What’s Happening: Ladino Concert, Oscars Preview

FRI FEB 15

Frieze Los Angeles Art Fair
The inaugural Frieze Los Angeles contemporary art fair opens on the New York City backlot of Paramount Pictures Studios with works from more than 70 galleries from around the city and the world. Check the event’s website for the schedule of artists talks, music, films and “Frieze Projects.” Through Feb. 17, $20 adult, $10 students, $5 children 2-12. Paramount Pictures Studios, 5515 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 956-1777.

Jacob Do Bandolim Tribute 
Celebrating the 101st birthday of Brazilian-Jewish mandolin virtuoso and composer Jacob do Bandolim, the Toronto-based ensemble Tio Chorinho performs Bandolim’s ragtime and jazz-influenced music at the Skirball Cultural Center. Los Angeles songstress Kátia Moraes performs with Tio Chorinho, led by mandolinist Eric Stein. Bandolim’s music is regarded as a precursor to samba and bossa nova. Seven-string guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento opens the program. 8 p.m. $20 general admission, $15 members. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 440-4500.

Ladino Shabbat
Come hear Ladino music and stories at “Shabat de Ladino Magico,” featuring Sephardic Israeli singer-actress Noa Dori and flamenco guitarist Fredy Schiftan. 7:30–10 p.m. Free. Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (818) 788-6000.

SAT FEB 16

“Do Jews and Romance Mix?”
Young Jewish professionals are invited to discover the Jewish roots of love during a joint program of Hollywood Temple Beth El and the Iranian-American Jewish Federation. Rabbi Norbert Weinberg leads a discussion that examines the love life of Adam and Eve, Lemech and his two wives, Jacob at the well and the biblical obligation to satisfy a wife’s desires. Enjoy coffee, snacks and learning. Shabbat services follow. 9:30 a.m. Free. Temple Beth El, 1317 N. Crescent Heights, West Hollywood. (954) 920-8225.

SUN FEB 17

Stand-Up Comedy Showcase 
Comedians Monica Piper and Sue Kolinsky headline the Comedy Showcase for the Whizin Center for Continuing Education. Kolinsky, who co-hosts a morning radio show in New York, is a producer and writer known for TV shows such as “Top Chef,” “The Osbournes” and “Sex and the City.” Piper, an Emmy-winning comedy writer, has written for “Roseanne,” “Mad About You” and “Rugrats,” and is an artist-in-residence with the Jewish Women’s Theatre. 4 p.m. $25. American Jewish University Familian Campus, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. (310) 476-9777.

Congressman Lieu Discusses Gun Reform 
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, an advocate of gun law reform, discusses gun violence and potential gun-reform legislation with Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Rabbi Sarah Bassin. The Democratic congressman, who represents the Westside and South Bay, will address the link between guns and hate crimes, the types of gun laws he believes should become the standard, and what gun-reform legislation has a chance of passage this year. 12:30 p.m. Free. Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. (310) 288-3737. .

“Truth Telling”
Rabbi Jason Weiner, chaplain of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, addresses one of life’s delicate questions, “Truth Telling: Revealing Painful Medical Truths to Family Members,” in a lecture at Kehillat Ma’arav. Weiner addresses questions such as: How much information should be shared with the patient and how much with members of the family?; What if a patient wants to know everything, but friends and relatives fear the patient cannot handle it?; How are such decisions made? 10 a.m. brunch. 11 a.m. lecture. Free. RSVP to Kehillat Ma’arav, 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.

Shlomo Katz
Happy Minyan’s Shabbaton concludes with a concert from Israeli singer/guitarist Shlomo Katz. Joined by the Yehuda Solomon and Duvid Swirsky of the band Moshav, Katz will perform his contemporary religious music — think folky pop with a Jewish accent — mixing his own songs with those written by his family and by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, the late “Singing Rabbi” whom Katz considers a “Jewish national treasure.” 8:30 p.m. $25, available at the door. The Happy Minyan, 9218  Pico Blvd., Los Angeles.

MON FEB 18

Yiddish Lessons
Learn to converse comfortably in Yiddish by attending the monthly “I Love Yiddish” series at Kehillat Ma’arav. Instructor Jack Roth demystifies familiar but not quite clear expressions. 11 a.m. Free. Library at Kehillat Ma’arav, 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.

TUE FEB 19

Oscars Preview
Six days before the Academy Awards ceremony, two veteran Hollywood reporters share their predictions for the winners at “Oscars Preview” night at Temple Judea. Senior CNN producer David Daniel moderates the discussion with Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Times and Nicole Sperling of Vanity Fair Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Free. Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. (818) 758-3800.

WED FEB 20

“Keeping Kids… Kids”
Gail Dines, an author, feminist and activist, as well as a professor at Wheelock College in Boston, discusses how the hypersexualization of modern culture and the accessibility of pornographic content on the internet affect children, in conversation with Rabbi
David Wolpe at Sinai Temple. 7–9 p.m. Free for Sinai Temple members and
Sinai Akiba Academy parents, $25 general. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire
Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 474-1518.  

Medicare-For-All Forum
Mari Lopez of the Healthy California campaign and National Nurses United discusses her local and national work as an organizer to extend Medicare to Americans of all ages. 7–8:30 p.m. Free. Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. (818) 758-3800.

“Jewish View View of Food”
Leah Hochman, who teaches food ethics and other subjects at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, explores the Jewish view of food in the first of four weekly lectures at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. In the series, titled “The Real World: The Jewish View of Food, Sex, Money and Politics,” Hochman discusses the historical, religious, cultural, social and health implications of each subject. 10 a.m. $9 for each class, $36 for all four. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Irmas Campus, 11661 Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 388-2401.

THU FEB 21

Protecting Women’s Health
Nearly five decades after Roe v. Wade, protecting access to women’s health
remains hotly debated. Sue Dunlap, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, discusses this topic at Temple Isaiah. 7 p.m. wine and cheese reception, 7:30 p.m. lecture. Free. Temple Isaiah, 10345 W. Pico Blvd. (310) 277-2772.  

America in Retreat?
Philosopher-author Bernard-Henri Levy, who believes America’s retreat from its traditional global leadership role is imperiling the world, speaks at Stephen Wise Temple. Arguing that the retreat did not begin, nor will it end, with the Donald Trump presidency, Levy says the reduction of U.S. influence has opened the way for Russia, China, Turkey, Iran and Sunni Arabs to undermine the West’s liberal values. Levy’s program takes its name from the latest of his 30 books, “The Empire and the Five Kings: America’s Abdication and the Fate of the World.” 7 p.m. $15 temple members, $20 general. Stephen Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive. (310) 476-8561.

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.