Kabbalah Centre

The Kabbalah Centre is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit worldwidecite news
title = Internal Revenue Service.
publisher = United States Department of treasury.(Insert Kabbalah word in search)
url = http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78
accessdate = ] spiritual organization with headquarters in Los Angeles, California which provides courses online and through its local centres. To its proponents, the Kabbalah Centre is a spiritual organization which teaches principles of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in a unique and user-friendly system accessible to anyone, regardless of religion, race, age, or gender.cite website
title = Michael Berg - Interview by Rebecca Phillips
work = Kabbalah for Everyone
publisher = Beliefnet
date=
url = http://www.beliefnet.com/story/158/story_15886_1.html
accessdate = 2006-10-31] This simplified presentation of Kabbalah was developed by its current leader, Philip Berg and his wife, Karen Berg, with opposition from the traditional religious establishment. [cite news
title = What's Behind Hollywood's Fascination with Kabbalah?
publisher = ABC News
date= June 17, 2005
url = http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=855125&page=1
accessdate = 2006-10-31] The Kabbalah Centre comprises Jewish and non-Jewish teachers and students. [cite website
title = FAQ
publisher = The Kabbalah Centre
date=
url = http://www.kabbalah.com/03.php
accessdate = 2006-10-31] Some Jewish organizations distinguish it as non-Jewish and consider its patronage by Jews problematic as some forms of Judaism forbid Jews from participating with non-Jews in religious rituals.cite news
title = Madonna due to join Israel trip
publisher = BBC News
date=
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3641256.stm
accessdate = 2006-10-31]

History

The Kabbalah Centre was founded in the United States in 1965 as The National Research Institute of Kabbalah by Philip Berg (born Feivel Gruberger) and Rav Yehuda Tzvi Brandwein. After Brandwein's death, and after several years in Israel, Philip Berg and his wife Karen Berg, re-established the U.S. Kabbalah Centre in New York. The current headquarters of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles was opened in 1984. Karen and their sons Yehuda and Michael act as Directors and Spiritual Leaders of the organization. The organization is a registered non-profitcite news
title = Internal Revenue Service.
publisher = United States Department of treasury.(Insert Kabbalah word in search)
url = http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78
accessdate = ] with over fifty branches worldwide, including major ones in Los Angeles, New York City, London and Toronto.

Teachings

Courses

The Kabbalah Centre offers its teachings through various courses available at its centers and online. They include: Power of Kabbalah I/II/III, Wheels of a Soul, DNA of Success, Writings of the Zohar, and Ten Luminous Emanations.

Approach

Kabbalah is a collective of knowledge with roots in great antiquity. As with all knowledge, various methods of teaching it are possible. The Kabbalah Centre's approach to teaching is to start students with practical methods that do not make previous knowledge of Hebrew and Jewish texts a prerequisite for understanding. In addition to having no knowledge-based barrier-to-entry, the Kabbalah Centre's accessibility is uniquely enhanced by the absence of any religious, gender, age, or marital status discrimination.

The Kabbalah Centre often cites Kabbalah as the inspiration for recent scientific discoveries, including The Big Bang, String Theory, atomic structure, and Newton's Third Law. The following present the Kabbalah Centre's basic teachings.

Relation to Religions

According to its views, all widely-held spiritual or religious belief systems are merely specific branches of a universal wisdom. The effect of this is a resemblance of religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism, as well as new-age teachings, to Kabbalah. In accordance with this belief, the Kabbalah Centre does not present itself as an alternative to any religion in particular, but rather, as a supplement to it.

The Bible

The Bible is not to be taken literally, as it is wholly a code, and can only be truly understood in this context. The Kabbalah Centre claims that its teachings, based largely on the text and understanding of the Zohar, provide the conventions to unlock and understand this code. This includes the true meaning of the days of creation in Genesis, and the story of Adam and Eve. However, some biblical passages, such as the Passage of the Red Sea, are spoken of as actual historical events. It is unclear whether the organization's definition of the Bible includes Christian writings, or represents only the Torah.

