What’s Happening: Adam Schiff, Picklefest, Meditation Retreat

FRI AUG 2

Shabbat at the Beach
Escaping the midsummer heat in the San Fernando Valley, Kol Tikvah congregation members and friends from Woodland Hills drive west to Malibu and celebrate Shabbat at the beach at Point Dume. Rabbi Jon Hanish and Cantor Noa Shaashua lead services. Bring your own picnic dinner, towels and beach chairs. Kol Tikvah provides challah and dessert. RSVP suggested. 5-7:30 p.m. Free. Point Dume, Lifeguard Station No. 2. (818) 348-0670.

678 Shabbat
Adat Ari El’s 678 Shabbat is a uniquely stimulating experience that spotlights exchanges of contrasting opinions. Tonight’s program, “Controversy & Courteous Conversation: One State or Two?” features guest speaker Steve Goldberg, formerly of the national board of the Zionist Organization of America. 6 p.m. services. 7 p.m. dinner (vegetarian option available). 8 p.m. program. $18. Registration encouraged. Adat Ari El, 12020 Burbank Blvd., Valley Village. (818) 766-9426.

Tiny Tot Shabbat
Newborns to 2-year-olds attend a joyful Tiny Tot Shabbat, organized by Temple Akiba of Culver City and Jewish education group PJ Library. The morning features storytime, music, singing and fun. The guitar-strumming Rabbi Zach Shapiro and Cantor Lonee Frailich lead services. Open to the community. 9-10 a.m. Free. Temple Akiba, 5249 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. (310) 398-5783.

“Tel Aviv on Fire”
“Tel Aviv on Fire,” opening today at Laemmle theaters, follows a young Palestinian working for a soap opera who gets plot advice from a border guard. The success is stalled when the guard and the show’s financial backers fall into disagreement. Various times. $12.50 Monday-Thursday; $14 Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Opens at the Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles; Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (310) 478-3836.  

Synagogue for Performing Arts
Husband-and-wife and Cantors Judy and Herschel Fox lead Synagogue for the Performing Arts’ special, music-filled Shabbat services. No strangers to show business, the Foxes, who met 40 years ago, have separate careers but also sing together. 8 p.m. Free. Gindi Auditorium, American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 472-3500.

Camp Shabbat
Temple Aliyah celebrates “Camp Shabbat,” a rare opportunity to reunite with onetime bunkmates and song leaders from summer camp days and recall those forgotten melodies. This is the finale in a six-week “Summer Shul” celebration at the Woodland Hills congregation. 6:30 p.m. services. Free. Temple Aliyah, 6025 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 346-3545.

SAT AUG 3

Jewish Women Discussion
Every Shabbat morning, Rabbi Norbert Weinberg and Hollywood Temple Beth El congregants sit around a table and dive into ancient sources for guidance on modern issues. This week they discuss Jewish women, including Rufina, the first synagogue president; the famed businesswoman Glückel of Hameln; and the first woman rabbi in 1935. The discussion series on Jewish women concludes on Aug. 10 with “Women and Halakhah.” 9:30 a.m. discussion. 10:45 a.m. services. Free. Hollywood Temple Beth El, 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 656-3150.

Feeding the Overlooked
Adult and child volunteers join members of Kehillat Israel when they prepare and serve dinner to the 55 men and women residents at Turning Point, an interim housing facility in Santa Monica. Kehillat Israel has been performing this monthly mitzvah for 26 years. Volunteers shop for needed supplies, prepare food on-site or in advance and serve and socialize with residents during the meal. 5-6:45 p.m. Free. Turning Point, 1447 16th St., Santa Monica. (310) 459-2328.

SUN AUG 4

Meditation Retreat
If you have never meditated or need immediate inspiration, join Open Temple, in collaboration with Or Halev, when it presents a half-day silent Jewish meditation retreat. The Walnut-based Or Halev, a center for Jewish spirituality, says Judaism teaches that the way to detect the sacred in life’s mundane moments is by paying attention. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $5. Registration encouraged. Open Temple, 1422 Electric Ave., Venice.  (310) 821-1414.

Picklefest Time
Pickle fanatics and pickle amateurs alike participate in the annual family-friendly Picklefest at the Beverly Hills Farmers Market, featuring entertainment, contests and more. Attractions include the sour-puckering contest for the Best Dill Pickle in Beverly Hills and “I Can Pickle That,” where contestants compete with any pickled fruit or vegetable grown in California. The Farmers Market, which turns 25 this year, is sponsored by Nate ’n Al’s, one of the oldest delis in the country, dating to 1945. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Beverly Hills Farmers Market, 9300 block of Civic Center Drive, between Third Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills. (310) 285-6830.

Bagels & Bubbly
Young adults in their 20s and 30s meet and schmooze at a private home with other young professionals over bagels and mimosas while getting acquainted with Temple Beth Am’s new assistant rabbi, Rebecca Schatz. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $18. Address provided upon RSVP. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 652-7353.

MON AUG 5

Adam Schiff
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) appears at the Pasadena forum and panel discussion “Countering White Supremacy,” co-organized by IKAR. Schiff addresses how to protect houses of worship, confronting white supremacist violence and dismantling white supremacy. Panelists include the Rev. Susan Russell, senior associate for communication at the hosting All Saints Episcopal Church; Omar Ricci, chairperson of the Islamic Center of Southern California; Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council; and Brooke Wirtschafter, IKAR’s director of community organizing. 6-8 p.m. Free. RSVP recommended. All Saints Episcopal Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. (323) 634-1870.  

TUE AUG 6

Rescuing Ethiopian Jews
Reaching back to the heroic and daring 1980s and 1990s, former Mossad agent Yola Reitman shares details at Sinai Temple of the fascinating story of Israel’s rescue of 12,000 Ethiopian Jews from hostile territory. Reitman was a key director of the rescue mission, Operation Brother, which involved setting up a fake resort on the Red Sea coast of Sudan.  “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” a film inspired by the operation, is streaming on Netflix. 6:30 p.m. Free admission. Dinner free for Men’s Club members. $10 general. RSVP required for indoor garage parking. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd. (310) 474-1518.

THU AUG 8

Cha Wa
Cha Wa, which combines the New Orleans brass band sounds with the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, performs rare musical sounds at the Skirball Cultural Center. In segregated 19th-century New Orleans, racism was blamed for keeping blacks out of the Mardi Gras. Formed five years ago, the Cha Wa funk band brings its unique and danceable street culture to the Skirball Sunset Concerts series. Early arrivals are treated to a DJ set by Dr. Fuzzy of the Long Beach Funk Festival and the funk band Delta Nove. 6:30 p.m. doors and DJ set. 8 p.m. concert. Free. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 440-4500.

Challah Bake
Since it is never is too early to learn about prepping for Shabbat, all ages are welcome when Kehillat Ma’arav holds a community challah bake. 6:30 p.m. Free. Kehillat Ma’arav, 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.

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.