Jerusalem Post - jpost.com - August 10, 2004 - New York schoolchildren will soon be able to attend a Kabbala-based school thanks to singer and film star Madonna. The Kabbalist Grammar School For Children - The K School for short - will be located close to the star's Manhattan apartment, The Sun reported. The papers have apparently been signed and the school will be opening its doors in December, catering to six-to-14-year-olds.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1092107164469  

 

Madonna has been reported to be donating $US 21million ($AUD30 million) to fund a Kabbalah education centre in New York City. Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish mysticism based on spiritual and psychical laws governing the cosmos and human soul. The religion's laws come from the ancient book The Zohar, said by some to be the actual Holy Grail. Those who study the Kabbalah swear The Zohar is the foundation of all religions.

Madonna has been following Kabbalah for a number of years now. According The Sun, she is said to be funding the Kabbalist Grammar School for Children in New York.

The school is expected to open in December.

By Paul Cashmere August 8, 2004 - http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/aug04/20040808_madonna.html

Madonna was let down by the books she read to her daughter
Madonna's venture into children's books will see her writing morality tales based on Hebrew texts she is studying.
The pop star has signed a deal to write five books that will be based on the Kabbalah religion, the first of which will be called

The English Roses

ISBN: 0-670036-78-1
Pages: 48 Pub Date: Monday, September 01, 2003
Notice it is advertised on a Kaballah website. The English Roses is a story of rivalry and friendship among schoolgirls in contemporary London. Four little girls-Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, and Grace-are eleven years old and the very best of friends. They have sleepovers, picnics and ice-skating parties that exclude Binah, a beautiful girl whose seemingly perfect life makes them "green with envy." However, when a feisty, pumpernickel-loving fairy godmother takes them on a magical journey, they learn to their great surprise that Binah's life...
http://secure1.kabbalah.com.. kw=kabbalah%20madonna%20=GGL

 

 

 

Madonna said that she wanted to achieve something deeper than the "vapid and vacant" books that were available for young readers.

She also said the idea of writing the books was suggested to her by a Kabbalah teacher and she originally planned to co-write them with husband Guy Ritchie.

In an interview for music channel VH1, to be screened in the UK on Good Friday, she criticised children's books for not containing any life lessons.

Now I'm starting to read to my son, but I couldn't believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were.

Madonna said: "I have a teacher I've been studying Kabbalah with for the last almost seven years now, and he's suggested that I write some children's stories based on a lot of things that I've learned in Kabbalah - so that's what I did."

She said that husband Ritchie had got caught up writing scripts so the responsibility for writing the books fell solely to her.

'No effort'

She added: "He did stay really involved - you know, he's my greatest critic. Whenever something gave him the retarded tingles, he was not shy about letting me know."

The impetus for writing for children came after reading to her daughter Lourdes.

"Now I'm starting to read to my son, but I couldn't believe how vapid and vacant and empty all the stories were," she said.

"There were like no lessons, just all about princesses and like the beautiful prince arrives and he takes her for his wife and nothing happens, no efforts are made.

"Nobody asks her what her opinion is, or I didn't see anybody struggling for things. There's like no books about anything."

Speaking to Will & Grace actress Megan Mullally she also explained why she split her time between London and Los Angeles.

"I find that people in Europe are much more interested in the quality of life, they're not so work-oriented," she said.

"They're not willing to stay in the office 12 hours a day, they know how to enjoy life better. But Americans know how to get things done quicker." [17 April, 2003]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/2955837.stm

June 17, 2004 - Madonna's involvement with the mystic religion Kabbalah continues to strengthen, with the megastar revealing that, inspired by its teachings, she would now like to be re-named Esther.

The name Esther is derived from the Persian name Satarah, meaning "star".

"I was named (Madonna) after my mother," she explains. "My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and I wanted to attach myself to another name. This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name."

The singer's elucidations come in an interview with the US television channel ABC News, in which she finally talks about the religion she has espoused for some years now. She admits she used to bring a lot of chaos to people's lives by being selfish, but that now: "If it's traditional to be a decent human being, then I'm traditional."

Her husband Guy Ritchie had given his own views on Kabbalah a few days before, describing it as "simply an extension of the way most of us try to live our lives. It's just about being a decent person".

Guy admitted he'd had misgivings when introduced to Kabbalah by his wife, but that these were dispelled by talking to the founder of the Los Angeles Kabbalah centre, Rabbi Philip Berg. "I bombarded him with questions and lambasted his opinions," said Guy. "But I soon realised that he had this vast wealth of knowledge and scientific wisdom and he could answer any question I presented him with.

