Brittany Murphy memorial service at Temple of the Arts canceled

A memorial service scheduled for tomorrow in honor of Brittany Murphy has been postponed due to “family illness,” though some are suspicious of that announcement.

Sources say Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack was soliciting donations of up to $1,000 for people to attend in order to raise money for The Brittany Murphy Foundation. The memorial, which was set to take place at Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theater, was scheduled to include performances by a host of Murphy’s friends, colleagues and fellow artists, including her “8 Mile” co-star rapper Eminem. 

Rabbi David Baron, the spiritual leader of Temple of the Arts, who performed Murphy’s funeral last December, said Murphy and her mother had attended high holidays services there earlier this year. Although Murphy was not Jewish, Baron said, “She was a very spiritual person.” Despite not being affiliated with any particular religious movement, Murphy’s husband is Jewish and the two were married in a Jewish wedding. Baron said that Murphy found something in Judaism that resonated with her and that she loved the high holidays.

For now, the memorial is postponed, though Baron said he expects it will be rescheduled for a later date.

More from TMZ:

Simon Monjack had planned a huge launch party Thursday night for his new Brittany Murphy Foundation—an organization he claims is dedicated to arts education for children. Monjack had been reportedly soliciting $1,000 donations per person to attend.

But just days before the big night, someone called the Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts—where the event was supposed to go down—and told the Rabbi to hold the Manischewitz… because the party was off.

We’re told Monjack insists the party was simply postponed—but so far, no new date has been set.

UPDATE: TMZ has learned guests for the event received the following email from someone at the Brittany Murphy Foundation, “So sorry but the memorial has been canceled due to an illness in the family.”

We spoke with Rabbi David Baron, who was supposed to conduct the memorial, who told us when the call came in, the person who canceled never gave a reason.