The Bank of Lithuania minted the first euro piece of currency containing Hebrew letters.
The 10-euro coin was minted on Tuesday and is a limited-edition commemorative collector’s item celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Vilna Gaon, the 18th-century rabbinical luminary Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who lived and died in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
The heads side of the coin features the Hebrew letter shin, whose value according to the gematria alphanumeric code is 300, followed by the acronym in Hebrew of Gaon Rabbi Elijah. The tails’ rim reads in Hebrew: “The year of the Vilna Gaon and the history of the Jews of Lithuania.”
The commemoration of individual people is very rare on bank notes and coins of the European Union, partly because of the political sensitivity in a political union made up of former foes.
Earlier this month, a mural of the late Israeli poet Leah Goldberg, who grew up in Kaunas, was unveiled there along with other notable individuals connected to the city ahead of its crowning as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2022.
Separately, a monument for Holocaust victims that was smashed and knocked over in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas was restored on October 9, the news site Jewish.ru reported.
Symbolic gestures can be nice to read about, but they are no substitute for concrete action to protect the Jewish heritage of Lithuania.
When will Lithuania, once and for all, stop the construction project on the site of the old Jewish cemetery in Vilnius (Vilna), where family members of the Vilna Gaon, and gedolei Yisroel are buried? Is building a convention center on the site of an old Jewish cemetery consistent with honoring Jewish heritage?
Do they think they will fool the world and divert their attention with token gestures, like a limited edition coin? No, Jews are not so easily fooled.
Months ago Jews were told not to buy this coin because the “menorah” on the face features the right-wing symbol of the current party in power, which is not friendly to Jews. Has something change that VIN doesn’t mention that fact now?
Sold out very fast
Not impressed by this fallacy by the country that honors nazi collaborators
they want 103 euro to ship to america. The coin is is selling for 50 euro. they are nuts