If you are Jewish, creative, and live near Beverly Hills, the Temple of the Arts may be a good place to call your religious home. Services are conducted at the historic Saban Theatre. 2024 was the fourth time I have attended High Holy Days and they always have an enlightening service.
I’m not an observant Jew having been transplanted to Orange County temporarily when I was a child and then married to a Polish Catholic man for 23 years. But, as early as I can remember I identify as a Jew.
High Holy Days services
Yom Kippur takes place on two nights. Friday night is Kol Nidre, an Aramaic prayer annulling vows made before God, sung by Jewish people at the opening of the Day of Atonement service on the eve of Yom Kippur. It is also the beginning of a fast that lasts until the end of the next day.
Saturday is an all-day Yom Kippur service of prayers, conversations, and connection with spirit.
The Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts, under its founding Rabbi, David Baron, combines traditional Jewish tradition with an entertaining bent.
People of all faiths attend and celebrities often read prayers. World-class music is provided by renowned Cantor Nathan Lam, Cantor Ilysia J. Pierce, and Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated musical director Sharon Farber.
2024 Speakers for Temple of the Arts High Holy Days
October 2024 marked the first anniversary of the horrific attack in Israel on the Nova Music Festival and surrounding kibbutzim. 97 hostages are still in captivity, the war is escalating, and the entire Middle East and the world are being threatened.
This time, I attended a conversation Rabbi Baron held with several of his guest speakers.
One of them was Oz Davidian, a courageous farmer/lawyer who drove his SUV along with three other cars into the area of the Nova Festival, rescued 120 young people, and brought them to safety.
He drove his vehicle 15 times directly into the area of peak violence and shooting and miraculously only received one bullet hole in his truck. Hamas murdered the other three drivers.
The army did not arrive for hours. Oz continued driving into the violent attack from morning to dusk and then returned during the night to look for more survivors. He is a hero in the truest sense having put victims’ lives before his own.
If you can, please visit the Nova Exhibition in Los Angeles extended to October 20 in Culver City to understand the brutality of what happened there on October 7, 2023.
Another speaker was Richard S. Hirshhaut. He is the director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Los Angeles. The AJC has been working to protect Jewish students on college campuses from antisemitic violence. Its mission is to replace or re-educate faculty members who are spreading dangerous misinformation to students. The work of the AJC, Hillel, and Chabad helps protect students of all denominations and cultures.
Antisemitism and disinformation being promoted on college campuses, in politics, and in communities is funded by the Iranian Regime. Sadly, this fact has been shoved under the rug. It was brought to light at High Holy Days at the Temple of the Arts in a trailer for a film called “Ask an Iranian” made with members of the Iranian American community.
Before the Shah of Iran was exiled, Iran was a thriving, multi-cultural, and highly evolved country. When Ayatollah Khomeini took over, intellectuals, women, and many others were brutally and openly executed in the streets. This continues to this day. Iran is a huge threat to the Middle East and the world and must be taken seriously.
Iran funds terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, Isis, and others. They are interfering in U.S. elections along with Russia, China, and North Korea. This must be brought to the surface and understood. The Israeli-Gaza conflict will not be settled until this comes to light.
The film is a 30-minute documentary produced by Gregg Hurwitz, a New York Times #1 internationally bestselling author of 24 thriller books including the Orphan X series. He and several others spoke after watching a trailer of the film.
One thing that stood out to me Hurwitz said after we watched the trailer was that the left (politically) does not understand Iran and the right does not understand Russia. Somehow we need to get everyone on the same page.
Understand that no one is happy about what is going on in Gaza and elsewhere to innocent people. But the root of the problem is Iran.
Carolyn Siegel is a young Temple member and founder of the non-profit “If You Heard What I Heard.” Its mission is to preserve the words of grandparents who survived the Holocaust. Her compelling presentation was a reminder that what happened during WWII can and will happen again if we let it.
I don’t always agree with all the speakers I hear at Temple of the Arts High Holy Days. Some, are quite alarming. They lean in a direction I am fervently against politically and are more angering than inspiring. It may be because the Temple is located in Beverly Hills, but politics, even in a subtle way, should not be thrust upon a congregation during a religious service.
On the other hand, the Temple of the Arts always presents an extraordinarily uplifting service and is a pleasure to attend.
About the Saban Theatre
The beautiful Art Deco-style Temple rotunda and lobby of the Saban Theatre was once the Fox Wilshire Theatre. It opened as a vaudeville theatre in 1930 and is one of the most notable Art Deco-style buildings in Los Angeles.
The Temple of the Arts was founded in 1992 and is home to many creative types in the Los Angeles Jewish community.
The Saban Theatre hosts other events and concerts throughout the year.
View its calendar of events here. When you visit, you will be impressed by its extraordinary beauty.
The Saban Theatre is located at 8440 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
You know the saying, ‘They just don’t build them like that anymore’? Well, in this case, it is so, so true! What an extraordinarily beautiful building!
And what an opportunity to listen and learn!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Diane. It is a gorgeous building.
Hi Rebecca
Thanks for your interesting article. I do not agree with your assessment of Mort Klein.
His talk may be a bit uneasy for many as the media is also very one-sided so the public hears what the liberal agenda wants us to hear and blot out everything else. Mort spoke the facts in his talk and nothing else. This is 100% verifiable in history books. I applaud BHTA for allowing him to this venue.
Thanks for stopping by, Jeffrey, and reading my post. Mort and his wife were very nice to me but I feel that everyone is entitled to live peacefully especially since Jeruselum is the center of 3 major religions. But I don’t want to debate it here as these days the entire world is so divided.