Editing Kabbalah Centre

{{short description|Nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, US}}
{{Infobox organization
|name         = Kabbalah Centre International
|image        = The Kabbalah Centre.png
|caption      = 
|size         = 160px
|abbreviation = 
|founder = Rabbi [[Philip Berg]]
|formation    = {{start date and age|1965}}
|headquarters = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]],<br>[[United States]]
|type         = [[Non-profit organization]]
|website      = {{URL|http://www.kabbalah.com/}}
}}
The '''Kabbalah Centre International''' is a non-profit organization<ref name="irs1">worldwide
{{cite news
  | title = Internal Revenue Service details.
  | publisher = United States Department of Treasury
  | url = https://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/search.do?nameSearchTypeStarts=false&names=Kabbalah&nameSearchTypeAll=false&city=&state=All...&country=USA&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=search&submitName=Search
  | access-date = 2009-04-28}}</ref> located in [[Los Angeles, California]], that provides courses on the [[Zohar]] and [[Kabbalistic]] teachings online as well as through its regional and city-based centers and study groups worldwide. The Kabbalah Centre's presentation of Kabbalah was developed by its director, [[Philip Berg]], along with his wife, [[Karen Berg (writer)|Karen Berg]].<ref name="abc">{{cite book| title = What's Behind Hollywood's Fascination with Kabbalah?
  | publisher = ABC News
  | date= June 17, 2005
  | url = https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=855125&page=1
  | access-date = 2006-10-31 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |title       = FAQ
 |publisher   = The Kabbalah Centre
 |url         = http://www.kabbalah.com/03.php
 |access-date  = 2006-10-31
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061101031511/http://www.kabbalah.com/03.php
 |archive-date = 2006-11-01
}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Kaballah-center.jpg|thumb|upright|Kabbalah Centre in New York City in 2008]]
The Kabbalah Centre was founded in the United States in July 1965 initially as a publishing house called "The National Institute for the Research in Kabbalah" by [[Philip Berg]] (born Feivel Gruberger) and Rabbi Levi Isaac Krakovsky. It is likely that Berg was encouraged by his ''[[Rebbe]]'' and former wife's uncle Yehuda Tzvi Brandwein to establish the publishing house to aid the funding of Brandwein's Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Brandwein was the dean of Yeshivah Kol Yehuda, his son Rabbi Abraham Brandwein succeeded him as the head of the Yeshivah. Kol Yehuda was founded in 1922 and continues to this day. The uniqueness of ''Kol Yehuda'' is that students focus on kabbalistic study. The students would receive a salary to cover their living expenses so they can devote themselves to full-time learning, however Brandwein faced difficulty in finding funds for the yeshiva and publishing. After Brandwein's death, and after several years in Israel, Philip Berg and his wife [[Karen Berg (writer)|Karen Berg]], re-established the independent U.S. Kabbalah Centre in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Myers | first1 = Jody Elizabeth | title = Kabbalah and the spiritual quest: the Kabbalah Centre in America | publisher = Praeger | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-275-98940-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/kabbalahspiritua0000myer }}</ref>

The Kabbalah Centre in [[Los Angeles]] was opened in 1984. After the death of Berg, Karen and Michael Berg acted as directors and spiritual teachers of the organization. The organization is a registered non-profit<ref name="irs1"/> with over fifty branches worldwide, including major ones in [[Los Angeles]], [[New York City]], [[London]] and [[Toronto]].
[[File:Kol Yehuda Yeshiva.jpg|thumb|"Kol Yehuda" Yeshiva of Rabbi Yehuda Tvi Brandwein in the [[Old City (Jerusalem)]]]]

