Vilnius, Lithuania – The Jewish community in Vilna refuses to allow the local Chabad rabbi to enter the main shul, even though the rabbi has to say Kaddish and has no other minyan where he can say it.
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Tense, acrid relations have existed between the Jewish community and Rabbi Krinsky since 2004, when the community passed Rav Krinsky by for the rabbinate and chose instead Rabbi Chaim Burstein, a former St. Petersburg refusenik who had studied in Litvish yeshivos in Israel. Despite Rabbi Krinsky living in Vilna and being involved with the community since 1994, the kehilla said they had a tradition of being misnagdim and preferred a rabbi who was a Litvak.
Fisticuffs broke out in the shul between pro-Krinsky and pro-Burshtein factions during Shavuot services in 2004. The fracas was covered extensively by the local and foreign media.
Burshtein was later roughed up by Krinsky supporters during tefillos in the shul. When Krinsky’s hooliganism continued, he and his followers were barred from the synagogue. They countered by holding vigils in the courtyard for months while pouting to foreign journalists about their “victimization”.
The ensuing embarrassment and seeing no end to the conflict caused the kehilla to close the synagogue for more than a year, while services were held in the kehilla building. The community took Krinsky to court, and an arrangement was finally reached where the rabbi had to retreat to his Chabad center. The shul reopened in August 2005, and morning and evening services have since been held daily – without Krinsky, who presides over his own services in a first-floor room at the Chabad center.
The ban against Rav Krinsky entering the main shul means that he cannot enter the shul to recite Kaddish for his mother who passed away a few days ago. His own synagogue doesn’t have a regular minyan of worshippers. Krinsky grumbled, “The doors are closed, and the guards know me and won’t let me enter. How can one say ‘no’ to a Jew who wants to say Kaddish for his mother?”
Rabbi Yosef Aharanov, the head of Israeli shlichim, was shocked. “Banning a Jew, kal v’chomer one who is a rav of a kehilla, is extremely serious. Such a thing is not done except under the most extreme circumstances.”
Mr. Alperowitz, the community president, says, “Krinsky should blame himself that he doesn’t have a minyan. He distanced people from himself.”
Both Krinsky and Alperowitz accuse each other of violence, and being motivated by the long-awaited restitution of Jewish communal property, which in Lithuania eventually will include at least 200 buildings and an estimated $60 million in compensation for property that cannot be returned.
Local observers claim that Krinsky’s attempt to grab control of the Vilna kehilla follows a Chabad pattern to usurp power from local rabbis elsewhere in Eastern Europe which in recent years occurred in Kiev, Prague, Russia and Germany.
Lita has today about 4,500 Jews, most of them living in Vilna.
Sometimes you haved to know which street to sell your apples on.
Such a beautiful picture of achdus in a troubled yiddeshe community. It is a wonderful example for olams in other parts of the world of how yiddim can come together in times of stress to hasten zman moishiach. Kol hakovod to these meshegoim for making the fights between the Satmer rebbes in BP and KJ look like “family feud”.
Whatever yiddishkeit exists in Vilna is all Krinsky’s work. He was the only rov in Lithuania, and therefore entitled to the rabbonus, but Alperovich decided that there was a “tradition” of hisnagdus, so he would bring another rov in, so he could control the money.
Krinsky… why does that name sound sooo familiar?
I don’t really know too much about this machlokes, but I can tell you that when my son and I were in Vilna 6-7 years ago, among his other activities, Rabbi Krinsky was running a soup kitchen for the local population. Rabbi Krinsky invited us to have supper at his kitchen and was a very gracious host.
Many of the Rabbi Krinsky’s guests were elderly Vilna residents as were most of the mispallelim in the Shul.
Rabbi Krinsky’s need to say Kaddish with a minyan should haved trumped all differrnces. It also could have been a stepping stone to making peace between the two sides. Alas, that was not the case here.
Sick people.
