Kabbalah Centre Information

Let’s get back to basics. The Kabbalah Center is an amazing place which is reaching out to more people every day. But what is it all about? Why are so many people making these efforts to bring the wisdom of a 4,000 year-old ancient wisdom to the large numbers of people?

The Kabbalah teaches that each person was born with the potential to receive great gifts from the spiritual world. However, in order to receive these gifts, we must deserve them through the actions of our lives. What actions are these? The spiritual work we must do for ourselves to transform ourselves. The Kabbalah teaches us how to recognize the negative aspects of our lives that are holding us back from being and receiving all that we can be, and become.

When you connect to the Kabbalah Centre, you are making the first step to self-transformation and spiritual fulfillment.

Have you seen the new book by Yehuda Berg? It is called “Kabbalah: The Power to Change Everything.” He is writing it in a blog form, putting each new chapter up on-line and allowing readers to post their comments about each chapter.

According to Yehuda, this book is “a commentary on our world, offering the kabbalistic perspective on what went wrong with religion, the global economy, the environment, and more.”
Yehuda states that he wants readers’ feedback so that his book can address the needs of his readers more accurately and sensitively.

The model for writing the book this way is actually based on the traditional way Kabbalah was taught/learned throughout history. There was not a “frontal” approach of the teacher “lecturing to his students. Rather, in a one-on-one fashion the teacher would present an idea or information, and the student asked questions about the teaching in order to better understand it and get the most out of the information for his own life.

The hope of Yehuda Berg’s on-line book is to get his readers to experience this back and forth dialogue so that the teachings in the book become relevant and useful to make life changes.

At the Kabbalah Centre the goals are to bring the wisdom of the Kabbalah to as many people as possible, so that each person can not only change his own life, but effect and change the lives of everyone he/she comes in contact with.

In the modern world, where everyone is connected and interconnected through social networking and other computer technologies, the power to effect people has grown exponentially. Especially now the Kabbalah is crucial to re- making the world so that all people can live the rewarding lives they were born to live.

The Kabbalah Center offers a large selection of books to explore the concepts and ideas that the Kabbalah teaches. Included is an especially nice group of books for children which teach the basic ideas of Kabbalah in a simple, fairy-tale type style, written by Madonna.

Here is a brief description of a few of these beautifully illustrated books:

• Lotsa de Casha- A wealthy man, Lotsa de Casha, discovers that no matter how much money he has and what he can buy with it, this does not lead to happiness. But in the end he does find the way to happiness, and finds a friend, too.
• Yaakov and the Seven Thieves- Using the Baal Shem Tov as inspiration, this story demonstrates how each one of us as the ability to open the gates of heaven, even those that believe they are not worthy. Miracles can happen when we defy our selfish nature.
• The Adventures of Abdi-Journeying to deliver a precious necklace to the Queen, the little Abdi encounters many obstacles which he overcomes by always remembering the wisdom his teacher Eli has bestowed on him: to never give up and always remember that in life everything is for the best.

At the Kabbalah Centre we believe each person can start a chain reaction that will set off and explosion of love and understanding that can change the world.

Imagine this: You wake up in the morning and you tell yourself, “Today I will let my soul lead the way and my body will just be coming along for the ride.” You decide that everything you do and say will affect other people, either in a positive or negative way. Every interaction is an act of kindness and sensitivity.  Then those people we have given the gift of kindness to will in turn respond in kind to the people they encounter during the day. You can easily see these small acts of kindness spiraling into a tidal wave of good feelings.

The Kabbalah teaches that it is a privilege to be able to be part of the process that changes the world. But it is also a responsibility that when we feel we can’t behave with compassion and caring that we discover what it is that is blocking the flow of love, so we can continue to give and be a role model of what the world needs to be transformed.

For those that want to study the Kabbalah there are several possibilities. You can find a Kabbalah Center or support group nearby and take classes there.  If this is not possible you can learn on your own, through the internet, with the “Learn On Your Own” program. If studying on your own seems unrealistic, there is a third option.

By calling 1-800-KABBALAH you will have access to learning Kabbalah one-on-one, over the phone. This type of personal learning will be tailored to your exact needs, desires and progress. Your Kabbalah instructor can advise you on appropriate courses you might take, or books to read, or tapes to listen to. Your instructor can also discuss the ideas you are learning and help you incorporate them into your life.

Since the journey of personal growth can be bumpy and unclear, having a personal instructor can be just the thing you might need to smooth out the bumps and show the straightest path to the goals you are seeking.

At the Kabbalah Center the Zohar is one of the fundamental resources used for connecting to the eternal spiritual light which is constantly emanating into our world. At every level of study the zohar conveys meaning to its students. Even for someone just beginning, merely scanning the letters in the original Aramaic without understanding the words benefits the pupil in deep spiritual ways. As the level of understanding deepens and expands, so to do the infinite spiritual benefits gleened from intense study. The Zohar is like a deep well whose water nurtures, expands and enlightens the consciousness and self-awareness of its thirsty drinkers. The Kabbalah Centre can help you open up the world of light emitted by the splendour of the Zohar.

Karen Berg, along side her husband, Rav Berg, has been the essential moving force behind the expansion and international appeal of the Kabbalah as taught at the Kabbalah Center. Through her influence Kabbalah is no longer accessible only to those few lucky scholars or mystics who have reached great heights of spiritual perfection, but to all who seek its wisdom and guidance. Karen is responsible for the translation of many important reference works necessary for the proper study of the Kabbalah into English, Spanish, French, Russian, Farsi, and Chinese. She is also busy teacher, giving classes in all sorts of subjects including her  insights into woman’s issues,  soul mates, parenting, health, the role of women and much more. Karen’s bountiful wisdom is nurtured by her understanding of the message of the Kabbalah, and she in turn through the auspicies of the Kabbalah Centre, reveals and shares this wisdom with all who will listen.

The Zohar is a book, written in Aramaic, a semitic language related to Hebrew and written with Hebrew letters. The Hebrew word “zohar” means “splendour” or “shining” and it is one of the foundations for the study of the Kabbalah.

It is incorrect to think of the Zohar as just another book that imparts information with which we become educated or even enlightened. The properties and effects of the Zohar go much deeper, to a spiritual level which cannot be conveyed using only words.

For instance, the very letters that the Zohar is written with carry much more meaning than symbols of the way we sound out words. Unlike other languages where the shapes and sounds of the written letters are  understood to merely convey a sound, letters in Hebrew actually carry their own meanings and essences. It is enough to just scan the letters without even knowing the sounds they represent in order to connect to the spiritual energy inherent in each letter. In this way we can connect to the Source of that spirituality, the source of all life and goodness. The Zohar is the gateway to the spiritual source of creation.

The Kabbalah teaches that God is the nourishing Light that is the base and source of everything – all of the world and creation stems from this Light of God. Kabbalah is an entire system of philosophy and understanding the world. What stands at the centre of the Kabbalah is the understanding that everything grows from the fundamental foundation of God.

Deep stuff. I am going to think about this before writing more.