==Philanthropy==
The Kabbalah Centre donates to non-profit organizations and engages in volunteer work through its Charitable Causes initiative. Charitable Causes has worked with or donated to [[Habitat for Humanity]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.habitatla.org/kabbalah-centre-pledges-volunteer-hours-funds-help-build-homes-downey-habitat-humanity-greater-los-angeles/|title=The Kabbalah Centre Pledges Volunteer Hours and Funds to Help Build Homes in Downey With Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles|publisher=Habitat for Humanity|date=December 12, 2016}}</ref> [[Partners in Health]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/pihar/docs/2015_annual_report__finalpages_web__bfd1cca70a6c17|title=PIH Revised Annual Report|date=December 20, 2015|page=31}}</ref> [[American Red Cross]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kabbalah-centre-announces-superstorm-sandy-response-plan-180014831.html|title=Kabbalah Centre Announces Superstorm Sandy Response Plan|publisher=PrNewswire|date=November 19, 2012}}</ref> and Sunrise Day Camp.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://issuu.com/sunriseassociation/docs/winter_2016_sunriser|title=Kabbalah Week|magazine=The Sunriser|publisher=Sunrise Day Camp|page=7|date=November 18, 2015}}</ref>

==Teachings==

===Approach===
The Kabbalah Centre's approach to teaching is to start students with teachings of Kabbalah that do not require knowledge of [[Hebrew]] and Jewish texts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/maybe_its_not_so_weird_after_all_20071207/|title=Maybe It's Not So Weird, After All|publisher=Jewish Journal|first=Rob |last=Eshman |date=December 6, 2007|access-date=September 23, 2016}}</ref>

===Relation to religion===
According to its views, all widely held spiritual or religious belief systems are merely specific branches of universal wisdom. The effect of this is a resemblance of religions such as [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], [[Islam]] 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===
Some biblical passages, such as the [[Passage of the Red Sea]], are understood to be codes to life and unseen universal laws which the [[Zohar]] and writings of the Kabbalists throughout history unravel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zohar.com/article/what-zohar|title=What is the Zohar? {{!}} zohar.com|website=www.zohar.com|access-date=2019-08-29|archive-date=2019-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002065759/http://www.zohar.com/article/what-zohar|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Berg "The Zohar reveals the dynamic interplay and interconnectedness of our universe and man's relationship to it."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://livingwisdom.kabbalah.com/prayer|title=Prayer|publisher=The Kabbalah Centre|first=Philip|last=Berg|date=October 22, 2014|access-date=September 23, 2016|archive-date=September 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927200644/https://livingwisdom.kabbalah.com/prayer|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Kabbalah Centre has produced a series of the Books of the Bible with Kabbalistic commentaries to each of the [[Weekly portion]] of the Torah.<ref>Kabbalistic Bible - Yehuda Berg, Research Centre of Kabbalah, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1571896063}}</ref>

===The Light===
One should primarily be concerned with their relationship with the essence of [[God]], rather than God itself, as it is beyond comprehension. The essence of God is referred to in its teachings as [[Light]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20130105075858/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119423340/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 The Kabbalah Centre and Contemporary Spirituality] Wiley InterScience Journal</ref>

===99%===
The [[sense|five senses]] supposedly provide access to a mere 1% of reality, which is the byproduct of a 99% reality that cannot be accessed by the senses.<ref>Michaelson, Jay (September 03, 2004) [http://www.forward.com/articles/5270/ "What the Kabbalah Centre Actually Teaches"] ''The Jewish Daily Forward''</ref>

===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 study 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 behavior that one adds Klippot.<ref name="sex">{{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
  | isbn = 1-57189-544-2 }}</ref>

===Astrology===
[[File:Beit alfa01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Zodiac]] in a 6th-century [[synagogue]] at Beit Alpha, [[Israel]]]]
The Kabbalah Centre has a strong belief in [[astrology]]<ref name =daph>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13kabbalah-t.html?_r=0|title=In Search of the Skeptical, Hopeful, Mystical Jew That Could Be Me|magazine=The New York Times Magazine|first=Daphne |last=Merkin |date=April 13, 2008|access-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref> and asserts that astrology has always been part of Judaism. Astrology was studied by Jewish scholars throughout the Middle Ages, though it was opposed by more philosophically inclined thinkers such as [[Maimonides]].{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

