Second Semester 2023-2024 Program Guide
VBS Hazak welcomes our community for our Second Semester 2023-2024 Programming
Second Semester VBS Hazak Program (February-May, 2024)
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February 1, 2024 (Thursday)
Hazak Memoir Writing Group “B” with Helen Dosik (See below for all dates)
We all have life stories. Sharing them with family and friends is a great mitzvah that benefits you and others. In this introduction to memoir writing, we discuss how to begin telling your story, how to keep a journal, and how to establish a writing practice.
February 2, 2024 (Friday)
Special Event:
Hazak Shabbat Dinner and Rimonim: A musical Shabbat service that reaches into your soul through song and prayer.
February 5, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Zev’s Los Angeles: From Boyle Heights to the Halls of Power
Zev Yaroslovsky
Director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and former member of the LA County Board of Supervisors and City Council
Hear the story of Zev Yaroslavsky from Zev himself, the son of Ukrainian Jews who immigrated to the United States 100 years ago. Fiercely independent, he combined an activist’s passion with a seasoned politician’s skill to challenge the region’s power brokers. He fought the L.A.P.D.’s excessive force and political intelligence gathering policies; led the effort to ban local taxes from funding the 1984 Olympics; teamed with President Clinton to avert a catastrophic county bankruptcy; helped develop L.A.’s modern transit system; won a bruising battle with real estate interests to save the Santa Monica Mountains from rapacious development; and was pivotal in the development of Walt Disney Concert Hall and the modernization of the iconic Hollywood Bowl. “I may be part of the establishment,” Zev said on the day he was first sworn into office, “but the establishment is not part of me."
Confronting the Climate Crisis and Cultivating Spiritual Courage
Vicki Kaplan
Director of Organizing and Strategist with Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action
The climate crisis is not just an environmental, economic, and racial justice issue; it is also an issue of the soul. Rooted in Jewish history and experience, teachings and tradition, and faith and song, Dayenu offers pathways for Jews and Jewish communities to confront the climate crisis with our hearts and eyes wide open, acknowledge feelings of fear and anxiety, cultivate a sense of hope, and move into courageous action. Dayenu is building a movement of American Jews confronting the climate crisis with spiritual audacity and bold political action. We mobilize Jewish support for climate solutions, build our collective power, and raise up a spiritual, religious, and moral voice in the national and global movements confronting the climate crisis. In this interactive discussion, Dayenu's Director of Organizing will share how U.S. Jewish communities are responding to the climate crisis and provide a briefing on climate action opportunities in California in 2024.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Discuss and learn with VBS Clergy and each other in a small and interactive group session. These small group sessions are like none you have experienced before. Anything can come up for discussion, and you will always leave the wiser.
OR
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Lively and informed small group discussions of the world’s major challenges, with DVD viewings and a Sourcebook from the Foreign Policy Association.
Today’s topic: Climate technology and competition
February 12, 2024 (Monday)
Jan 29, Feb 12, March 11, Apr 8, May 13
RSVP at VBS.org/GAMEDAY
Snacks available. Lunch pre-order available upon registration
Questions? Email sisterhoodRSVP@vbs.org
OR
February 15, 2024 (Thursday)
Special VBS Hazak Tour
The Norton Simon collection is comprised of about 12,000 objects that showcase—amongst other superlative works— the only painting by Raphael on the west coast, three portraits by Rembrandt, six superb paintings by Van Gogh, over one-hundred works by Degas, and an important collection of Indian and Southeast Asian sculpture that spans over 2500 years of the world’s finest cultural creations.
Sign up to reserve your spot with up to 30 Hazak members for a free private one-hour docent tour at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. We will carpool and meet at the museum before the 12:30pm tour and stay for lunch afterwards.
February 26, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Creating the Story of the Birth of Israel through Music
Sergio Barer
Pianist, Composer, Pianist, and President San Fernando Valley Master Chorale
With videos and music, Sergio will tell the story of how he created his musical work "The Nightmare and the Dream; Herzl and the Creation of Israel.”