The religion, said to date back to the second century, is usually described as "Jewish mysticism", but Guy rejects that description. Its advocates say it offers a path to fulfilment based on spiritual and scientific laws of the universe.

The Ritchies carry their belief into all areas of their lives: Madonna wrote a top-selling children's book, The English Roses, inspired by what she'd learnt, saying, "It's a story about learning to appreciate what we have ourselves and not to be fixated on what other people have."

She also says in the upcoming TV interview, to be broadcast in the US on Friday, that her two children - Lourdes, who's seven, and three-year-old Rocco - are being taught good manners and how to clear up after themselves as part of the family's philosophy. "Gratitude, being grateful that is, that has to happen," explains the multi-millionairess. http://www.hellomagazine.com/music/2004/06/17/madonna/

 

 

Madonna's Kabbala Not Kosher by Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok

I am not one who watches or enjoys rock videos. However, when several of my yeshivahigh school students informed me about what they had seen on the Internet, I feltobligated to investigate. I do not believe that yeshiva students should be watching rockvideos, even more so I do not believe that rock stars should be dabbling with things thatthey truly do not understand. I discovered that Madonna's famous dabbling with sacred Jewish mysticism has takenan interesting turn. In her latest music video for the theme song of a new James Bondmovie, the "material girl" of old is transforming herself into a "Kabbalah girl."Aside from the traditional Madonna blend of music and sensuality, in this video we seeMadonna has a Holy Name of G-d tattooed onto her right shoulder.

Tattooing, mind you,is a practice forbidden under Torah Law, all the more so abhorred by the Kabbalah.Granted the tattoo may not be real or only temporary but nonetheless, any expressionof performing a forbidden act is itself forbidden and inexcusable. Unfortunately,Madonna's abuse of Kabbalah and traditional Torah Judaism does not stop here.Later in the video we see Madonna winding leather straps around her left arm in theexact same format and style as holy tefillin are worn by religious Jewish men. Tefillinconsist of a small leather box containing scared parchments.

These are then strappedto one's left biceps, and the strap is wound down the left arm and around the hand.Granted Madonna did not go so far as to defame the tefillin boxes themselves. Yet, it isquite clear that the wrapping of the straps around her arm is done in orthodox Torahstyle. This act of hers is pure sacrilege.Granted one can state that Rashi, one of the greatest Jewish medieval scholars allowedhis daughters to strap on tefillin. This, however, was never accepted in Torah Law as alegitimate practice. Torah Law has never accepted the claim made about Rashi'sdaughters over centuries of clear and concrete legal precedent.
For a woman to wear tefillin or even to make believe that she is doing so is even moreof a serious sin when viewed in light of the Kabbalah. Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the famousAri'zal of 16th century Tzfat and clearly the greatest of all Kabbalists is quoted innumerous references as having taught that a woman's spiritual path precludes her fromwearing tefillin. Madonna had better go back to her Kabbalah studies and see what thereal Kabbalah teaches before she continues making provocative acts which violate thevery essence of Kabbalah and Torah. In her video's finale' Madonna's "Kabbalah" can be seen for its true nature with itsdisregard and blatant effrontery to traditional and true Kabbalah. In a scene where sheis in an electric chair being put to death, Madonna (wrapped in tefillin straps) makes amiraculous escape.

Her jailers come in to see the empty chair and all of a sudden, theHoly Name of G-d (the one tattooed on her arm) appears in the chair, where Madonnasat. I assume that the impression the video is trying to make is that the Holy Namesaved her from her fate.I recognized this holy Name. More so, I recognized the specific Hebrew script that wasused. I know where Madonna received her "Kabbalah" information. The script used forthe Hebrew in the video comes from the posters and charts published by a group knownas the "Kabbalah Center" under the directorship of a man called the "Kabbalist RavBerg." I have spoken with many leading and well-respected Rabbis and Kabbalists andnone of those with whom I have spoken respect this "Rav" and have even less respectfor (what in their opinion) is his gross misrepresentation of true Kabbalistic teachings.Many in the traditional Jewish community condemn this group and even label it a cult.Now, here is where our major problem lies.

