From left: Temple of the Arts Rabbi David Baron, author Anita Moorjani, ZOA President Morton Klein, singer Montana Tucker and activist Moti Kahana attend High Holidays services at Temple of the Arts. Photo by Steve Moyer A number of influential, high-profile guests participated in Temple of the Arts’ recent High Holy Days services at the Saban Theatre.
Actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish was a guest of Daphna Ziman, founder and chairwoman of Justice for Women. Haddish was there to pray with Ziman for Justice For Women, a global initiative dedicated to eradicating human trafficking and violence against women and children.
Academy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman attended services as a guest of renowned Hollywood acting coach Bernard Hiller. Actress, singer and TikTok sensation Montana Tucker also turned out. Tucker shared memories of her moving visit to Auschwitz with her mother, Michelle, to witness firsthand where her 94-year-old grandmother, Lilly Schmidmayer, a Holocaust survivor, once was interned.
Judea Pearl, father of the slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, sang a song in memory of his late son, and TV personality Mary Hart and Yiddish performer Mike Burstyn were among the service readers.
On Yom Kippur, activist Moti Kahana shared how he is currently bringing life-saving food and fuel to Ukrainian farmers; Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein enlightened attendees on the persistent attacks against Israel in the United Nations, the General Assembly and the Security Council; and bestselling author Anita Moorjani discussed her journey from cancer to near-death to healing.
“My guests have incredible stories of courage, humane decency and perseverance,” Temple of the Arts Rabbi David Baron said. “Each of their stories exemplifies the strength of the human spirit, which can serve as examples to enlighten and encourage all of us.”
Temple of the Arts is an arts and entertainment-industry congregation in Beverly Hills.
On Oct. 12, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles held a kickoff Sukkot event that served as a launch for a partnership with four new nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles.
“We founded our civic partnerships program to support organizations across Los Angeles that do vital work to address disparities and serve their communities’ greatest needs,” L.A. Federation President and CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said. “These organizations have the infrastructure to address homelessness and affordable housing, voter rights, community service, and access to education – issues that our Federation cares deeply about and are dedicated to helping solve.”
The Federation’s new civic partners are: Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System (HOPICS), Catalyst California (formerly Advancement Project California), Fulfillment Fund and the SoLA | Can Foundation.
Over the next 12 months, the Federation and these partner organizations will work together to create educational opportunities to engage their communities and will convene four expert-led roundtable conversations to dialogue around programs, local issues, and bridge-building, according to Federation leadership.
Attendees at the Sukkot-themed launch party included Joanne Reyes, CEO of the Fulfillment Fund; Curtis Silvers, executive vice president at Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade; and David Bocarsly, executive director at the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California.
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