They have more important things to worry about then being misnagdim..
this is the gratitude the litvishe olem does when a man spenmds his time and his life rebuilding a kehilla and feeding tens of thousands of meals to needy jews
then comes the litvishe and have 400 non jewish kids in the school but to get government money and try to control it they try to throw out a rabbi who built them up
once again a disgrace by the litvishe
Litvak bleibt litvak
I don’t understand why he can’t get a minyan in his own shul if he is such a wonderful guy. Do the people in Vilna who are interested in Dovening in a miyan know something we don’t?
No matter what, a jew allows a jew to say kaddish with a minyan and does whatever is necessary to make that happen.
Everyone who doesn’t live in Vilnia should stay out of this. None of us has first hand knowledge of what’s happened. Why can’t there be two congregations in one city as long as one is not poaching off the other and each has enough for their own minyan? Chabad and hasidism is not for everyone and litvik might not be for everyone. The more choice, the more chances to get people involved.
No wonder the Mashiach is not here yet…
Why does not Rabbi Krinsky have a minyan???? It does not make sense! He is there since 2004 and 5 years later he still does not have a minyan???? It just does not add up. I think he is after the assets and that is the bulk of it. Money hungry !!
Um . . .
From a halachic perspective the “need” to daven with a minyan 3x per day is significantly greater than the “need” to say kaddish.
While I understand the emotional appeal of someone’s “needing” to say kaddish, that “need” is far less than his “need” to daven b’tzibbur, kaddish or not.
Although I don’t know the details here, and there certainly seems to be a great deal of politics involved, why don’t they take it to a neutral Din Torah in Eretz Yisroel?
(Yes, I already know the answer: Because no Beis Din would be neutral when it comes to the Litvaks vs Chabad. Solution: Go to a Beis Din affiliated with the religious zionists, who have no stake in this war and have excellent Batei Din.)
this article is extremely biased
This is the richest line in the article
“the kehilla said they had a tradition of being misnagdim and preferred a rabbi who was a Litvak.”
So, by that analogy, most people in the Vilnius kehillah are ochlei neveilos and mechalalei shabbos. So, aren’t THOSE the currently standing traditions? If so, then those are the characteristics they should be seeking in a rabbi. R. Burshtein certainly does not conform. Throw him out into the street as well!
The so called “kehillah” is a group controlled by a man Mr. Alperrovitz who is not religious. He wants control of the community to gain the money from reparations. Krinsky has hundreds of Jews attending programs like Chanukah and other holidays. Due to communism they have been removed from YIddiskiet for a few generations and have little knowledge of daavening etc.
Rav Krinsky is a very fine person. He is an outstanding Talmid Chochom with a heart of gold.
I have been traveling there on a monthly basis for 14 years.
There is no person in that community that did what this rav has done.
He was “their Rabbi” for 10 full years prior to any fighting. He was the Rov of this same shul thats not allowing him in to say Kaddish. What a gratefull bunch of sick litvaks.
He actually went to vilna when this “rosh hakohol” requested assistance from Lubavitch many years ago.
I should clarify that this so called “Litvishe Kehilah” is not religious at all and has no shaychus to the litvishe yeshivishe frum olam. they are Chazer fressers and mechalilai shabbos.
lets leave machlokas of litvaks and chsidim in vilna.
What goes around come around.
Any relation to the Krinsky who went to court to evict yidden from the Main Shull of Lubavitch?
I think that is his uncle, who went to court to get rid of the moshichistim from 770.
I guess in vilna they don’t believe in CHANGE 🙂
This is simple. The shul should simply send a few guys over to make sure he has a minyan at the Chabad house. I can’t imagine how the shul rav could sanction a Jew not being able to say Kaddish if it is possible. Get it done and out of the news.
This article is not impartial and is trying to influence you that the problem is Rabbi Krinsky and Chabad without really addressing the role of Mr. Alperovitch (who as I understand is a former kgb agent) or Rabbi Burshtein.