There is a strong belief in the Kabbalah tradition that [[cosmos|cosmic]] forces affect everything, and knowing how to understand them can prove to be valuable to the aspiring Kabbalist. Berg, the founder of the Kabbalah Centre, wrote numerous books on astrology during his career.<ref name=nytimes1>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/rabbi-philip-berg-who-updated-jewish-mysticism-dies-at-86.html|title=Rabbi Philip Berg, Who Updated Jewish Mysticism, Dies at 86|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Margalit |last=Fox|date=September 20, 2013 |access-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref>

===Sex===
In a book written by [[Yehuda Berg]], a former teacher at the center, he recommended that men not [[masturbate]] as semen generated without loving, shared intention does not serve its purpose. He also wrote that a man should not [[orgasm]] before the woman, as it injects selfishness into the act of love making.<ref name="sex" /> Other thoughts on sex include that a man should not orgasm with the woman positioned above him, as she is then drawing energies into herself from below, instead of above.<ref name="sex" /> The most Light is derived from sex that occurs just after midnight on Saturday morning.<ref name="sex" />

==Celebrity followers==
{{see also|Madonna#Kabbalah Centre}}
[[File:Madonna and God in Mystical Oneness.jpg|thumbnail|right|Painting of Madonna Practicing Kabbalah called Madonna and God in Mystical Oneness by Peter Reynosa]]
[[Madonna]] 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 (Kabbalah)|red string]] around her left wrist for protection and to ward off the "[[evil eye]]" (''Ayin Hara''), has introduced Jewish ritual objects such as [[tefillin]] ("phylacteries") into her videos and [[tithes]] regularly to the Kabbalah Centre.<ref name="fox1">
{{cite news
  | title = Madonna Gives Her Money Away
  | publisher = Fox News
  | url = https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,203104,00.html
| date=2006-07-12}}</ref> In July 2006, it was reported that Madonna was leaving the Kabbalah Centre<ref>
{{cite news 
| last = Barnes 
| first = Anthony 
| title = Kabbalah: is Madonna losing her religion? 
| date = July 9, 2006 | work = The Independent 
| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/kabbalah-is-madonna-losing-her-religion-407250.html 
| access-date = October 16, 2010 
| location=London}}</ref> and one media columnist speculated that one reason was alleged financial irregularities of donations to the centre.<ref name="fox1" /> Despite uncorroborated allegations of financial irregularities, the rumour turned out to be false, and Madonna continued to attend Kabbalah Centre events. In August 2006, Madonna collaborated with the Kabbalah Centre on a project called [[Raising Malawi]], which provided relief aid to the African nation of [[Malawi]].<ref>
{{cite magazine
  | title = Madonna Finds A Cause
  | magazine = Time Magazine
  | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060819180859/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = August 19, 2006
  | access-date =2010-05-07
| date=2006-08-06
| first=Belinda
| last=Luscombe}}</ref>

Celebrities that have been associated with the Centre include [[Britney Spears]], [[Diane Keaton]], [[Roseanne Barr]], [[Sandra Bernhard]], [[Anthony Kiedis]], [[Mick Jagger]], [[Jerry Hall]], [[Lucy Liu]], [[Alex Rodriguez]], [[Rosie O'Donnell]], [[Naomi Campbell]], [[Donna Karan]], [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Paris Hilton]],<ref>Camilli, Doug. (November 29, 2003) "Paris Hilton dabbles in mysticism", ''Montreal Gazette''</ref> [[Nicole Richie]], [[Kyle Richards]],<ref>Lilit Marcus, [http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/166174/judaism-according-to-reality-tv/ Judaism, According to Reality TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410020813/http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/166174/judaism-according-to-reality-tv/ |date=2015-04-10 }}, ''[[The Jewish Daily Forward]]'', November 19, 2012</ref> [[Heather McComb]] and [[Lindsay Lohan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ranthollywood.com/2015/11/17/15-celebrities-you-forgot-practiced-kabbalah/|title=15 Celebrities You Forgot Practiced Kabbalah|publisher=Rant Hollywood|first=Devarrick |last=Turner|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref>

==Controversies==
According to a [[BBC]] news article, Eliyahu Yardeni, a senior figure in the London Kabbalah Centre, made controversial comments regarding the [[Holocaust]].<ref name="bbc1"/> The Kabbalah Centre also made claims that spring water sold by the group had among its effects a curative effect on cancer.<ref name="bbc1"/>