The Light

One should primarily be concerned with their relationship with the essence of God, rather than God Himself as He is beyond comprehension. The essence of God is referred to in its teachings as Light. In the beginning, there was only Light, but its nature was to share and it had no recipient for this natural desire. Therefore the Light created a vessel to be the recipient of the Light. Upon receiving this Light, the vessel came to inherit some of its properties, just as a glass, when filled with cold water, becomes cold itself. Chiefly, the vessel inherited the desire to share. To accomplish this, the vessel refused the Light, an act called Restriction, and thus broke into two parts so that it could share with itself. It is from these two parts that the souls of all males and females are derived, respectively. The breaking of the vessel created ten unique Sefirot, all of which have a particular relationship to humans and the perceivable universe.

99%

The "99%" is a frequently referenced terminology in Kabbalah Centre teachings which refers to the division of true reality. The five senses provide access to a mere 1% of reality, which is the byproduct of a 99% reality that cannot be accessed by the senses. Since the circumstances of the unperceivable 99% of reality dictate those of the 1% normally perceived, one must use Kabbalistic wisdom to access the 99%, thereby providing context to the 1%. No occurrence in life, in the 1%, is accidental or random; rather it is completely the calculated result of the 99%. All confusion, and appearance of chaos is an illusion created by the absence of such context. The 99% is characteristic of pure joy, understanding, and truth.

Restriction

Naturally, an event occurs, which triggers an emotional response, which one then acts on. To truly control a situation, one must consider one's emotional reactions themselves as the enemy, and not one's cause. If one is able to restrict himself from acting on his primary emotional reactions, the best possible course of action will come to him naturally. Only by restricting one's emotional reflexes to negative situations can one consciously remove the impact of his ego. One's instinct to egotistically react to a situation is referred to as the Opponent, or "The Satan". For example, when one is standing in line at the automated teller machine for twenty minutes, it is not the person in front of him, but his frustration that is the enemy. If one does not practice restriction, his existence becomes the automatic outcome of our circumstances, rather than a proactive experience of his creation.

Klippot

Kabbalah Centre teaches the Kabbalistic concept of Klippot. The idea is that everyone has a direct and clear connection to the upper metaphysical-spiritual world of the Light (Ein Sof, unbounded God), but that this channel is blocked by Klippot, restricting the spiritual energy from entering the physical body. It is through meditation and practice of Kabbalah teachings and Jewish law (which the Kabbalah Centre says is early Rabbinistic construction to aid in practicing Kabbalah without revealing its secrets) that one removes Klippot, and it is by violence and negative behaviour that one adds Klippot. cite book
last = Yehuda
first = Berg
title = The Kabbalah Book of Sex: And Other Mysteries of the Universe
publisher = Kabbalah Publishing
date = September 18, 2006
id = 1571895442 ]

Astrology

The Kabbalah Centre has a strong belief in astrology, and asserts that astrology, including the Zodiac, has been part of Judaism since its inception. The Centre claims astrology was lost in Jewish tradition as part of the suppression of Kabbalah by Jewish rabbis nearly 2000 years ago (evidence of this includes ancient synagogues with zodiac rings). This claim is historically inaccurate, as astrology was studied by Jewish scholars throughout the Middle Ages, though it was opposed by more philosophically inclined thinkers such as Maimonides. As such, there is a strong belief in the Kabbalah tradition that cosmic forces affect everything, and knowing how to understand them can prove to be valuable to the aspiring Kabbalist. Philip Berg, the founder of the Kabbalah Center, is himself an astrologer and has written numerous books on astrology during his career.

ex

It is not recommended that men masturbate, as the sperm are abandoned souls that become demons. When a woman's insides come into contact with a man's sperm, they are coming into contact with the essence of their energy and are affected by this for several years. The man should not orgasm before the woman, as it injects selfishness into the act of love making. A couple should not engage in sex with the woman positioned above the man, as she is then drawing energies into herself from below, instead of above. The most Light is derived from sex that occurs early Saturday morning.