The situation is very complex and cannot be described or resolved in a short biased article. I just want to know one thing. Where do they get the chutzpa to hire goyishe thugs with a sole purpose to guard a public shul from a Jew, a Rov and instruct them to physically throw him out?
Regardless of what you think of Chabad how can you justify this nazi tactics?
This is disgraceful. I thought the strife between Chassidish and Litvish yids were over. We are all brothers, we believe in the same thing, we just have different avenues. What now, Krinsky cant even say Kadish- what a disgrace in Hashem’s Name to not let him do that.
You people should drop your disagreements and biasses and have MORE CHESSED.
Haven’t You forgotten that it was this type of baseless hatred towards each other that we had our Temple destroyed.
Please!!! Lets WORK ON UNITY, May we Speedily Merit to have Moshiach in our days.
this is disgusting! no hakoras tov for someone who could have had an easy life living in the US but instead went to share the warmth of yiddishkeit under the terrible conditions abroad!!!!
It is definatyely not right not to alow a jew the right to a minyan….Shame on you.
But this has to be dealt with and in respectfull maner.
Let them send some mispalelim.
How can you kick out a jew especially a rav…. what a discrace.
I’ve read comments questioning why R. Krinsky does not have his own minyan, after 5 years … I’ve read comments that he is after the money … The answers to these questions are beyond the scope of this article. However, what is clear is that the members of the shul are denying a fellow Jew the opportunity to say kaddish, in effect, denying themselves the opporunity for the mitza of responding to his kaddish. I do not remember reading anything so revolting in quite some time.
Burshtein is a KGB agent
This guy Burshtein is a am ho’oretz d’oiraisa. He can’t read ivre. He “davens” from a sidur with russian translation. He is not a rabbi, he is a BUR. and a choteh umachtie es horabim.
I have met this shoteh on a bussiness trip to Vilna. His entire “shabbos drasha” in shul was that we are not allowed to have a nussach ari siddur in shul.
After his “Enlightening Drasha” I asked him in private what he has against the Arizal Hakodosh, his response was shocking, he told me “what do you mean he was a Lubavitcher”
This guy is not frum. He is a russian who is trying to grab headlines and claim to be Head Rabbi of Vilna.
It’s a shame the real litvishe oilom can’t get our act together and send this so called “kehilah” a Rabbi that knows how to read hebrew and is shomer shabbos.
After all we are talking about the shul of the Gra Zatzal.
A Litvak Ben Litvak
I have googled this guy burshtein and it seems pretty scarry what this man is up to.
It’s funny that everyone who has contact with the Lubavitcher shluchim have nothing but praise and gratitude to them for their help, warmth and frumkeit. But all of the armchair poskim are ready to judge the situation without even batting an eyelid.
As usual, out come all the chabad apologists throwing as much muck as they can. Maybe they don’t believe in the laws of loshon horo?
Before second world war they tried to take away the Rabbonus From Harav Chaim Ozer as well. That is the tradition they have. They want to control the Rabbi.
It is well known that the Vilna tradition is that Harav Chaim Ozer helped all the yeshivah Buchrim from different yeshivos escaping the nazis and russians .
He made sure that each yeshiva, including Lubavitch should keep its integrity and style. When he was about to pass away and after, the Lubavitcher Buchrim went to say Tehillim for him.
True Gadlus is when there is Achdus (unity)
After requesting a Lubavitcher Shliach in 1994 and serving them for 10 years, using the misnagdim, Chasidim card doesn’t sound right.
Vilna right before the war was a place for achdus for the yeshivishe and chasidishe worlds, and both groups had problems with those that had to a certain extent or another had assimilated.
It seems that the next 54 years had a bigger effect on them while the yeshivos, Chasidishe and Litvishe after many wanderings, many in Japan and Shanchai and other places were able to rebuild in Eretz Yisroel, in America, and Chabad all over the world, and even though there are differences, it would never come to the mind of any Litvishe not to allow a Chabad Chosid to say Kadish for his mother.
