The Circuit

Mitzvah Day Highlights

Gift bags for the Women’s Care Cottage and Gramercy Housing Group were decorated and assembled at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Bel Air.

Volunteers of all ages help plant winter vegetables for the Valley Shelter in North Hollywood at the Peah Community Garden.

Spartacus at Shul

Who was the surprise special-guest star that Rabbi David Wolpe promised some 2,000 Jewish singles at the last “Friday Night Live” service?

It was none other than Kirk Douglas, who made his way to the stage on Nov. 9, following the musical/religious service led by Wolpe and Craig Taubman. The octogenarian actor, speaking slowly and deliberately, said, “I found that now when I’m speaking, people listen. They think I have something important to say.” Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch Demsky) told the audience to be “proud of being Jewish.” He spoke of his own Jewish reawakening following his survival of a helicopter crash, and his recent debilitating stroke. After he was bar mitzvahed, he said he didn’t observe much –except for fasting on Yom Kippur (but he still worked). “Let me tell you, it’s not easy making love to Lana Turner on an empty stomach,” he said. — Amy Klein, Managing Editor

Up With Hope

City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute broke ground on construction of the new 144-bed, 337,000-square foot Helford Clinical Research Hospital. City of Hope recently honored Bruce Corbin, senior vice president of Union Bank of California, at its 2001 Award of Hope gala, sponsored by Apparel Industries Group for City of Hope. The Beverly Hilton event attracted 500 guests.

It’s Never Too Late to Give

Local businessman and Holocaust survivor John Lesser, 91, donated $1 million to City of Hope National Medical Center. Lesser, an active supporter of the hospital for two decades, had escaped Hitler’s 1938 invasion of Austria, and become an American success story with thriving careers in real estate and construction.

“At a time when our nation is reeling from tragic events, there is comfort in knowing that the inherent generosity and goodness of the human spirit lives,” said Gil N. Schwartzberg, City of Hope’s president/CEO. “In his life, Mr. Lesser has seen the worst, but has given the best of himself to help others.”

Lesser’s gift will go toward the hospital and research center’s ongoing campaign to combat AIDS, diabetes and various cancers.

Double Mitzvah

Friends of Sheba Medical Center will honor Merv Adelson, humanitarian and former head of Lorimar Telepictures; and philanthropist Marilyn Ziering, a Friends of Sheba past president (1981-1983) who, along with Arlene Fusswein, founded Women of Sheba.

“The wonderful things they do there, it’s remarkable,” Ziering said of Israel’s Sheba Medical Center on the one-year anniversary of her husband, Sigi Ziering’s passing. He was a passionate supporter of Sheba, which tried to save his life in 1999 after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Current efforts revolve around endowing the hospital’s Sigi Ziering Brain Tumor Unit.

Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Rabbi Marvin Hier described Adelson, chairman of the center’s executive board of trustees, as “a unique leader, in the sense that he’s not afraid to get his hands wet on issues that he feels deeply about. The only reason that there was a CBS special celebrating Israel’s 50th anniversary was because Merv initiated the idea and made it happen. The agents didn’t get the stars, Merv did.”

This year’s gala promises to be joke-filled: comedian Howie Mandel will perform, and Arthur Hiller and Carl Reiner will co-chair.

Friends of Sheba Medical Center’s gala dinner takes place Nov. 28 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills. For information, call (310) 843-0100.

Cowabunga!

Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue threw a groundbreaking celebration for a $4.5 million new synagogue. Held at the synagogue’s 24855 Pacific Coast Highway location, the celebration included music, lunch and festivities. The new building will include an area for special events and a new recreational facility.

“The groundbreaking and building of our new synagogue will be a place to advance Jewish life and education, and serve as an important resource for Malibu and beyond,” said the center’s Rabbi Judith HaLevy.