What's frightening is since kaballah accepts anyone who cares to join (as christianity and islam do) , it is very possible that one day there will be more kaballists than jews. All the more reason to open the doors and welcome all comers to Judaism.

REAL Jews will tell you: Moses DeLeon and kabbalah as (you) know it - is PIMP juice. it is not legit. but in a world of Godless men .. its just something to do ....

Well here once again we have all the evidence we need to prove that the various religious denominations and cults are created simply to devide and promote hate. Jews stand up and scream "anti-semitism" when criticised about anything, and yet they hate the Palistinians who are also semetic, Catholics look down on Evangelicals because they don't have the Pope, and Evangelicals pitty the Catholics for their pagan worship of idols and trinkets. The Torah calls non Jews "Goyim", meaning "cattle" to be milked and slaughtered for the benefit of Jews. Then when accused of Racism and Biggotry they cry foul. "What hyppocrits" The only one who is definitely not a Rascist is God himself, and that being the case, he does not prefer one race over another, his preference is for individuals who acknowledge him as Lord. There isn't a single organization or cult you can belong to that will give you an all access pass to God. It is only PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP that God responds to.

Zakai the historian. Tell us, Oh great one, what the meaning of "khabiru", which, softened in the desert air becomes 'hebrew', means. And, while you're at it, tell us all what the DNA difference is between a hebrew and an Arab is. A Semite is a semite- or not?

Bingo, you got it. Sounds like Scientology, don't it?

Read Gin and Merv's posts, those two hit the nail on the head. Don't exploit others beliefs for your own gain, and don't try and recruit me for any of these religious cults. I have a set of beliefs (that include God and faith), but I don't subscribe to my book being better than yours. Think for yourself.

First of all, Its not Tzeddakim there genius. Secondly, the definition of tzaddik is one who is perfectly righteous and there are many. A donation is a find thing when it goes for the good, such as building Yeshivas, increasing dissemination of Torah and feeding needy Jewish families of which there are many (especially in Eretz Yisrael). For you to make that comparison shows that your wicked hatred of that which is Holy. And further, it eerily rings of the Nazis who first hung the Rabbis of a town when they came into it to demoralize the people before killing them too. Your hatred of the Jewish people (even if you are Jewish) disgusts me.

Mormons charge 10% of a persons earnings to return to G-d. All religions charge money for salvation and understanding. A fool and his money.....!

First off, burning you money in your fireplace wouldn't be called charity either. Secondly, real Kabbalah is meant to be used to connect to G-d and to understand how G-dliness brings everything into being. it is not a charm or magic to attain things. G-d cures people or the opposite. Water or money does not effect anything in and of itself. Additionally, even the G-dly ordained offerings in the Holy Temple were not considered satisfactory to G-d unless the person offered it with contriteness and a desire to be close to G-d. Everything depends on G-d at every moment and in every place! There is, in truth, nothing besides Him. That is why Jewish people say the Shema. He is One but there is not a second. It is our perspective (not His) that causes us to have a choice between striving to see this truth or to stupidly think of money or water as deities that have power (G-d forbid).

Where is Eliahu, now that we need him again?

So if you disagree with a Jew, you are an anti-semite, if you disagree with a black, you are a racist and if you disagree with a homosexual, you are a homophobe. You dopes make it all so simple... like yourselves and self-righteous l w

I am utterly disgusted at the news of hearing another immergence of deceit from this organization who guises themselves as having any affiliation with Torah and Judaism. I have a very close friend whose father underwent similar deception to donate exorbitant amounts of money for his deceased mother to receive a better portion in Heaven. He soon realized that the Kabbalah Center was not interested in her soul, solely his money. My heart and prayers goes out to this woman's family, I was brought to tears. May their be justice brought to those who broke the Torah and profited at her expense. May they come to realize how they are hurting themselves and return from their terrible ways. Thank you to Ynetnews for revealing the truth.

Hey, ALL PEOPLES/RELIGIONS have some bad apples. israeli news should be NEWS, not PR. This is just an article about something bad that happened. Any person from any religion can do a bad thing. It is not slander to report a crime.

When Madonna and trendnoids got on bandwagon it had to be as much of a fraud as Scientology.

