«Many mainstream Jewish leaders condemned Rabbi Berg as purveying a diluted version of kabbalah, which was historically considered so complex and powerful that only married men 40 and older who already possessed a deep knowledge of the Torah were allowed to study it.http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/rabbi-philip-berg-who-updated-jewish-mysticism-dies-at-86.html?pagewanted=all&
But his admirers praise him as having made kabbalah far more widely accessible than it had ever been — to women, young people and even gentiles.
"It's a mixed legacy,"»
Kol Tuv,
RRW
1 comment:
Being a "mainstream Orthodox" rabbi, this article already describes how I view the Kabbalah Centre -- so a comment on this article is not really necessary. What I find interesting, though, is the very fact that this article was published -- and how the general world looks at the Centre and Rabbi Berg. It is important for us, even as we have our own opinions, to recognize that our perceptions -- even as they may seem most obvious to us -- are not necessarily shared by others. It is then very important for us to try and understand why.
Rabbi Ben Hecht
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