What’s Happening: Tu B’Shevat Seder and Hike, Maira Kalman

FRI JAN 18

YJP Shabbat Dinner
More than 100 young Jewish professionals connect and network with an open bar and a four-course Shabbat dinner at Pat’s Restaurant. Organized by YJP, which brings together diverse and ambitious crowds of 21–39-year-olds in a spirited social environment. 6-10 p.m. $85. Pat’s Restaurant, 9233 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 692-4190.

MLK Shabbat
San Pedro’s Temple Beth El celebrates an MLK Shabbat in advance of the Jan. 21 national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church choir joins Cantor Ilan Davidson and the Beth El in-house band, the Moody Jews, in a blending of soulful gospel and traditional Shabbat music. Refreshments and mingling follow. 6:30 p.m. Free. Temple Beth El, 1435 W. Seventh St., San Pedro. (310) 833-2467.

Soul Shabbat
Back by popular demand, gospel singer and composer Dr. Dee and members of BYTHAX (pronounced By-That’s) promise to have Kol Tikvah members dancing in the aisles on a Shabbat focused on souls and soul sounds. Rabbis Jon Hanish and Becky Hoffman, Cantor Noa Shaashua and rabbinic intern Esther Jilovsky lead the musical services. Socializing and sweet treats follow. 6:30–7:30 p.m. Kol Tikvah, 20400 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 348-0670.

SAT JAN 19

Tu B’Shevat Seder
After Shabbat morning services, Hollywood Temple Beth El holds “Tu B’Shevat Seder and Song,” featuring Beth El Rabbi Norbert Weinberg leading participants through four levels of existence via four layers of fruits and nuts. Bring a generous bag of dried fruits or nuts, or bottles of white or red grape juice, to share. Any unopened bags and bottles will be given to the SOVA food pantry. Shabbat services, 9:45 a.m.; “Seder and Song,” noon. Hollywood Temple Beth El, 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 656-3150. Email temple@htbel.org for additional information.

“Secrets”
The Gallery at Jewish Women’s Theatre (JWT) debuts “Secrets: Maury Ornest’s Hidden Art,” which reveals the hope and beauty within a troubled mind. After Ornest died of heart disease at 58, his family discovered secret storage units containing 1,000 canvases he had created over the two decades he suffered from paranoia, delusions and psychotic breaks. The program features a talk with the artist’s sister, Laura, followed by the first performance of JWT’s “Family Secrets,” which are secret stories of youthful indiscretions, missteps and naughty activities. 6:30 p.m. reception. 7 p.m. art talk. “Family Secrets” 8 p.m. Art and art talk free. Ticket required for “Family Secrets.” $45-$50. Additional art talks on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29. The Gallery at The Braid, 2912 Colorado Ave., Suite 102, Santa Monica. (310) 315-1400.

SUN JAN 20  

Tu B’Shevat Hike
Experience Tu B’Shevat with members of IKAR. The egalitarian congregation participates in IKAR Green Action Tu B’Shevat, a seven-mile roundtrip adult hike and a BYO veggie picnic lunch. Under the leadership of Jeff Zimmerman and Rabbi Keilah Lebell, hikers convene at the trailhead at the end of Brentwood’s Westridge Trail. They proceed to the historic Nike Missile Site to celebrate Tu B’Shevat, reaching an elevation of 900 feet, offering views from the ocean to downtown L.A. Hikers are advised to bring a minimum of one liter of water, sunscreen, sunglasses and meat-free food. Contact mtgreenaction@ikar-la.org if hike is canceled due to rain. No dogs allowed. 9:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. IKAR, 1737 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 634-1870.