Twenty Years Later: Jewish World Watch in Action
Janice Kamenir-Reznik, Co-founder, Jewish World Watch
Janice will provide an overview of the founding of JWW and its work in various countries and on various conflicts over the life of the organization. Serena will describe the current situation with the Uyghurs of China, the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and the continuing genocidal threats in Darfur. In addition, we will hear about the work JWW is doing in each of these regions.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see more below)
March 4, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Test Screenings: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love
Darlene Hayman
Market Research Analyst
Darlene will explain how the opinions expressed by test audiences impact the movies that are ultimately released in theaters and on streaming platforms. She will explain how everyday moviegoers weigh in by showing up to a recruited screening, watching an early cut of a film, and providing their unfettered feedback so that directors and studio executives can address their blunders, or better yet, turn their work into all-time classics.
Oskar Schindler, Thomas Keneally, and My Parents’ Holocaust Legacy
Marie Knecht, Daughter of Leopold and Ludmila Pfefferberg-Page
Marie will present and discuss her parent’s Holocaust story, starting with how her father met author Thomas Keneally in his retail store in October 1980. Keneally wrote and published Schindler’s Ark (1982), which Steven Spielberg produced as the movie Schindler’s List in 1993. She will go back to where her parents were born, how they met, how her father met Oskar Schindler, and the work he and his family did for him, including their time in the Plaszow labor camp, Oskar’s factory in Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia. Hear the remarkable story of how Oskar Schindler saved her parents and 1300 other Jews during the Holocaust.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Today’s topic: Science across borders
March 13, 2024 (Wednesday)
Special Field Trip to Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Come by bus to visit the first LA synagogue, founded as Temple B’nai Brith during the early years of the Lincoln administration. See and hear about its history, including the current main campus on Wilshire Boulevard. The domed structure is inspired by the great cathedrals of Europe and built in a Byzantine and Romanesque style. The interior is patterned after the Pantheon in Rome. Brothers Jack, Harry, and Abraham Warner in memory of their brothers Milton and Samuel donated the interior murals by studio artist Hugo Ballin. Film executive Irving Thalberg donated the cost of painting the Shema prayer that frames the oculus and the cost of the open eye at the center of the dome. Universal founder Carl Laemmle donated the bronze Havdalah spice-box inspired chandeliers; Louis B. Mayer of MGM donated the east and west stained-glass windows. Ben Meyer and Milton Getz of Union Bank donated a Kimball organ.
Stay tuned for details and registration information to reserve your spot for this interesting VBS Hazak experience.
March 18, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
The Moral, the Creative, the Business: Depicting Terrorism in Scripted Television
Leonard Dick
Emmy Award-winning writer-producer (The Good Wife, House, Lost, Truth Be Told)
How should television depict the tragedy and horrors of terrorism in a fraught world? What are the creative considerations? What are the moral obligations? And how do you navigate this in a changing media landscape? Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Leonard Dick shares his personal experiences and the challenges going forward.
Antisemitism & Anti-Zionism on Campuses and Beyond
Roz Rothstein
CEO and Co-Founder of StandWithUs
StandWithUs was established 22 years ago to educate and inspire people about Israel, and fight antisemitism. Since October 7, the world has seen an escalation of anti-Semitic acts of hatred on campuses and high schools, and in cities around the world. Our legal department has taken in 600 reports of antisemitism since October 7, which represents 10 times the number of incidents we would receive prior to October 7. Learn what is happening, what StandWithUs is doing to help students and community members, and how each one of you can be engaged.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Today’s topic: U.S. - China trade rivalry
April 1, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
The Music and Legacy of Debbie Friedman
Jacqueline Rafii
Cantor, Valley Beth Shalom
Our own Cantor Rafii will share about the life of renowned Jewish singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman, z"l, and how she shaped Jewish American music, including some of her most beloved songs and their stories.
