Yom HaShoah Events, Supplies for Syria

SAT APRIL 7
“FLY”

Interfaith and multicultural teens confront their values, identity, gender and more in “Fly,” a new musical debuting at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and the Pico Union Project, a multifaith cultural arts center and house of worship. An Art+Soul production directed by Stuart K. Robinson, the show is the culmination of months of exploration, creative thinking and rehearsing. April 7: 7:30 p.m. Free. Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. April 8: 3 p.m. Free. Pico Union Project, 1153 Valencia St., Los Angeles. (213) 915-0084. picounionproject.org.

SUN APRIL 8
“WHAT’S GOING ON WITH POLAND?”

Professor Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, chief curator of the Core Exhibition at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, discusses “What’s Going on With Poland?” The professor emerita of performance studies at New York University will address a controversial law passed by Poland’s government that criminalizes the suggestion that Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. Presented by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and American Jewish Committee Los Angeles. 4 p.m. $15 advance purchase required. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, 100 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles. (323) 651-3704. lamoth.org.

“SILENT WITNESS”

Sinai Temple holds a communitywide Yom HaShoah program. Participants include children from the MATI Masa El Habagrut program, Alice and Nahum Lainer School, Israeli Scouts, Sinai Temple Cantor Marcus Feldman, Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Executive Director Beth Kean and Holocaust survivor Dana Schwartz. 11 a.m. Free. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 474-1518. sinaitemple.org.

THE BIG FILL

As the civil war in Syria continues, and as part of a large-scale humanitarian effort dubbed “The Big Fill,” Jewish communities across Los Angeles have been collecting supplies to send to Syrian children under siege. Participants in the effort, including congregants of Stephen Wise Temple, IKAR, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Temple Judea, come together with the founders of Save the Syrian Children, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering medical supplies directly to Syrian hospitals, to sort and ship the supplies to Syria. Guest speakers are slated to appear. Wear comfortable clothes. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Free. Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. RSVP at thebigfill.org.

POETRY AND MEMORY

In observance of National Poetry Month and Holocaust Memorial Day, the Skirball Cultural Center holds a live poetry reading featuring poet Carine Topal, reading from “In Order of Disappearance”; American Book Award winner Dorothy Barresi; and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Densmore of The Doors. Suzanne Lummis, editor of Beyond Baroque Books and its Pacific Coast Poetry Series, hosts the program. A meet-and-greet reception with the authors follows the program. 2 p.m. $12 general, $8 Skirball members and full-time students. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 440-4500. skirball.org.

THE STORY OF THE KINDERTRANSPORT

A Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration program in the San Fernando Valley features stories of two children, Hilda Anker and Dave Lux, who were involved with and rescued in the historic World War II Kindertransport mission to save young Jews. Presented by The Mati Center, which seeks to build a united Israeli-American community. 3 p.m. Free. Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 788-6000. vbs.org.

BULLETS AND BAGELS MOVIE NIGHT

Schmooze, nosh and learn about Israel’s original secret agent. Jewish shooting club Bullets and Bagels and the Long Beach Jewish Film Festival screen “The Mossad’s First, Reuven Shiloah,” a documentary about the Israeli intelligence agency’s first director, who served from 1949 to 1953. The film explores Shiloah’s contributions to the birth of Israel and his secret efforts to defend the Jewish state. The evening includes an appearance by Shiloah’s son, Dov, aka “Dubbie,” who will discuss Israel’s security. 6–9 p.m. $15 advance, $20 walk-ins. Alpert Jewish Community Center, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach. (562) 426-7601. bullets-bagels.com.

TEEN CENTER SEPHARDIC CULTURE NIGHT

Teens come together for a lively evening of music, food and schmoozing in celebration of Sephardic culture. Don’t miss this opportunity to make new friends and experience Arabic music, Middle Eastern food, backgammon, belly dancing and henna tattoos. Families welcome. 6–8 p.m. $20. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 474-1518. sinaitemple.org.

MON APRIL 9
“HOW SLAVE LABORERS SURVIVED”

Drawing on the testimony of 292 slave labor survivors, Holocaust historian and USC Shoah Foundation Scholar-in-Residence Christopher Browning examines their survival strategies in a lecture titled, “Jewish Slave Labor and the Struggle for Survival,” which commemorates Yom HaShoah. The Holocaust historian will probe the various survival methods Jews experimented with in the Wierzbnik ghetto and the Starachowice factory slave labor camps in south-central Poland under Nazi occupation. 7:30 p.m. Free. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 652-7353. tbala.org.

