A DREAM FULFILLED : OPENING OF SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER BRINGS JEWISH HISTORY TO NEW HEIGHTS.

Byline: Jenifer Hanrahan Daily News Staff Writer

Fifteen years ago, Rabbi Uri Herscher envisioned a fitting display for the 25,000 Jewish artifacts stored in the basement of Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.

Sixty-five million dollars and more than a few gray hairs later, Herscher's vision is slated to become a reality when the Skirball Cultural Center opens Sunday.

Two miles north of the $733 million Getty museum and arts complex in the Sepulveda Pass, the stainless steel, glass and stone cultural center houses a 350-seat auditorium, conference center and museum of Jewish history and the Jewish immigrant experience.

The sounding of a shofar, an ancient musical instrument, will kick off the opening day celebration, followed by music, folk tales and dancing.

``It's beyond anything I could have dreamed,'' said Herscher, the 54-year-old president of the Skirball Cultural Center and professor of American Jewish history at Hebrew Union College.

The 15 acres of land for the cultural center - largely purchased with money from the late Jack Skirball, a rabbi who became a Hollywood film producer and real estate developer - was acquired in 1981, several years before the site was chosen for the Getty Center that is set to open next year.

Herscher said he chose the Sepulveda Pass because of its proximity to the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, which together are home to two-thirds of the city's Jewish population.

But he said the cultural center will be open to everyone.

``Hopefully, people will come and learn about one immigrant group, and some of their own experiences will be mirrored as well,'' he said.

Gerald Margolis, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance in West Los Angeles, sees the Skirball as a welcome addition to Los Angeles cultural life.

The two museums have different - yet complementary - missions, he said. The Museum of Tolerance addresses the Holocaust and prejudice, while the Skirball Center focuses on Jewish history.

``The more museums we have, the better off the community is,'' Margolis said.

The core museum exhibit at Skirball is ``Visions and Values: Jewish Life From Antiquity to America,'' which includes replicas of a third-century mosaic and synagogue from northern Israel, and the holy ark from Berlin's New Synagogue that was destroyed in 1938.

``The idea for the cultural center is to tell the story of the 4,000-year-old Jewish tradition as it interweaves with the ... American tradition,'' Herscher said.

A second exhibit, ``Becoming American Women: Clothing and the Jewish Immigrant Experience, 1880-1920,'' depicts the struggles of Jewish women who emigrated from Eastern Europe to assimilate their new surroundings while retaining tradition.

Herscher, whose parents fled Nazi Germany, sees the center as a ``living memorial'' to those who suffered persecution. And yet, the portion of the exhibit that deals with the Holocaust is purposefully understated. In a darkened room, six portraits of people who perished in concentration camps are illuminated by a flickering eternal flame.

``Eyes have to meet eyes,'' Herscher explained. ``The visitor is confronted. We wanted people to see themselves in those faces.''

Interactive computers with touch-screen commands allow visitors to call up more detailed information about the artifacts and displays.One display, set to Beatles music, features Bible quotes interspersed with images of prominent Jews who have made contributions in the arts, education, music and science.Another display features taped interviews with Jews about what their heritage and religion means to them. Visitors are invited to record their feelings on the subject for possible incorporation into the display.

There are plans for concerts in the courtyard and lectures in the auditorium. Herscher also wants the cultural center to become a destination for field trips and a resource for teachers. A media room that is still being developed will house research materials, while children can enjoy an outside ``archeological dig'' where they can unearth replicas of artifacts buried in sandboxes.

Classrooms that overlook the courtyard will be used for adult education beginning in September.

``(Visitors) can spend a whole day,'' said Jeanne Kaufman, a retired schoolteacher who has worked side by side with Herscher as director of development. ``They can go to a lecture, see a film, eat lunch, go to a class and go to a performance.''

THE FACTS What: Skirball Cultural Center opening day festivities.

Where: 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: From 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Call [phone] for reservations.

The show: Dancing, music and storytelling by local artists.

Admission: Free.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) The $65 million Skirball Cultural Center open s Sunday in the Sepulveda Pass. The 15-acre site houses an auditorium, conference center and museum.

(2) Rabbi Uri Herscher looks over one of the museum exhibits at the Skirball Cultural Center, named after rabbi-turned-producer and developer Jack Skirball.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News