Lithuania. They also called police, who ejected several of Krinsky’s supporters.

The incident, which comes 12 years after a series of similar confrontations in Vilnius, is unusual in that it is an open expression of the quiet resentment of Chabad held by some members of several small Jewish communities in Europe. These Jews oppose what they see as the movement’s fundamentalism or believe the work of Chabad rabbis in their communities is needlessly dividing congregations that are barely large enough to function.

Zecharya Olickij, an observant Jew from Vilnius, said police detained him briefly after he asked why he and other supporters of Krinsky were being ejected. Community officials said Krinsky had “misbehaved,” Olickij said, who disputed the assertion. Krinsky has “been always very helpful to the congregation, but he did not misbehave in any way whatsoever,” Olickij said.

Click here to continue reading at the JTA.

6 Comments

  • Genuine Shluchim

    Who have done incredible work over the decades and have made many sincere baalei teshuva.May the people who run the Jewish community in the city some day soon come to its senses and realize the good that Chabad has brought to the community.May they stop accusing the Krinskys of claims that are not based on truth and may yad hachassidim be elyona,on the top in an obvious and miraculous way.Want to donate?jewishlita.com

  • Flippin zovus

    I saw firsthand the activities of Rabbi Krinsky. It’s Amazing. The kids in his school and orphanage are given a chance at life – a life of pure yidishkiet, and they love every second of it. You should see them in his summer camp, they can’t get enough of the nurture the Krinskys provide. The care they have for every yid in the city is unbelievable.
    And I guess some people hate and are jealous of the power of chassidim and chassidus. Nu nu

    Flippin zavut. That’s it I have to say on the matter.

  • Accuracy?

    This article comes from JTA which has a history of being biased… Especially in this case where they don’t portray the stories accurately. I have visited Vilna and can say that media inaccurately portray the situation, which is purely based on financial corruption and Sina.
    May the Krinsky’s have a lot of hatzlocha and please don’t post articles that are not so accurate…

  • From one of your 1st Counsellors in Vilna, Yirmi Cohen

    Rabbi Krinsky,
    Chazak Veematz! Great memories from Vilna in your Gan Yisroel camp in 1994. May Hashem bentch you with Bracha Vehatzlacha!
    Yirmi Cohen/Toronto

  • Pure sina

    Chabad leads the way, then some upstart decides to muscle in. Be strong, Rabbi Krinsky!