“ISRAEL AT 70: BEYOND THE HEADLINES”

Promising to go “Beyond the Headlines” and talk about seldom-seen aspects of his country in a celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday, Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch discusses how Israel and Israelis are changing in the face of new challenges. A former educator at UC Berkeley, Novis-Deutsch is dean of Jerusalem’s Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, where he was ordained a Masorti rabbi 15 years ago. 7:45 p.m. Free. Shomrei Torah Synagogue, 7353 Valley Circle Blvd., West Hills. (818) 854-7650. stsonline.org.

ZIKARON BASALON

Holocaust survivors share their personal stories at intimate settings around the Los Angeles area. Organized by the Israel-American Council, the event, Zikaron Basalon — Hebrew for “memories in the living room” — takes place in advance of Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. 7 p.m. Free. Brentwood, Agoura Hills and Tarzana, with addresses provided upon registration. (818) 451-1201. israeliamerican.org/los-angeles/zikaron.

TUE APRIL 10
“JEWISH JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT”

Fresh from his latest book, “Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court, from Brandeis to Kagan,” Jewish history scholar Rabbi David Dalin explores the lives and Jewishness of nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. He will talk about the historic appointment of Justice Louis Brandeis in 1916, which introduced the notion of a so-called Jewish seat. Dalin also will discuss the views of Justices Frankfurter, Cordozo, Goldberg, Fortas, Bader Ginsberg, Breyer and Kagan, and the role of anti-Semitism in their lives. 7:30 p.m. $15 Stephen Wise Temple members, $20 general. Stephen Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 476-8561. wisela.org.

“JUDAISM AND THE SELF”

Rabbi Shaul Magid, a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and a professor of Jewish studies at Indiana University, discusses “Judaism and the Self: Personal Dimensions of Jewish Identity.” He examines the relationship between internal Jewish life and external ritual performance, between Jewish ethics and physical human reality, and he explores how the American-Jewish experience has given rise to new possibilities for individual Jewish spirituality. The evening begins with a wine-and-cheese reception. 7:30 p.m. $15. American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 476-9777. wcce.aju.edu.

WED APRIL 11
FATHER PATRICK DESBOIS: “IN BROAD DAYLIGHT”

Humanitarian and activist Father Patrick Desbois, founder of Yahad-In Unum, a global organization raising consciousness of the sites of Jewish and Roma (gypsy) mass extinctions by Nazi killing units in Eastern Europe during WWII, discusses his new book, “In Broad Daylight: The Secret Procedures Behind the Holocaust by Bullets.” The book, which documents mass killings in seven countries formerly part of the Soviet Union that were invaded by Nazi Germany, is a follow-up to Desbois’ National Jewish Book Award-winning book, “The Holocaust by Bullets.” Desbois will also sign his book. 7 p.m. Free. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, 100 S. The Grove Drive, Los Angeles. (323) 651-3704. lamoth.org.

YOM HASHOAH SERVICE AND FILM EXCERPT

In her documentary film “Who Will Write Our History,” producer and director Roberta Grossman examines an archive of 30,000 pages of material, including scholarly essays, poems, underground newspapers and more, providing an unfiltered record of Warsaw Jewry and the conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto. Marking the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, an excerpt of the film screens at Temple Israel of Hollywood. A Q-and-A with Grossman follows. The evening also includes a Yom HaShoah service. 7–9 p.m. Free. Temple Israel of Hollywood, 7300 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 876-8330. tioh.org.

THU APRIL 12
“THE RISE AND FALL OF MOSES, SERVANT OF GOD”

Temple Beth Am Rabbi Emeritus Joel Rembaum leads a class exploring the Torah accounts of Moses’ life journey. Through a close reading of selections of the Torah, participants will gain insights into Moses’ persona, his relationship with his people, his relationship with God and his impact on the generations that came after him. A reading knowledge of Hebrew is helpful but not required, as Hebrew/English texts of the Torah will be used. 7:30–9:30 p.m. Free. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 652-7353. tbala.org.