Keep your money and live good. These people are as nutty as Scientologists!!

Rabbi Akiva, a reknowned Kabbalist, did not begin to study the Talmud until at least age 40. So, the statement that you need to know Hebrew and Aramaic "from birth" is not entirely accurate.

Idols and trinkets????? Grab a bible Merv...or maybe attend a Mass...

"Zakai the historian. Tell us, Oh great one, what the meaning of "khabiru", which, softened in the desert air becomes 'hebrew', means. And, while you're at it, tell us all what the DNA difference is between a hebrew and an Arab is. A Semite is a semite- or not? " Number one, i never claimed to be a "great historian" although the study of history is a great interest of mine. Number two, the "apiru" have never been conclusively proven to be the predecessors of the ancient Hebrews. There are many mentions of a people living in the areas of Northeastern Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent from the borders of Egypt in Canaan to Iran known as "apiru" or "habiru" and each source differs. So no one knows for sure and scholars are divided on the issue. I assume you're knowledgable in near eastern studies..? Theories are exactly that...theories. With regards to DNA and what not, given the fact that there are no "races" humans are almost genetically the same even though indivdual variations exist. There have been numerous recent DNA studies analyzing the Y chromosomal and Mitochondrial DNA from Jews(of ashkenzai origin, Sephardi and Middle-Eastern), , Palestinians, Arabs from various countries and non-Arab Middle-Eastern peoples like Assyrians, Persians, Turks and Kurds. And actually Jews tended to share much more genetic information with non-Arab non-semitic Middle-Easterners like the Kurds pointing to origins located in far North Iraq and Turkey. Even these terms "semitic", "hamitic"..etc are quite inaccurate and were originally linguistic classifications. Just an article for your interest....... http://www.assyrianfoundation.org/genetics.htm

Re: #63 Merv, Canada - How do you know what the Torah says? When exactly did you read it, Mervie? "Goyim" literally means "nations" and the Jewish nation is also referred to as "goy" in the Torah, not once but MANY times!! Where did you get your perverse translation, I'd like to know?!!: "cattle to be milked and slaughtered for the benefit of Jews"? I just wanted to clear that up for you and others so that you and they would not be misinformed by your "anti-Semitic crap!! And what you are spewing is ANTI-SEMITISM!! whether or not you like the label...a rose by any other name... As far as the Kabballah Center, it is garbage and all that has been said about what true Kabballah is, is absolutely correct. It can only be studied by men who are over the age of 40, married and who have a full command of both Torah and Talmud. If you ever look at a TRUE translation of the Torah (5 books of Moses), you will see how much longer is it than what was bastardized in the translation one reads in the Christian bible which cuts it to pieces and changes it completely and shortens it immensely. The Talmud, oral law, is about 5 or 6 times the breath and width of the Torah...as my daughter likes to say, "The Torah is the Cliff Notes of the Talmud" which explains everything in detail. Only with this command of Gd's teachings can one begin to study Kabballah. And besides, true Kabballah has not been able to be practiced for centuries because after the Romans felled the 2nd Temple, the true practice was lost because the transmission from teacher to student became impossible. What is learned today (NOT FROM THE KABBALLAH CENTER) is not the Kabballah from previous generations. And as far as giving tzedaka for cures, I was recently diagnosed with two cancers. Thank Gd, I am asymptomatic at this time and the doctors can't give me anything to prevent me from getting full blown cancer. We have done everything possible to get Gd's attention and implore Him to keep the scales tipped in my favor. We have gone on a raw food diet, I do exercise, massage, raiki and yoga in order to build my immune system in order to keep this cancer where it is and maybe to improve things. My children have had people saying tehillim, psalms, in my merit; some women who usually don't light Shabbas candles now to do so in my merit; a couple of people began to keep Shabbas in my merit; we travelled to Israel to get blessings from gadolim, the greatest rabbis of our generation, and we OFFERED them tzedeka for the poor...NOBODY asked for any money. We are certain that these tzadikkim (and if you saw the meager existences these great rabbis lived in tiny hovels in Me'ah Shearim and Bnai Brak) are giving money to the poor...they do NOT consider themselves needy or poor!) and My husband also gave a LOT of money to help the poor in Israel as soon as my diagnosis was known. Giving money to help the poor, especially in Israel, is EVERY Jew's responsibility, whether you are sick or healthy. We give on a regular basis, we just gave a LOT more this year in the merit of my recovery. In the end, Gd will be the ultimate Judge as He always is. We just wanted to do eveything possible so that when I finally go to meet Him in the distant future, with His help, I can say that I tried to meet Him halfway...but ultimately, it's up to Him...it always is.