I personally do not know Madonna andtherefore, I do not wish to cast aspersions on her that she intentionally and willinglywishes to act with sacrilege against the holy Torah and the sacred Kabbalah. Thatwould be anti-Semitic and I do not believe that Madonna is an anti-Semite. I cannot tellyou why Madonna presented herself as having a tattoo of a holy Name on her shoulder,wrapped herself with mock tefillin straps, and made use a Holy Name in a most unholyfashion (in a rock music video).Did her "Kabbalah" teachers know that she was going to do this? Did they give her theirconsent and blessings to do such?

If not then they are the ones who should speak upand make a public statement disavowing their connection to these sacrilegious acts.Indeed, if they did not teach her that these things were acceptable, then they should bewriting an article such as this to disavow her and to clear themselves of blame. I amwaiting to see if such an article ever gets written.It is widely known that Madonna has been a student at this "Kabbalah Center" for sometime. In a recent television interview on the CNN Larry King program Madonna outrightsaid that she "was a Kabbalist." Now, who would have told her this?
To be a Kabbalist requires of one many things. One must live a modest and holy lifestyle in accordance to Torah Law. One must observe the commandments, even if one isa Righteous Gentile (Bat Noah) one has to observe all those commandments applicableto them. One must also have a comprehensive education in all applicable areas of Torah, not just Kabbalah. Madonna's recent video, its violent theme, her provocativedance moves and dress, which is certainly not modest by Torah standards suggeststhat she lacks these criteria, is unaware of them, or disregards them.Madonna has a long way to go before she meets the criteria to even be permitted tostudy the sacred Kabbalah. Yet, her "Center" seems to ignore her behavior, which fallsfar short of Righteous Gentile (Benei Noah) requirements and teaches her regardless. Those who teach her are Jews and by teaching Madonna Kabbalah, even if it is theirown version of it, still nonetheless violate numerous Torah Laws.

If the "KabbalahCenter" teachers or others doubt the validity of what I have written here regarding theresponsibilities and obligations of Madonna's teachers under these circumstances Isuggest that they consult with any Orthodox Beit Din (Court of Jewish Law).Madonna is certainly no Kabbalist. If her teachers have told her that she is, then theyare using a criterion of definition unique unto themselves and most certainly notaccepted anywhere else in the traditional Jewish community and especially amongst thecommunity of true holy Kabbalists. In spite of her behavior that falls far short of Torah standards, I feel sorry for Madonna.

I believe that she is most likely sincere in her spiritual pursuits. I do not blame her fordoing what she may have been taught is acceptable. She does not have a Torahbackground or education. Her teachers, however, may have such. If not, then we have the blind leading the blind.If, however her teachers are familiar with the laws of Torah, then they are not providingMadonna with a proper and decent Torah education. For without Torah Law andpractice there is no Kabbalah. Every kosher Rabbi and Kabbalist knows this. Draw thenyour own conclusions about Madonna's teachers. Kabbalah is a holy, sacred aspect of Torah Judaism. It should not be cheapened andabused. Music videos and all other forms of entertainment that do not meet the moralstandards of Torah Law should never be the place for anything sacred.One final note, parents keep your children away from this video and similar ones. If weallow our children exposure to this offensive material, we have no one to blame butourselves if they learn to act immorally. [ All rights reserved Copyright © 2002 by Ariel Bar]

This article is to encourage people to speak out about their experiences "Rav" Berg's Kabbalah Learning Center (KLC) Berg's given name is Feivel Gruberger, an experienced insurance salesman. It is essential to keep in mind that the actions of the KLC have little in common with traditional or even responsible Jewish renewal Kabbalah teachers. When I first realized how self-destructively deep my child was involved in this group, I was paralyzed with horror. This gave way to fury, anger, frustration and pain beyond words. It made my blood freeze to realize how subtle and efficient this organization works.

I went to the center because I wanted to improve my life. To improve how I felt about myself, my marriage, my career. There was plenty of room for improvement. "Kabbalah has the answer for it all", I was assured by the "rabbi" who was in charge of the center. That felt great. Finally someone who spoke straight out, full of confidence. He gave me the impression that now, having come to them, everything would easily fall into place.

I had to tell what was bothering me, of course. My marital problems were solved within less than three minutes. "No use fighting for this relationship. We will find you someone better." When I answered that this was not exactly what I had in mind and that there also were some business links that concerned our marriage, the solution was as simple: I just had to stay on until the business matters were sorted out and then make up my mind. Maybe I could even bring my spouse along. "Kabbalah" would bring light into everyone's world and there might be hope. Could we afford classes for both of us?

