FRI OCT 12
Barkhu on Burbank
Bring your well-behaved, four-legged friends on leashes to a Barkhu on Bur-bank Shabbat service, featuring special blessings and doggie treats. Led by Rabbi Jessica Yarkin. 6–7:15 p.m. Adat Ari El’s Labowe Outdoor Chapel, 12020 Burbank Blvd., Valley Village. (818) 766 9426.
SAT OCT 13
Klezmer Juice
Jewish soul band Klezmer Juice performs at Boulevard Music in Culver City. The Los Angeles-based group, featuring international clarinetist Gustavo Bulgach, performs a musical style dating back to the shtetls of Eastern Europe. The band, which appeared in the 2005 film “Wedding Crashers,” infuses its sound with a generous Latin flavor. $15. 8–10 p.m. Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. (310) 398-2853.
Fall Festival Dinner Dance
Singles and couples ages 50 and older are invited to the Fall Festival Dinner Dance at Stephen Wise Temple. Tommy Tassi and the Authentics perform pop tunes from the 1950s,’60s and ’70s. In the spirit of the tribute to simpler times, the only admission form is cash at the door. 7–11 p.m. $25. Stephen Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive, Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 204-1240 or email johnseeman@aol.com.
National Refugee Shabbat
Commemorating HIAS’s National Refugee Shabbat, B’nai David-Judea holds a screening of “Dalya’s Other Country,” a HIAS-sponsored film. The story follows the family of Syrian-American Muslim Mustafa Zeno as they struggle to remake their lives in Southern California after fleeing the war in Syria. Zeno and the film’s director, Julia Meltzer, an American Jew, participate in a Q-and-A after the movie. HIAS is American nonprofit founded in 1881 that provides aid, assistance and advocacy for refugees. Its National Refugee Shabbat is intended to deepen understanding of the present global refugee crisis. 8 p.m. $8. Deadline to purchase tickets is Oct. 11 at 11:59 p.m. ID required. Sherry Lansing Theater, 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. All proceeds donated to HIAS. (310) 276-9269.
“Lavender Songs”
Re-creating the environment of a prewar 1930’s Berlin nightclub, actor-playwright Jeremy Lawrence stars in the West Coast premiere of “Lavender Songs — A Night in a Queer Weimar Berlin Cabaret.” Winner of New York’s Bistro Award, the one-man show features Lawrence as cabaret artist extraordinaire “Tante Fritzi” performing music written by queer artists during Germany’s Weimar period. The evening, a benefit for Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, concludes with playwright Josh Gershick conducting a Q-and-A with Lawrence. Champagne and wine available. Lounge opens at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m. $36 general admission, $75 second-tier VIP seating, $125 first-tier VIP seating. Beth Chayim Chadashim, 6090 W. Pico Blvd. (323) 931-7023.
SUN OCT 14
Bagels & Ballots
This bagel breakfast features expert commentary on the upcoming midterm elections from Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, as well as an informed analysis of key ballot measures by representatives from the League of Women Voters. Actor and political activist Barry Gordon moderates. Presented by the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center Social Justice Committee. 9:45 a.m. Suggested donation $5. Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, 1434 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena. (626) 798-1161. RSVP here.
Oneg Shabbat Art Gallery
Jewish artists from secular and religious backgrounds exhibit their work in a historic synagogue space as part of the North East Los Angeles Art Walk. The evening begins with Havdalah under the stars, weather permitting, followed by art, music and food. Presented by Oneg Shabbat North East LA Jewish Collaborative. 7–10 p.m. Free. Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park, 5711 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles. (714) 352-1815.
Story Time with Ethan T. Berlin
The Jewish Book Festival and PJ Library present writer Ethan T. Berlin, Emmy-nominated comedy writer and performer and the creator of the children’s book “The Hugely-Wugely Spider.” There will be crafts, snacks and an opportunity for kids to get up close and personal with real spiders and other critters supplied by Reptacular Animals. 3:30–5:00 p.m. Free. Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, 114-A W. Lime Ave., Monrovia. (626) 445-0810. RSVP here.
