Tarbut continues its wide-ranging activities dedicated to Romanian Jewish cultural heritage. Here is our interview with Peninah Zilberman, founder and CEO of Tarbut, about the events planned as part of the European Days of Jewish Culture and the concept of tikkun olam…
Jguideeurope: Which events will you organize for this year’s EDJC?
Peninah Zilberman: The 2026 EDJC theme is LOVE, in Hebrew Ahava. The theme AHAVA blends well with many concepts we can apply from Jewish culture and everyday life. Here are some of the events organized:
Sunday, September 6, 2026, 11:30-13:30 Tarbut Sighet Foundation: “Love for my Sighet Shtetl – Find the treasurer” A Walking tour for children
Sunday, October 4th, 2026, Lenka Lichtenberg, composer, singer, and winner of many international musical awards: “Pot Puri of Jewish Songs”
“Jewish Cooking with Love”, cook as our grandmothers used to, Jewish influence of gastronomy in the Maramures kitchen. Date and location TBA
Do you think there’s a tikkun olam virtue the theme of Love chosen?
“All you need is Love” by The Beatles, 1967- The Jewish World nowadays needs more than ever a Tikun Olam, on both sides- meaning the Jews and the non-Jews. Tikkun Olam is a Hebrew word meaning, “repairing the world”. This action is a Jewish concept asks to heal the broken world. When love in infused in the action of repairing, this repair is in addition to giving charity, unconditional accepting of the other, open human connection, and cosmic fixing.
As a daughter of Holocaust survivors and professionally being involved in the subject, truthfully, I hoped that I am leaving a better world to my grandchildren; however, I am very concerned that almost in all worldly nations nowadays, there is an overall anger, unsatisfied wishes, leaders who don’t take in their decision making “the needs of the citizen” and I can continue with a few more statements.
What I would like to recommend, is to develop a sense of “love your neighbor like yourself” and “don’t do to your neighbor what you don’t like to be done to you”, as it says in the Bible.
We need to develop compassion, accepting the other, all this is done for us the individual and people we are interacting with, it’s an ongoing process, each one of us makes a difference, as small as minimal as it is, but the act of doing is what it all counts.
Racism, bigotry, discrimination, judgment, prejudice, intolerance, xenophobia, bias, narrow-minded, all these words must be erased from our vocabulary and substituted with Love, acceptance, welcoming, friendly, hospitable, openhearted, generous.
Young people must be encouraged to volunteer at local organizations, perform daily acts of loving kindness, and community building for the future, especially stopping bulling, learning lessons form the “Righteous Among the Nations ” people who risk their lives for saving a Jew or Jews, showing courage and belief in the merit and value of human being- as it says in the Talmud “He who saves one soul, like he saved a whole World”. I hope the readers will try and adopt at least one concept.
Can you tell us about the Family Jewish Roots Tours you organize?
Since the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989, marking the end of the Iron Curtain of eastern Europe, all generations have the desire, need, interest, curiosity and a secret wish, to travel whatever time and distance takes to visit the locations where their forefathers lived, their parents were born – trying to feel the synergy – while better understanding the stories they heard.
Fundatia Tarbut Sighet Cultura si Educatie Iudaica (FTS), tries to expose the visitor to as many authentic as possible experiences through the “Family Roots Journeys”. Many times, I am asked “Why do you think its import to visit places, that there are no more Jews living there? My answer is:” first and foremost, especially since there are no more Jews, it’s of utmost importance for the locals to see and interact with a Jewish person / family, maybe to hear their story- the Jewish deportations will become a past reality.
The most important reason is to have the locals see that the Nazi regime, has not wiped off the Jews – we are alive and kicking. We are returning and bringing with us the future generations. Grandparents bring their children and grandchildren, showing them where they lived- AM ISRAEL CHAI!.
I must mention that the locals are extremely afraid when they meet/see the visitors coming to the cities, towns, and villages – they think that we come to take back our homes, many show us legal documents, as proof that they legally bought the house they live in. I explain to them, the Jews who lived before, are not interested to obtain back their homes, they have their own houses, business, are well established professionals.
FTS offers full travel services, from picking up at the airport to returning to the airport, logistics, hotel reservations, translations, pre-journey genealogy research and any other personal requests, families or individual requests. We specialize in Boutique traveling; however, we offer synagogues, Jewish organizations, and private groups itineraries high lightening the outstanding landscape beauty, folklore, and traditional sites.
Best time to travel across Romania is May to mid-October, plans are underway for 2027 season with several families.
Can you share an emotional rediscovery of Jewish heritage during one of those tours?
There are two incidents standing out in my mind because of “Family Jewish Heritage Roots Tours” A lady came with her two sons, to the village where she was born, we saw the house she grew up, the well she would draw water with the wooden bucket. Her sons taped her while she told her childhood stories and took pictures, it was indeed an amazing experience for her, being able to explain and tell the family story. We visited the local Jewish cemetery, once again very emotional seeing the names of her father and grandfather on the tombstones, which she named both her sons.
The last task we had to complete was to visit the local register office, as she wanted to get her birth certificate. Searching and looking in family history is like a “Pandora Box”, you never know what you find out, of course sometimes the information is not to the liking of the person researching, as happened with our lovely lady. Our lady found out that she is older by three years, she was in total shock, embarrassed and quite sad, she said to me “I don’t like that I am so old”, she is still alive very close to 100 years- bis 120, as we say.
Special Note! In those days to register a child, parents had to find three witnesses and go to the central city, winters were very cold and difficult to travel. Jewish families didn’t use the Gregorian Calendar- solar Calendar, but used the Jewish Lunar Calendar as well as saying “Born three days before Purim, or Pesach” etc., therefore today, when descendants are trying to obtain birth certificates it is very tricky to know the exact date of birth.
A group of thirteen first cousins came to Marmaures Region for a “Roots Journey”, they have not been very close to each other. Either because they lived in different parts of Israel, age differences and so on. At the beginning of the journey, they hardly shared their feelings and emotions nor spoke to each other a lot. On the last day we held a special “farewell Dinner”, the most shocking decision said by one of the cousins was, “From now on we will get together on the Jewish Holidays and share our parents’ stories” That brought tears and smiles to many of the participants. These are just some results of visiting and walking in the footsteps of our family members.