PJ Library Family Hike
On the eve of Tu B’Shevat, PJ Library families enjoy a hike of about a mile in Franklin Canyon, one of Southern California’s most popular hiking locations. A bottle of water, sunblock and comfortable shoes are advised. No dogs allowed. Hikers assemble by the PJ Library sign at 9:45 a.m. Hike begins at 10 a.m. To RSVP, or for more information, contact mfritzen@jewisha.org

“The Migrant Kitchen”
Leah Hochman, director of the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies at USC; chef, author, radio host and restaurateur Evan Kleiman; and documentarian James Mann (“The Migrant Kitchen”) examine “The Migrant Kitchen: Jewish Deli, Tradition and Identity in L.A.,” a discussion on the intersection between Jewish culture and culinary tradition. Reception follows. 4–5:30 p.m. Free, parking $12. Reservations requested. USC Doheny Memorial Library, Room 240, 3550 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles.

MON JAN 21 

MLK Clothing Drive
For the seventh year, Big Sunday organizes the MLK Day Clothing Collection and Community Breakfast to honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. On behalf of disadvantaged people, Big Sunday is collecting new and gently used work clothes, casual clothes, warm clothes, coats and athletic wear for women, men, boys and girls of all ages and sizes. New underwear and socks are in demand. Last year, Big Sunday sent more than 50,000 articles of clothing to four dozen organizations. To organize a clothing drive or if you have questions, contact rob@bigsunday.org. 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Free. 6111 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 549-9944.

TUE JAN 22

“Roadmap Jerusalem”
The documentary film “Roadmap Jerusalem,” which tracks the connection of Jerusalem to the Jewish people by exploring the biblical, archaeological and political history of the city, is screened at Sinai Temple. “Roadmap” follows Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz as he travels the streets of Jerusalem, walks the corridors of the Knesset and learns about Jewish archaeological and historical connections at the Temple Mount. After the screening, Lebovitz and Sinai Temple Rabbi Erez Sherman take questions and discuss the documentary. 7:30–9 p.m. Free for temple members, $18 general admission. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd. (310) 474-1518.

Jewish Meditation
Meditation teacher Alison Laichter, founder of the Jewish Meditation Center, infuses meditation techniques with Jewish language, intentions, texts and understanding at an afternoon meditation session at the Skirball Cultural Center. The session incorporates themes and traditions from upcoming Jewish holidays and features instruction, brief exercises, a Q-and-A and discussion. 2–3:30 p.m. $5 general admission. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 440-4500.

WED JAN 23

“Israel in Exile”
Centering on the hot and contemporary topic of forced migration, Carly Crouch compares the prophet Ezekiel’s reaction when his community was deported from Jerusalem to Babylonia in the sixth century B.C.E. with the reactions of more recent forced migrants. Exploring how the experience of forced migration changed the way people talked about themselves, Crouch, a Fuller Theological Seminary professor, looks closely at the effect of the Babylonian exile on Israelite identity. Noon–1:30 p.m. Free. UCLA, 314 Royce Hall. (310) 267-5327.

“Sara Berman’s Closet”
Illustrator Maira Kalman and her son, artist Alex Kalman, participate in a conversation about their new family memoir and ongoing exhibition, “Sara Berman’s Closet,” at the Skirball Cultural Center. The Kalmans review the inspiration and process for their twin projects about their mother and grandmother, Sara Berman. Maira Kalman, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times, has a reputation for detecting the usually ignored in daily life. The book will be available for purchase. The exhibition will be open to ticketholders 90 minutes before the program starts. 8 p.m. $15 general admission, $10 members. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 440-4500.

THU JAN 24

Kishinev’s 1903 Pogrom
The first time in Russian-Jewish history that a mass attack on Jews received international attention was the Kishinev 1903 pogrom, when 49 Jews were murdered in this obscure border town. In a presentation at UCLA, Stanford University professor Steven Zipperstein describes how this incident led to such diverse and contradictory events as a new Haganah, the founding of the NAACP, the first version of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and the emergence of the Israeli army. UCLA history professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein moderates. 4–5:30 p.m. Free. UCLA, 314 Royce Hall. (310) 825-5387, RSVP line: (310) 267-5327.