U.S. Supreme Court: Non-elected Legislators or Impartial Arbiters?
Mark D Levick, JD
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science, LA Pierce College
Mark returns to Hazak with a lecture that will give you the opportunity to learn more about the U.S. Supreme Court, which functions as our country’s last resort tribunal. We may also get a brief overview of pending First Amendment cases that should be decided by June 30.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Today’s topic: NATO’s future
April 15, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Back to the World of the Bible
Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, Chief Rabbi Valley Beth Shalom
Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz will teach sections of the Hebrew Bible that inform our Jewish Identity and lend insight on the formation of our most sacred book.
At the Cine-gogue: Greatest Jewish Moments in Cinema
Ari Averbach
Senior Rabbi, Temple Etz Chaim, Thousand Oaks
With Rabbi Averbach at the helm, we will look at some of the most Jewish moments in cinema, discussing the honesty the filmmakers brought to the scene.
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Special Hazak Torah Study Recording Session for TORAH ON THE GO: PESACH with Rabbi Lebovitz and Rabbi Feinstein. Bring Pesach questions. This will be onsite only, no Zoom streaming.
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Today’s topic: Understanding Indonesia
May 6, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Too Long, Too Foreign…Too Jewish: Antisemitism and Name Changing in New York City, 1917-1946
Kirsten Femaglich
Professor of history and Jewish studies at Michigan State University
Our thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants’ names for them. Kirsten Fermaglich will elegantly describe the real story is much more profound. She has explored name change petitions that upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior: thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Yet, rather than trying to escape their heritage or “pass” as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active members of the Jewish community. While name changing allowed Jewish families to avoid antisemitism and achieve white middle-class status, the practice also created pain within families and became a stigmatized, forgotten aspect of American Jewish culture.
Baseball and Opera
Steve Kohn
Community Educator, Los Angeles Opera
There are many aspects of Baseball and Opera that are similar. Both attract large audiences.
Both have a language all their own. Both are international. And, you will learn that they have
many other connections. Join us and "Play Ball!"
Lunch Break to Nosh and Schmooze
Choice of:
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Or
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group with Gerry Davis (see below)
Today’s topic: High Seas Treaty
May 20, 2024 (Hazak Monday)
Hazak Monday Afternoon Programs – 12:45-2pm
Feb 5 and 26, Mar 4 and 18, Apr 1, April 15, May 6
Hazak Torah Study with VBS Clergy
Discuss and learn with VBS Clergy and each other in a small and interactive group session. These small group sessions are like none you have experienced before. Anything can come up for discussion, and you will always leave the wiser.
OR
Great Decisions 2024 Discussion Group
8 sessions – Jan 22, Feb 5 and 26, Mar 4 and 18, Apr 1, April 15, May 6 at 12:45pm
Join us for lively small group discussions of the world’s major challenges, with DVD viewings and a Sourcebook. This is Great Decisions 2024 — 8 spirited sessions starting MONDAY, January 22, 2024, a part of our Hazak Monday program! Gerry Davis will moderate the programs. Discussions are based on topics selected from a Sourcebook produced by the Foreign Policy Association.
Participation is limited to Hazak members. Enrollment is limited—don’t wait to register!! There is a $38 charge for the Foreign Policy Association Sourcebook.
For more information, please contact Gerry Davis at gddavis32@gmail.com or 818-326-5961.
Other Hazak Activities and Programs
NEW
- Volunteering with VBS Pre-school
- Senior Fitness Program – coming soon
- Senor Lounge – stay tuned
- Special Events
QUESTIONS?
Email vbshazak@vbs.org
Thu, May 2 2024
24 Nisan 5784
Streaming Events Daily
Valley Beth Shalom @ Home is streaming live events daily!
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Questions? Email vbshazak@vbs.org