I used to be a member of this Kaballah center, about 8 years ago. I definitely would define it as a sort of cult, yes. The place drew a lot of vulnerable people, especially young people, and people like me, who had just experienced some kind of loss (my husband of 17 years had just left a year before, 2 months after my mother passed away from leukemia). The center seemed to offer a warm, family atmosphere, the people there were all friendly, and accepting in ways that most religious Jews are not. I started to attend their Friday night and Shabbat services, ate there, went on trips to "Kivray Tzadikim"..in short, I was really into it for well over a year. During that time, it was "suggested" to me by one of the teachers there, to donate an amount of money in honor of my mother, so that her soul would be blessed. They promised to print a dedication in the next printing of Sefer HaZohar. Naively, I donated 4,500 Israeli Shekels, which was a lot of money for me, being a divorcee with two children, with no job at the time. I was assured that, as a result, not only would I find a job, but also, a new partner. And of course, my mother's soul would join the souls of the Tzadikot in heaven. The end of the story is that I ended up spending about 7,000 shekels altogether on books, the dedication, trips to holy sites, special "feasts" on Shabbat that were supposed to "empower" me with light and energy, and various courses. The courses there were the only thing that were worth the money. Needless to say, I never received a copy of any Sefer HaZohar with a dedication, I did not find a partner soon after, I did find a job eventually, but most definitely not through their "divine intervention", and apparently, my mother's soul did not need any special energies from any book written by a man. I decided to quit before yet another "suggestion" for a donation was put to me. After I left, I was constantly harrassed by phone calls from people at the center, asking why I didn't come anymore, and was offered to spend yet more money on more holy books, which according to them, would greatly improve my life. Not a cult??? Who says???Those people should be ashamed to use such methods in the name of Judaism. The G-d/dess I know doesn't care about money. The Kaballah Center is a huge business, and I have yet to see an evidence of them using their vast financial resources to help the poor and needy. Nope, it's certainly more "sexy" to support celebrities like Madonna and bring them to Israel (hey, wearing a red string is so cool! Kaballah rocks!), and building yet more fancy shmancy centers, and shops. Holy water? Oy vey! The Tzadikim are probably rolling in their graves, having these crooks use their teachings in the name of capitalism.

I ALSO FELL PREY TO THE HANDS OF THE KABBALAH CENTER IT TOOK ME QUITE A FEW YEARS TO UNDERSTAND THIS CORRUPT ORGANIZATION BECAUSE IT IS A SLOW,PROGRESSIVE,LURING,SEDUCING PROCESS JUST LIKE SOMEONE BEING MOLESTED AS A CHILD. WHEN THEY FINALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU YOU HAVE ALLREADY DEVELOPED A STRONG BOND AND TRUST WITH YOUR TEACHER AND OF COURSE YOU ARE VULNERABLE SO YOU GIVE IN TO WHAT THEY ASK OF YOU EITHER TIME OR MONEY IN MY CASE. THEN ONE DAY IF YOUR LUCKY YOU WAKE UP.

Praise Yeshua for allowing the deception of this false religion to be revealed for what it is. kabbalah is witchcraft at it's best and those that have been deceived need to see the evil from within this false religion and teachings. Wake Up Israel and those in other nations that believe the lies of kabbalah. We already have a God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is He who watches over Israel and those that are His. May the veil of deception continue to be lifted so those can see the works of hasatan through his created religion known as kabbalah.

Yes charity should be given just like it is written in the Zohar but it should be given to an organization that does charitable work or it should be given to the needy not to an organization that manipulates innocent vulnerable peaple to give money claiming that they are changing the world all while they are building another mantion in Beverly hills.Read the article about the center in radar magazine on line for the facts on where the money is going.