This article somehow appears to me it indirectly tries to let the reader think that the differences the Litvishe have with Chassidim would grant such behavior of not allowing a Chosid to say kadish and it is ridicoulous.
Members of the community of Vilna. Make Achdus please
After scrolling down and reading many comments, I think we all need to realize that we can’t know an entire situation based on one article. There is obviously more to the story, from both sides.
However, I just have one thing to point out: I can’t imagine a Chabad house throwing anybody out like that. Give him a warning to be on his best behavior, have a guard stand near him, maybe. But to just throw him out- meaning he may not be able to say kaddish?
The reason Chabad is so accepting is that they view each Jew by their neshama. I work in a Chabad Preschool. I remember when a parent did something really wrong to a staff member, something that would have caused their child to be expelled from other schools. But the director said, “If we expel this child, that is the end of yiddishkeit in his life. So, we overlook certain things and keep our main goal in mind. If a person offered us millions of dollars, imagine what we would put up with. And look what they’re giving us- their child, who is priceless!”
These ‘litvaks’ are not frum and disguise their fear of real yiddishkeit as having to do with a litvische approach.
Another example of the mesiras nefesh of the shluchim to offer the only real haven of yiddishkeit despite opposition.
This man deserves the support of every frume yid. Period.
Bringng nusach ari sidurim into the Gra’s shul is the ultimate chutzpa.
Hagam lichbosh es hamalka IMMI BABOYIS.
If you read in the Vilna Times English Edition you will find the conection of Burshtein with the Russian Maffia who apparently want to control the restitution money coming from the Government.
Who can count the Yidden who were enabled to daven with a minyan and say kaddish by relying on Chabad Centers, Shuls and Shluchim?
It must be payback time.
Everyone who has been touched by a shliach needs to be aghast at this outrage!
Someone please post the email of Alperovitch and Co. Inc. so that the frum world can weigh in on this.
Rabbi Krinsky came to Vilna over a decade ago by the invitation of Mr. Alpervoicius and others to start Chabad. He had great Hazlacha, and led the daavening in the Shul for many years.
Things changed when Alpervoidcius wanted to control the restitution process that could mean millions in revenue. He was the head of the secular community and organized an election of a few old people to control the “Religious Community” which was crucial to getting the money according to Lithuanian Law. Rabbi Krinsky was an obstacle to his full control of the the funds. He came up with a lame excuse that “we are Misnagdim”. He imported Rabbi Burstein who has vicious hatred of Chabad. He used thugs to throw Rabbi Krinsky out of the Shul.
Rabbi Krinksy has hundreds coming to major events like Chanukah and other programs. These Jews, who were under Communist rule for many decades have little knowledge of daavening etc.
Around Chanukah a few Rabbonim came to town and Rabbi Krinskyy and they met with Mr. Alpervious to create some Shalom. Alpervoicius rebuffed their attempts.
A few weeks ago Rabbi Krinsky’s mother passed away in Boston. He simply wants to say Kaddish and quietly contacted Mr. Alpervoicius who refuses to allow him in the Shul.
Rabbi Krinsky wants to daaven in the Shul on weekdays were there is a Minyan of people supported by Alpervioius and funds from the JDC. He has Minyanim on Shabbos and Yom Tov at the Chabad Center.
What we have here is a Jew who has dedicated himself to a community of Jews very assimilated, send dozens away to Yeshivas, camps and schools. Given hundreds, if not thousands of others an dose of Yiddiskiet. And and old Lithuanian Jew, who wants control of millions of dollars of restitution money and will stop at nothing, including violence, intimidation to get his way. So far to ban a Jew from saying kaddish for his mother.