I signed up and attended the Introduction Class.

We were told to write down what exactly we would like to improve during these weeks and were promised that we would experience a miraculous change upon completion of the course.

I learned that "restriction was necessary to produce light", that to "control yourself" was a very important key to improve your life and that "you have to inject consciousness" into every single action of your daily life, because we had to understand that spontaneity was not a good thing, like some psychologists taught. Everyone had found out, our teacher told us, that psychology and religion have not helped anyone so far, quite the contrary.

We learned "don't trust your five senses", that the world as we used to perceive it is nothing but an illusion. The "material world" is only 1%. The "Real world", however, is invisible but consists of the 99% that is mathematically left over in this equation. This is the realm that counts where the work has to be done.

In due course of the class we were introduced to the "principles of reincarnation" and "Satan" and learned why the time to improve ourselves was running out. We did not have many reincarnations left, if we wanted to be among those who were to be saved in 240 years, which is Judgement Day.

Gradually we were introduced to the tools that would ensure our personal improvement - "reconstructing our nature" the goal of which is "to become godlike" - and that of our lives: different kinds of meditation, volunteering at the center, and tithing.

Questions were encouraged, as long as they did not directly concern the teachings. For example you could ask HOW to do your meditations. When I asked, "WHY I should accept certain teachings in the first place?" I was told that "it will all become clear to you later on". After all, Kabbalah had been a secret science for centuries and could only revealed to you in little bits and "whenever you are ready". When I wanted to know why Kabbalah had not been introduced to the world before, if it abolished any kind of pain and even would stop wars, the answer was simple. "The time is right now."

Patience and obedience to the rules were important, if you wanted results. Questions about the content of the teachings were ignored or - at best - ridiculed. Were not our lives the ones who needed improvement? Were not the people at the center happy? They were the ones that experienced miracles in their lives all the time. Could we say the same about our lives? If we had indeed experienced similar "miracles," these were just coincidences, whereas when you did Kabbalah, the results were "proactively" produced and were not just arbitrary. There were men and women who testified how wonderful their lives had become. They spoke convincingly about how they led better marriages, how their businesses has prospered, how they had won the battle over cancer and illnesses.

We were invited to Sabbath meetings and dinners. They were lovely. Everyone was so nice and friendly. We were introduced to certain rituals; all questions about the "why?" were answered with "energy". The KLC teachers "know" about any energy that is out there and to use it for improvement. And all of them are still learning from "Rabbi Berg" who knows all the secrets, I was told.

If you want to know why it takes so long to improve the world with this perfect knowledge at hand, can't you imagine the answer your "teacher" will give you? The KLC is very liberal, everyone has the right to chose for themselves, no one is forced to become a member… Unfortunately as long as the rest of the world does not "chose" to participate and is too blind to see the truth, the task for the members is harder and chaos and Satan will continue to create evil …

At the end of the class, many of us did not experience the promised miracle. We were told that this was our fault, because we really didn't try hard enough. Had we done our exercises diligently? Had we volunteered enough? Was there not a little more that we could do to contribute to the center? Also, it must not be forgotten that there was so much more to learn. There were so many more classes to take. Patience.

I did not have this patience and also did not want to come to the Sabbath meetings anymore.

"No problem, this was fine," I was told. "Everyone has his/her own way to follow, but something terrible would happen to one of my family members and then we would be there for us, because we are forgiving." Even though I did not believe their teachings this prophecy about disaster happening to a person I love terrified me for a long time - until I learned about "phobia indoctrination" when I read Steve Hassan's book. The book opened my eyes to the whole issue of mind control and cults. In the last months I talked to many people who had once been connected with the KLC and there are many people who are still afraid. I mused about how psychology does work after all…

Intellectually, I thought the rhetoric was quite obvious. However, my brilliant, but naïve child didn't see it as I did. She attended more classes, one-to-one-consultations, even long weekends. There was an enormous personality change.
My child now claims she is free of any worldly desires, except that there always has to be enough money to pay for classes and activities that concern the center. College is not important anymore; all spare time is consumed by working ("volunteering") at the center and to earn money, so that tithing can be done. Contact to parents and siblings is below minimum level. Conversations are a distant memory from the past. Discussions are not even remotely possible. Criticism of the KLC was met with different levels of arrogance, aggressiveness or flight. In the end our child avoided us altogether.