Come an sit in my lap an let me me tell you a story of the holovost, it was the holocost which was so costly, please donate to the new holocost fund of keeping isreally land for the jews.

What a great tragedy that you, being so enlightened about the Torah and Kabballah still do not understand the heart of God. He is not hard of hearing or difficult to get his attention, he is either all knowing and omni-present or he takes holidays and you need to leave messages for him to get in touch with you. Repetitious rhymes and chants are not neccessary to garner his favor, unless you believe he isn't interested in hearing you, or incapable of hearing you because he is so busy. You cannot buy God's favor in a crisis by suddenly lavishing wonderful adornments upon him or his creation. He knows the heart, and if you didn't do the charity work before you were forced to, to save your own life, trying to buy his favor now is only a selfish act. For all those people who feel that God's favor can be bought by a certain amount of giving or chanting or sudden out bursts of good will , they fail to see that they have put a price on God's actions. They have established a price scale for God. So many of this for that harm done, or so much of that giving to purchase this favor, right Lisa Henderson, of NV. In doing so and thinking that God has a price, you have said that he will only act if bribed. That he is an angry and miserly God that simply needs to be plied with enough (trinkets and idols, and good works) and he has to respond. Such as praying for a person AFTER they have died to try and convince God to let them in. This means he is subservient to you. He is compelled to respond to you once you pay the price required. And you think that actually works, how sad. We use other people in our society that way also, in fact we can get some people to do anything we want if the price is met, and we lower God to that level. In our society those that pay the price are called the Master, and those that must respond are called the servent. What these people are missing here is that they don't understand GOD'S GRACE. If God is truly God, uncompromising, totally just, unconditional love and un able to be reduced to our level of bribery and coercion, then he will not, can not, and must not answer our prayers or promises of doing good in order to "GET HIS ATTENTION". As this poor family tried to do with this charleton of the Kabbalah. This scenario is played out in every single religion in the world, where the greed of Man is in control over the simple minded. Any answer to your prayers will only be from the HEART of a GRACIOUS GOD, because he chooses to, not because you have compelled him to act by doing charity work, or chanting, or meditating an extra amount. But you see that is what all of these groups thrive on, from TV Evangelists promising healings or Gods favor,if you send in XX amount. Religious Cults that promise total enlightenment if you place all your belongings in their hands. Faith healers of all sorts, Priests that Promise God's Favor if you just give more, and do you pennance. They rely on people not having a personal knowledge of the creator and an understanding of the heart of God. As you see that would be bad for business, which is what this all boils down to. You can snipe at me all you want, using condescending remarks( such as spelling my name Mervie), how immature, but it won't help your situation. You merely proved my point. Giving to only the poor "JEWS" is racist, hating the Palestinians is Anti-Semetic, dispising those that are not Jewish is Biggotry. God tells you to do good to those who hate you, to be kind to those who spitefully use you. It is the true nature of your HEART that he will judge and determine his response to, not what you try and convince the world of as to how GOOD you are, and God must favor you. It won't happen.

what puzzles me is that we all have our own free will. my experience is that having gone through a serious illness and having and still drinking the water coupled with the correct medical care which has been strongly encouraged by the community and the teachers of the centre---- i do not understand how people can freely blame external forces for something like this. we have our own free will. i find it very difficult to believe that medical care was discouraged. the community is not irresponsible. it is a community made up of highy ethical and helpful people.

The 'antisemitism' card is all worn out and does not work anymore. Your claim that any criticism directed at Jews or Israel qualifies as 'antisemitism' is ridiculous. You are using it as emotional blackmail to avoid accountability. And if you are furious go to your shrink and have some meds prescribed. As for the Arabs: since they, themselves, are Semites they cannot be 'antisemitic'. They may have (legitimate) grievances so for the sake of peace and everyone's well being you may want to keep an open mind. Shalom U'Braha

What a jingoistic rant you have posted. Such hubris only gives fuel to antisemitism.

They take away yor free will when they brainwash you and instill fear in you if you dont donate x amount of money or time to there organization it took me nine years to realize what they were all about. How long will it take you to see the light?