Looks like burshtein is going to be sent flying soon so they decided to publish this “story”
how would a small thing happening in vilnus between 2 people make it here on the internet with a anti-chabad slant?
well goodbye you sick snags
you know this stinks – regardless and I’d probably side with Chabad just because they do all this stuff for the right reasons (ye ye we know it all) ..not to allow him to say kaddish regardless of anything is downright shameful. I will side with a chabad shaliach 100 times faster then with anyone else. Its just one of those things and most probably feel the same way except for the obvious ones ;/
That said the krinsky that is trying to rid the NUTS from 770 good luck – last time I was there I was shocked…I pity my Lubab friends who live there – now I understand them better.
watch our for fire– cuz that’s what machlokes brings
Krinsky has built up all the yiddishkeit in Vilna but cannot get a minyan to his shule. Doesn’t sound very believable.
When I was in Vilna I was told that Krinsky arrived and decided that he is the chief Rabbi of Vilna. A very attractive idea as the Kehilla owns millions in real estate. But the Vilna kehilla is not a Chabad House. Krinsky does not have the local support and is seen as a trouble maker.
From my visits to Vilna before 2003, the Nusach in the shul was and remained Ashkenaz, even though Rabbi Krinsky was in charge
I respect Chabad very much for their outstanding work that most of us are Bichlal not capable of doing.
This Burshtein was here in Lakewood about 2 years ago trying to meet with the Roshei Yeshiva. When Rav M. K. wasn’t available to meet with him, he went on rant how the Gedolim don’t care about him and his work. This guy is a Mechutzif and a real moron.
Who does he think he is to speak about a Gadol.
At a later time I learned that the Rosh Yeshiva didn’t want to get involved in a Machlokes and take sides.
This guy gives the impression of a Bur and AM ho’oretz who we should not even bother responding to.
I would like to see a real Litvishe/Yeshivishe Rov take this Burshtein monster over and show the vilna kehila what a rov should really look like.
All the years that Rabbi Krinsky functioned as the Rav in the Shul the Nusach was Ashkenaz. No one attempted to change anything. Rabbi Krinsky even helped refurbish the grave of the Gra Tzal. None of the activities in the Shul had any importance until Alpervicous needed control of the “Religious Community” to receive the government funds that due to Lithuanian law only can go to a “religious community”.
The tragedy is that all this Maklokes has prevented the restitution money to be distributed. The American Jewish Committee, that has no history in Vilna has tried to get a piece of the pie, the Conference of European Rabbis and others. Let the various elements of the community in Vilna sit around a table, divide up the funds for the use of the community. Stop the flow of money to the AJC for some civil rights work in the US etc. With the funds in trust there would be a real future of Yiddiskiet there.
Instead, Alpervious, working with outside groups has tried to hijack the process going so far to throw out the longstanding Rav, bring in the buffoon Burstien and use violence to advance his cause.
Millhouse says: “Look, there are only two possiblities: a) he was mistaken about the chasidim, and acted leshem shomayim; or b) he knew the chasidim were innocent and deliberately pronounced a false cherem because he was a rasha. There aren’t any other choices.”
f course, there is a third option that you have ignored, that he was correct about the chassidim, and acted correctly.
It is also the most logical explanantion.
Please-please everyone, its Adar. Why is everyone fighting against everyone?
This a critical time in history now, and we’re fighting over this?
I live in a area where the litvishe rabbonim don’t normally get along with the chabbad rabbonim- and its each to its own. true, its nice to do kiruv, and everything- but if we’re not b’achdus- how do you expect mashiach to come? Think about the month we are in now, The yidden didn’t listen to their rabbonim – Mordechai- and look what almost happened! Think about it…
Millhaus,
You don’t think you are getting carried away calling another frum yid a “mamzer ben niddah” Do you think you are R’Akiva?
The more posts from you that I read the more I lose respect for you and by extension what you are “defending”.Let me be clear, they don’t need your defense.Och oon vey if they did!