“18 Minutes of Fame”
Join Broadway, film and television singer and actress Barbara Minkus on an intimate journey of songs and stories about her life. (The show was previously known as “I’m Not Famous — A Musical Journey With Barbara Minkus.”) 5 p.m. $36 general, $18 for seniors, students with ID and groups. Also 5 p.m. on Oct. 21. The Pico, 10508 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (800) 838-3006. .
“The City Without Jews”
Wilshire Boulevard Temple hosts an exclusive screening of “The City Without Jews,” a recently discovered gem from 1924, which has been painstakingly restored by Filmarchiv Austria. Discovered in 2015 at a Paris flea market, this silent film is based on an Austrian bestseller and is an eerily prescient story of what would happen to the Jews of Europe 15 years later. Accompanied by live music from the temple’s organ. Followed by a panel discussion with Wolf Gruner, founding director of USC Shoah Foundation and USC professor of history and Jewish studies; Steven Ross, author and USC professor of history and director of the Casden Institute; and Roberta Grossman, filmmaker and director-producer of “Who Will Write Our History?” “Seeing Allred” and others. 4 p.m. $10–$18. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, 3663 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-2401.
“Brand New Jew: A DNA Comedy”
Monica Bauer’s one-woman show is about her discovery after a DNA test several years ago that she was 75 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. Adopted at birth and raised Catholic in a Polish-American family, she was delighted to learn the truth of her ethnic background. The show has been performed at theaters in Spokane, Wash; Charlottesville, Va.; Tucson, Ariz.; New York and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 7 p.m. Free. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 652-7353.
TUE OCT 16
Stuart Eizenstat
Stuart Eizenstat, who served as President Jimmy Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, discusses his new book, “President Carter: The White House Years.” Eizenstat’s history of the Carter administration includes details about Eizenstat’s work a backchannel to the Israeli government during peace negotiations with Egypt. He appears in conversation with CNN presidential historian and author Douglas Brinkley (“The Unfinished Presidency”). A book signing follows. 7 p.m. Free. RSVP required. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, 100 S. The Grove Drive, Los Angeles. (323) 651-3704.
“Radicals in the Barrio”
Justin Chacon, author of “Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies and Communists in the Mexican-American Working Class,” discusses the contribution of Mexican radicals, Jews and other immigrant groups to the labor movement in early 20th-century Los Angeles. 4–5:30 p.m. Free. UCLA, 6275 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles. (310) 267-5327.
Rent Control in Los Angeles
A historical perspective on rent control in Los Angeles is discussed by state Assemblyman Richard Bloom; Bill White, chairman and CEO of Related California; Marques Vestal, a doctoral candidate and co-author of a UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy rent control white paper; and Elana Popp, executive director of the Eviction Defense Network. California columnist Gustavo Arellano moderates. 7–8:30 p.m. Free. UCLA Faculty Center California Room, 480 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 206-9630.
WED OCT 17
Deep Thoughts with Rabbi Artson
How do we know if something is true? Who decides? How does Jewish scripture shape our thinking? During tonight’s discussion, “God Said It; That Settles It (Or Not!),” Rabbi Bradley Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, addresses these questions and more. 7–9 p.m. Free. 1729 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 634-1870.
THU OCT 18
Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert
An annual interfaith youth concert featuring students from Weizmann Day School, New Horizon School and St. Mark’s School, all in Pasadena, honors the memory of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The concert is one of more than 13,000 events in 140 countries commemorating the 16th annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days. Pearl’s parents, Judea and Ruth, initiated the event by inviting people everywhere to dedicate a musical performance to the memory of their son, who also played the violin. 11 a.m. Free. Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, 1434 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena. (626) 797-0204.
Have an event coming up?Send your information two weeks prior to the event to ryant@jewishjournal.com for consideration. For groups staging an event that requires an RSVP, please submit details about the event the week before the RSVP deadline.