We have watched the physical deterioration, the loss of his longtime friends, the destruction of a promising career. She cannot communicate normally-everything is in KLC jargon. When she has come home to visit from a weekend or a seminar, my husband and I feel like we are watching someone walking on air, utterly euphoric. What little time that she still spends with the family she is in a moody, uncommunicative and remote, eyes glazed over. It is a terrifying experience. Having worked with problem kids, I can compare this kind of behavior pattern only to drug addicts.

Why did she change like this? How can something like this happen to a gifted child? Why is it so difficult to penetrate this strange behavior?

Recruiting and controlling Strategies
(Please, I hope others will also contribute what information they know that might be useful for others). When my despair abated I started to educate myself, I read everything I could find about mind control, meditation, trances - and secret notes taken from members at classes. I learned it was mind control indoctrination.

In each class, especially "Personal Growth Workshops", questionnaires are to be filled out. It is imperative that you "open up". Also you will soon have "friends" in who you are encouraged to confide in, who are supposed "to help you" - especially to "overcome doubts, as doubts are from Satan".

Some meditations transfer the trusting member to "the ancient temple in Jerusalem"; in the course of some of these meditations positive images from your life are substituted with KLC images.

Other meditations are about "The Rav", his greatness etc.

It is indicated that you are really safe only while at a center or in its close vicinity. If you travel to somewhere in the world that has not yet a center it is your "free choice" to expose yourself to such dangers…

Members are trained in blocking out any attempts of criticism of the KLC. I am prepared to take a guess that everyone who has a family member or friend deeply involved in the KLC has experienced the glazing over of the member's eyes, the rocking forward and backward, the silent reciting of KLC terminology when confronted with unpleasant discoveries about the group.

"The Rav" claims to have the power to change the chemical structure of water and thereby improve its quality to such an extent that its benefits for the one who drinks it are worth the price you have to pay for it. (It is sold at every center. Water provided for meals on weekends is ordinary water). Berg can supposedly do miracles, has knowledge of teleportation. Again, these techniques are sold to interested members, regardless of the potential harm these practices might do to the unsuspecting follower.

"Services" include vehement shaking of fists (induces hyperventilation, which can make your subconscious more susceptible).
"Alcohol carries light", therefore -especially in the retreats in LA - consumption of alcohol is encouraged to "get close to the light" as part of rituals, also to minors.

Members are videotaped.

Members are encouraged to change their first names according to suggestions of their teacher, because each name "carries energy" and, of course, your teacher knows best what is best for you. You are encouraged "to let go of your family"- unless you can recruit them, of course.

You are kept busy; there is always something to do. It will never have an effect "on your tikkun" if you help anyone outside the center, because "the center is a holy place", chosen by superior knowledge. (Which is true, because most locations are where the money is. For example, there is no KLC in Central Africa, Bosnia or India or even in Central Kentucky…) This is why you are encouraged to do well financially, because then "you are able to help the cause better".

If you are a failure in the material world, though, you don't have much choice but to become a "chevre". You work at the center fulltime, for a mattress and enough food to keep you going and thus "bring light to the world" too.

The KLC states that it is "not a religion", but files taxes as a religion. Members seem to be thrilled that can fool the IRS, since the organization is "above the 1% world".

In the introduction class you are tempted jokingly, "Isn't it better to be rich and healthy that to be poor and sick?" If you don't get these results, it is your fault, but most long term members have forgotten this alluring recruitment promise.

In spite of long hours of work, often experiencing the same if not more obstacles than before in their lives they still claim "It works!"

Why? In the Introduction Course you are taught already that "the more restriction, the more light", explained by the lightbulb principle. This translates to "the more pain the more gain". Doubts about this "are from Satan" - we heard this before… - and so the circle closes.

Why should we be concerned if our loved ones claim to be happy?

You need not be concerned if you are sure that the member's decision was made fully informed about everything that entails being a member BEFORE starting out.

You need not be concerned if the member has had a complete "time-out" for several weeks /months to be able to inform her/himself thoroughly, discussed the topic with her/his OWN words and had time to really think. This is common practice when you decide to join a monastery the Catholic Church recommends about one year to reflect upon your decision.

Members of this group, however, are told that, "this is the absolute and only truth", refusing vehemently to listen or discuss the topic. Should you be lucky enough to get them to talk, the best you can expect in most cases is parroted phrases they learned at the classes and sessions. If you are familiar with the teachings you will find that most answers you'll get are literal quotations.