Celebrity followers

Madonna

Madonna, joined by her husband Guy Ritchie, studies regularly with a personal Kabbalah Centre rabbi, no longer gives concerts on Friday night (which is the onset of Shabbat), wears the red string around her left wrist for protection and to ward off the "Evil Eye" (Ayin Hara), has introduced Jewish ritual objects such as tefilin ("phylacteries") into her videos and tithes regularly to the Kabbalah Centre.cite news
title = Madonna Gives Her Money Away
publisher = Fox News
url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203104,00.html
accessdate = ] Madonna was raised as a Catholic. In July, 2006 the media reported an unfounded rumour that Madonna was leaving the Kabbalah Centre. [cite website
title = Kabbalah: is Madonna losing her religion?
date= July 9, 2006
url = http://www.rickross.com/reference/kabbalah/kabbalah176.html
accessdate = ] One media columnist speculated that one of reasons was due to alleged financial irregularities of donations to the centre. Despite the uncorroborated allegations of financial irregularities, the rumour turned out to be false, and Madonna continues to attend Kabbalah Centre events, even while on her current world tour. In fact, Madonna has collaborated with the Kabbalah Centre on a new project called "Raising Malawi", which will provide relief aid to the African nation of Malawi. [cite news
title = Madonna Finds A Cause
publisher = Time Magazine
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html
accessdate = ] When Madonna tried to partner "Raising Malawi" with UNICEF, due to this project's close association with the Kabbalah Centre, UNICEF demurred. [cite website
title = UNICEF shuns Madonna's donation
publisher = New Kerala
url = http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=3782
accessdate = ]

Others

Britney Spears was introduced to the Kabbalah Centre by Madonna, though her ongoing relationship with the organization remains a matter of speculation. At one point, Spears was ridiculed for getting a Hebrew tattoo on the back of her neck, the letters Mem, Hey, and Shin, a sequence from the Zohar that is associated with Healing. Tattoos are forbidden by Jewish law.Britney Spears has since converted back to her Baptist religon. Lindsay Lohan has also had some involvement with the organization, and has been seen wearing the associated red string on her wrist. [cite news
title = Lindsay Lohan flirts with Kabbalah
publisher = Life Style Extra
url = http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowbizNews.asp?Code=LJ31905E&headline=lindsay_lohan_flirts_with_kabbalah
accessdate = ] Other celebrities that have been associated with the Centre include Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Alex Rodriguez, Donna Karan, David Beckham., Paris Hilton [ [http://www.rickross.com/reference/kabbalah/kabbalah50.html Paris Hilton dabbles in mysticism] ] , Nicole Richie, Zac Efron, and Lauren Conrad. [ [http://thesnagwire.com/joomla/zac-efron-lauren-conrad-into-kabbalah.html Zac Efron and Lauren Conrad Into Kabbalah] ]

Controversy and Criticism

General

The authenticity of the organisation's teaching is disputed. The Kabbalah Centre has been described as an "opportunistic offshoot of the faith, with charismatic leaders who try to attract the rich and the vulnerable with the promise of health, wealth, and happiness." cite news
title = Kabbalah leader's Holocaust slur
publisher = BBC News
date= January 9, 2005
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4158287.stm
accessdate = 2006-10-31]

Holocaust

There was also media controversy in 2005 related to a recorded comment by a Kabbalah Centre leader regarding the Holocaust. According to a BBC news article, Eliyahu Yardeni, a senior figure in the London Kabbalah Centre has been quoted as saying, "Just to tell you another thing about the six million Jews that were killed in the Holocaust: the question was that the Light was blocked. They didn't use Kabbalah." This claim caused international outrage, with one scholar calling the statement "obscene".

Claimed cancer cure

A probe by an undercover journalist working for the BBC revealed that the Kabbalah Centre had made claims that spring water sold by the group had, amongst its effects, a curative effect on cancer. Reportedly, bottles were sold to cancer sufferers for "hundreds of pounds".

Accounting

In Israel, authorities have refused to give the organization a certificate of proper management for three years running (as of 2005) because of accounting inadequacies.cite news
title = Kabbalah leader's Holocaust slur
publisher = BBC News
date= January 9, 2005
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4158287.stm
accessdate = 2006-10-31]

References

* In 2007, Greenwood Press published "Kabbalah and the Spiritual Quest: The Kabbalah Centre in America" by Jody Myers (ISBN 978-0-275-98940-8). Dr. Myers is a historian, professor of Religious Studies and the Coordinator of the Jewish Studies program at California State University, Northridge. hello

External links

* [http://www.kabbalah.com Kabbala Center Official website]
* [http://www.yehudaberg.net Yehuda Berg's Blog ] kabbalah Center's leader