Other media criticisms have alleged that The Kabbalah Centre is 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."<ref name="bbc1">{{cite news
  | title = Kabbalah leader's Holocaust slur
  | work = BBC News
  |date= January 9, 2005
  | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4158287.stm
  | access-date =  2006-10-31
  | first=John
  | last=Sweeney}}</ref>

Beginning in 2011 the centre was put under investigation by the IRS and FBI for financial malfeasance, following the abandonment of the Raising Malawi school project with millions of donors' dollars unaccounted for.<ref>Barrett, Wayne, "Madonna's Malawi Disaster"m Newsweek, The Daily Beast, April 3, 2011.</ref> In 2012, a Kabbalah Centre charity, Spirituality for Kids, accepted a $600,000 donation from an 87-year-old woman who some claim had dementia.<ref>Rick Cohen,"Kabbalah Center Accepted $600,000 Donation From Woman With Dementia", Nonprofit Quarterly, April 11, 2012.</ref> In November 2013, two lawsuits were filed by former donors alleging that their gifts were misused.<ref>Kim Christensen, [https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-kabbalah-20131204,0,4429725.story#axzz2mSLbcnPy "Kabbalah Centre accused of misusing more than $1 million in donations"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', December 3, 2013.</ref>

In November 2015, the centre was ordered to pay $42,500 damages to one of its former students after it was found to have been negligent in the supervision of one of its co-directors, [[Yehuda Berg]]. Yehuda Berg, who is the founders' son, was found liable for emotional distress after a female member of the center acussed him of sexual harassment and coercive drug pushing.<ref name="laweek">{{cite news|last1=Aron|first1=Hillel|title=KABBALAH CENTRE AND ITS FORMER RABBI TO THE STARS TO PAY $177,500 IN SEXUAL BATTERY SUIT|url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/kabbalah-centre-and-its-former-rabbi-to-the-stars-to-pay-177-500-in-sexual-battery-suit-6315924|access-date=28 November 2015|work=LA Weekly|date=25 November 2015}}</ref>

==Locations==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}
{{col-begin}}
|-
|
===The Americas===
* [[Asunción]], Paraguay
* [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina
* [[São Paulo]], Brazil
* [[Toronto]], Canada
* [[Bogotá]], Colombia
* [[Medellín]], Colombia
* [[Cali]], Colombia
* [[Mexico City]], Mexico
* [[Panama City]], Panama
* [[Caracas]], Venezuela

====United States====
* [[Boca Raton]], FL
* [[Chicago]], IL
* [[Los Angeles]], CA
* [[Manhattan]], NY
* [[Queens]], NY
* [[Miami]], FL
{{col-break}}

===Asia and the Middle East===
[[File:KaballahCenter Robertson.jpg|thumb|Kabbalah Centre International at 1062 S Robertson Blvd in Los Angeles, California]]
* [[Haifa]], Israel
* [[Tel Aviv]], Israel
* [[Makati]], Philippines
* [[Hong Kong]]

===Europe===
* [[Berlin]], Germany
* [[Milan]], Italy
* [[Moscow]], Russia
* [[London]], UK
* [[Madrid]], Spain
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |surname=Salkin |given=Jeffrey K. |chapter=New Age Judaism |editor-surname=Neusner |editor-given=Jacob |editor-link=Jacob Neusner |editor2-surname=Avery-Peck |editor2-given=Alan J. |title=The Blackwell Companion to Judaism |year=2003 |orig-year=2000 |edition=Reprint |pages=354–370 |publisher=Blackwell Publ. |place=Malden, Mass |url-access=limited |chapter-url= |url={{Google books|id=bEyD_MaeqP4C|plainurl=y|page=|keywords=|text=}} |isbn=1-57718-058-5}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.kabbalah.com/en Official website]

{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1984 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Kabbalah]]
[[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1984]]
[[Category:Judaism-related controversies]]
[[Category:Religious belief systems founded in the United States]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1960s]]