Members are kept by deception and - most appalling - by fear. I told about the frightening prophecy that I was given. Everyone I have talked to had similar experiences. Threats of accidents that you might encounter when you leave, business and or financial losses (if you are rather materialistically inclined), harm that might befall someone you love are common practice.

As the member is discouraged from checking out testimonies from others that have left, these fears stay in place and not only keep the member in the group, but come in also quite useful to exert further pressure. This does not ensure a free choice.

Why should we tell our story?

Every one of us who has been through this experience knows the changes that occur in our loved one's personality. Caught in the trap of so-called "self-improvement" lectures, vulnerable, gentle-minded and idealistically inclined students are gradually, but ruthlessly, inevitably, submitted to mind control strategies that are so subtle and efficient that in the end the person exposed to them is alienated from everyone who really cares about them, from career goals, things they liked to enjoy, from every human life experience itself. They are told the goal is "to become Godlike", to "restructure your psychological DNA" and although the members are far from the former - and have to be forever striving that they can be exploited further, the latter often becomes a horrific reality. In the last few months I have spoken with many distressed families as well as former members, and they have all confirmed my own experience: Your son/daughter, spouse, mother/father, friend changes from a loving caring family member into a cold, emotionless, detached, arrogant and sometimes even violent stranger.

I have to point out, though, that recently (2001) - because of a lot of negative press - communication with family is more encouraged, and living conditions at the centers have somewhat improved. After all, just have one more volunteer work in the kitchen and prepare at least decent food for the hevres is not such a considerable financial loss. Still, the core problem remains. The mind control system still is working. It takes some time of subtle but relentless manipulation to get a new recruit to the point where occasional little "rewards" like playing ball or going for a swim support the reward/ punishment system that keep members at bay. In the end, only one hour of this kind of leisure per week is sufficient to enforce the conviction of a trained, devoted member that the KLC is kind and caring.

Each of us needs all the support we can get. Sharing experiences is one step. It will show us that we are not alone, that our loved one is not a silly psycho; it will help us to maintain the love, the strength and the faith we all need until our loved one is finally free to choose again.

Each of us alone might never have the clout, legally, financially or politically to have this group investigated. Together we will. Pooling information, even though it is done anonymously if you wish (through Steve Hassan), is the first step to fight for the freedom of mind and for our families. Media, politicians and law enforcement cannot in the long run ignore groups that undermine the very foundations of our society: Family values, freedom and integrity.

But isn't Kabbalah just another kind of distraction? A dangerous one?

Kabbalah, like Scientology, gives special treatment to celebrities while exploiting common people and enriching it's leaders. Like Scientology, Kabbalah charges its victims for their "enlightenment", even to the point of sending them into debt as they're dying from terminal illnesses.

There is a kind of Kabbalah that isn't a cult, or at least, is no more of a cult than Islam or Christianity. But the form of Kabbalah taught at the Kabbalah Centre by Rabbi Philip Berg, the kind Madonna studies and promotes, most definitely is.

 

 

From "The Truth About the Kabbalah Centre" by The Task Force on Cults & Missionaries:

[Rabbi Philip] Berg claims to have a doctorate (all his books go under the name "Dr. Philip S. Berg"). In some of his books he alleges to have a doctorate in "comparative religion," while another source claims his doctorate to be in "jurisprudence in biblical law." When personally confronted about the discrepancies, and questioned about his alleged doctorate, he admitted (in a published interview) that in fact - he has no academic degree at all - and that his alleged "doctorate" is "part of his smichah (ordination)". Everyone knows, of course, that there is no such thing.

For his public lectures Berg advertises himself invariably as "the greatest Kabbalist in the world;" "the world's foremost authority on the Kabbalah;" "a living Kabbalist and the rarest of teachers;" or other such flamboyant terms of self-aggrandizement. Outside of his own Centre and circle of followers, neither the academic nor the Jewish religious worlds know anything about him except for the anomalies of his centers. They have absolutely no regard for him, his teachings, writings or activities. In fact, he is universally condemned by both the orthodox rabbinate and contemporary schools of Jewish mysticism in Israel, the USA and elsewhere, as a charlatan.

In "Has Madonna joined a cult?", Rick Ross, a renowned cult expert, writes:

Canadian rabbi Emanuel Schochet, a rabbinical scholar and authority on Jewish mysticism well-known throughout the world, author and the editor of numerous primary texts--claims the following: "Berg has sold "The Zohar" and other writings at mark-ups of over 500% of the fair market-price", and has engaged in "acts of extortion by scaring naïve people with all kinds of evil and curses that will come upon them if they refuse to offer money for the Kabbalah Centre" and also making "ludicrous promises of physical health and wealth if they will purchase their publications".

The Toronto Vaad HaRabonim [rabbinical council] and the Queens Vaad HaRabonim "issued statements to the public about avoiding the learning in Kabbalah Centers as well as purchasing books which were on the market."

The Chief Rabbi, the Bet Din [Jewish religious court] of Johannesburg, and the Rabbinical Association of South Africa, also "issued decrees of condemnation against the Kabbalah Centre."

The Philadelphia Board of Rabbis "complained that Berg's followers [have] been abusive".

Rabbi Yitchak Sladowsky, Executive VP of Vaad HaRabonim of Queens: specifically reported that "Parents had complained that children were 'taken in' by Berg and were being estranged from their families."

The New York Jewish Community Task Force on Missionaries and Cults, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and the Cult Clinic Hotline of New York have all received complaints and/or cited problems with the "Kabbalah Centre"...

Denise Hamilton of the New Times Los Angeles, reports:

[Rachel] Bernstein [a therapist and coordinator at the Cult Hotline and Clinic of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services in New York] began tracking the Kabbalah Center in the 1990s, when she lived in L.A., and kept track of the complaints she received. They included reports from:

A woman with a missing child who was told by Rabbi Berg that he would help find her daughter if she devoted a year of service to the Kabbalah Center. The grief-stricken woman, a dentist, gave up her practice to do so. At the end of the year, Berg denied he could help her.
A man who wound up in the hospital feeling suicidal and wondered if the Kabbalah Center was to blame. Upon joining, he had been told to stop taking his depression medication. Instead, he had been told to buy the Zohar and scan it with his fingers. The energy flowing from the Zohar would protect him from psychological problems. It didn't.
A man who was visiting his elderly parents in Boca Raton, Florida, when Kabbalah Center proselytizers came knocking. The man overheard them say, "Oh, I see you're elderly, do you have any ailments? We have people in our organization who can help." They urged the couple to donate money to keep them from suffering pain. When the couple declined, the Kabbalah Center people grew abusive and threatening....
There are also darker allegations. In 1992, Rabbi Abraham Union, Rabbinic administrator of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of California, found a bloody sheep's head stuffed into a plastic bag hanging on his office doorknob after he distributed the proclamation from Toronto rabbis criticizing the Kabbalah Center. That night, several young men appeared at his home and asked in Hebrew whether he had gotten their message. Fearing for his life, the rabbi filed a police report, but the Kabbalah Center denied making the threat and no evidence connected the center with the incident. Later, Hamilton writes: .. the Kabbalah Center might have remained just another quirky spiritual movement if not for the celebrities.

For self-anointed prophets and messiahs alike, hooking a star means hitting the jackpot. Consider famous Scientologists Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and John Travolta. Or Tina Turner and dozens of other chanting Buddhists whose "Nam Yoho Renge Kyo" anthem swept Hollywood a decade ago. Or the Tibetan Zen Buddhism championed by Richard Gere.

Several years ago, it was the Kabbalah Center's turn, as luminaries such as Elizabeth Taylor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Love, Barbra Streisand, Marla Maples, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern began flocking to its classes, with many publicly touting the spiritual merits of Kabbalah...

Madonna credited the Kabbalah Center with "creative guidance" on her Ray of Light album and delivered her daughter by cesarean section on a day recommended by her Kabbalah spiritual advisor...

But mainstream rabbis and Jewish organizations have watched the Kabbalah Center's blossoming with undisguised dismay. Many dismiss Berg's brand of Kabbalah as an inaccurate distortion of true teachings, and the leader himself as a buffoonish carnival barker.

Madonna has given parties for this man, the leader of the Kabbalah cult, Rabbi Philip Berg. She's become a stooge for a kind of Jewish Scientology that emotionally and financially exploits the vulnerable and the weak.

One hallmark of joining a cult is that you must reject your past. Madonna used to have "absolutely no regrets". But now, while never exactly saying "I have regrets", she clearly does.

"I was just being an ego-driven nutcase! I thought I was doing a service to mankind, being a revolutionary, liberating women - I wasn't."
- Madonna - Madonna will pardon me for saying that she was a revolutionary.. then.

"I was a buffoon until the age of 40." - Madonna

Is this "spiritual growth" or is this self-hatred disguised as enlightenment? Another sign of cult behavior is to allow the cult to dominate every aspect of your life. A cult's importance must be paramount.

On MTV, John Norris asked Madonna, "What is the single biggest change in your life over the past few years? Is it marriage, is it children, is it Kabbalah?"

Madonna replied, "Well, it's all of those things. Obviously studying Kabbalah has changed my whole outlook on life.."

Kabbalah takes center stage, even over her marriage and her children?

On a Dateline special, Madonna asked that Dateline not interview her husband. She proferred her Kabbalah teacher instead, who said that Madonna was "definitely" among the "1%" of people who truly understood the Kabbalah. And yet Madonna doesn't read Hebrew and has only studied part time since 1998. Traditional Kabbalists study full time for years.. after the age of 40, after decades of studying Judaism.. and yet still profess to understanding little of the Kabbalah. And yet Madonna gets it? Obviously, Madonna's "teachers" know exactly how to butter her up.

Madonna is even producing a documentary on the Kabbalah and writing a series of Kabbalah themed children's books.. books that her Kabbalah teachers told her she should write.

How many people will Madonna lead to the Kabbalah Centre to be exploited?

There's something self-centered, literally, about the Kabbalah, as Madonna puts it: "[Kabbalah is] several things. One is that we are all connected. That you and a person that lives on the other side of the world is an extension of me."

Madonna also claims that "any success I have is a manifestation of God. It's my ego that wants to claim ownership. It's hubris, arrogance and greed."

But what is more arrogant? Crediting success to the talented team behind you, your hard work, and your fans.. or claiming that it's God?

American Life is shallower than the culture it berates. It is the sound of regret. It is the sound of a once strong woman now brainwashed and wounded. It is the self-help book of a lonely, spoiled celebrity.

The Kabbalah Centre has turned Madonna into preachy, submissive, self-flagellating disappointment. An icon, ruined.

Cult members often work hard to convert others into their cult and their way of thinking. As Madonna told People magazine:

"I don't want people to dress like me anymore. Now I want them to think like me. Dress like Britney Spears and think like me, and everything will be fine." No thanks.

 

 

 

Madonna's Kabbalah Centre Recruitment Tactics

 

 

Madonna's Kabbalah - All the cool kids are doing it
I like to think I'm an open minded person.. but when I find something I despise, I tend to feel the need to destroy it with a blunt meerkat. I have found something I hate, and that is Kabbalah.

If Kabbalah. was a song it would be "mmm bop". If it was a game, it would be lawn bowls and If it was a drink, it would be urine.

I've studied many religions, none of them remotely Jewish... so quite obviously I know very little of the religion. What I do know is it's adherents.. and their comments.

For a start, the religion has been made famous by Madonna. A tarted up corpse with cow hide stretched over her body to make her look alive. She's like 60 years old and in that time has presented us with more pig shit than the movie "babe in the city." Not once has she written or performed a song that didn't make me want to attack her frontal lobes with a nail gun. She boasts all the wit and charm of a pregnant wilderbeast. She is quite simply a fluke business woman who somehow learn 't to make money from having wide canyons and a personality as pleasant as a gangrenous testicle. We'll get to her later.

Let's look at what Madonna has said about her beloved cool kid cult:

"I'm a speck, an atom," she says. "Everything physical is an illusion, but it's there to guide us or test us or deter us."

"Kabbalah helped me understand that there is a bigger picture and that being well-intentioned is great, but if you don't live your life according to the laws of the universe, you bring chaos into your life."

"I'm not poking at things and ripping things open and being provocative just for the sake of riling people up," she says. "Every person on the planet is living in a kind of bubble, trapped into programmed thinking that we're all expected to have a certain amount of material things to be perceived as worthwhile human beings. I've found a way of life I'd like to share.
Despite the illusions I've been a slave to all my life, I feel a tremendous amount of hope for a life of fulfillment and happiness."

Madonna isn't the only one into Kabbalah, Brittany Spears recently became a devotee. "Super model Naomi Campbell has followed in Madonna's footsteps by turning to the mystic Jewish religion of Kabbalah in a bid to find inner peace. She has been spending more and more time at the Kabbalah's West Los Angeles headquarters since moving to her new £5 million Beverly Hills home."

AH... refreshing not to be able to spot any materialism there.

"Ms Campbell joins a growing army of celebrities including Goldie Hawn, Alanis Morrisette and Diane Keaton who have turned to the obscure and undemanding form of Judaism which is sweeping Hollywood Hills."