Philip S. Berg (original name
Feivel Gruberger) is a
rabbi
and current Dean of the worldwide
Kabbalah Centre organization, as well as its
main figurehead.
He is known for his position that the
Kabbalah should no longer be taught exclusively to
a selected few
Jewish scholars, but should instead become a shared wealth
of practical wisdom available to all of
humankind, and has written a number of books on
the subject of Kabbalah. There is disagreement about whether Berg's
teachings, as relayed through the
Kabbalah Center, have sufficient grounds
and/or genuine
authority according to
Jewish law, as they include some
dogmas and translations differing markedly from those
of more-traditional Kabbalists. Some Jewish scholars emphatically
reject such "teachings", deeming them as foreign to both The
Kabbalah in particular and to
Judaism in
general, while others applaud his populist advocacy. Also, the
Centre's financial peculiarities
have attracted growing attention, as another motive for suspicion
and further
controversy.It has been
reported that following a recent serious illness, his role has been
increasingly fulfilled by his wife
Karen
Berg along with their sons
Yehuda
Berg and
Michael
Berg, co-directors of the Centre.
Sources of knowledge
Born in New York City to a family with a long spiritual tradition
of scholars and teachers, Rabbi Berg's upbringing followed a
traditional religious path, and he was ordained at
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas the renowned
rabbinical seminary.
Having studying in Israel
with the
great kabbalist Yehuda Brandwein
[book - Yedid Nefesh], he decided to devote his life to bringing
Kabbalah to the world. Karen Berg
eventually became Berg's wife and wholeheartedly joined in this
decision. Upon returning to the United States they established The
Kabbalah Centre with the purpose of bringing the teachings of
Kabbalah to the general public.
Biography
According
to Mim Udovich's "Kabbalah Chronicles: Inside Hollywood's hottest
cult" (Radar Online, June 15, 2005) Philip Isaac Berg (real name:
Shraga Feivel Gruberger) was born in Brooklyn
to an
Orthodox Jewish family. He
is said to have been educated at a yeshiva where he was allegedly
ordained as a
rabbi in 1951 and then started
working as an insurance salesman at New York Life two years later.
His first wife was named Rivkah with whom he had several children.
It was
Rivka's uncle, Rabbi Yehuda Brandwein, dean of the prestigious
Yeshiva Kol Yehuda, who Berg first met on a trip to Israel in 1962, and
who would become his Kabbalistic mentor. There is some
disagreement over who succeeded Rabbi Brandwein as dean of Yeshiva
Kol Yehuda - Berg has claimed to have replaced Rabbi Brandwein in
that role, but that claim is disputed by Brandwein's son
Avraham, who is the current dean.
[207379]. Despite this, Articles of
Incorporation were filed with the IRS for U.S. branch of the
"National Institute for the Research of Kabbalah" in 1965. These
Articles of Incorporation were signed by both Rabbi Brandwein and
Rabbi Philip Berg. Later, the organization's name was changed to
The Research Centre for Kabbalah and finally, The Kabbalah
Centre.
After Rabbi Brandwein's death in 1969, Berg returned to the U.S.
and began working again with his former secretary and future wife,
Karen, on the condition that she let him teach her the Kabbalah, a
discipline traditionally reserved exclusively for men. In 1971
Philip and Karen married and traveled to Israel. Then, in 1973, the
Bergs returned to Queens, where they established their full-time
headquarters during the 1980s.
[207380]
The Kabbalah according to Berg
Origins of the Universe according to Berg
The light is understood as part of the duality in the "light filled
vessel" metaphor central to Berg's cosmology. In Berg's telling,
the Kabbalistic origin of the universe is in agreement with the
Big Bang - prior to a massive explosion, a
sacred vessel was united with the light that filled it. The light
was the force of creation and the vessel the force of
desire/receiving. When the vessel desired to create, the two
separated, resulting in void, followed by an explosion which
shattered the vessel. These broken shards of vessel and light
became the imperfect physical universe.
Berg on Free Will
All aspects of human life are spiritual but require Kabbalah -
especially its concept of "restriction"
tzimtzum in the
sense of self-control, nonreactivity and proactivity - to harness
them beneficially.
Negative aspects of the world - death, illness, pain, frustration,
poverty, failure, loneliness, and so on - result from human
mistakes but exist for the benefit of humans: they are
opportunities for each individual to reveal light through
behavioral corrections or "tikkun". By sharing with others, humans
reveal more light, use this creative force to "become like God",
and "make the world a better place" ((Repair the shattered vessel,
tikkun olam)).
On combatting one's ego
A core principle is the importance of sharing, viewed as directly
opposing the influence of the ego, defined in Berg's Kabbalah
Centre texts as the "desire to receive for oneself alone". By
actively combating the influence of the
ego and
increasingly sharing in life (both physically and emotionally), the
Center promises that one will experience lasting satisfaction,
fulfilment and the removal of "chaos" from life.
Sharing is based on the principle that one ultimately lives life
with a single ongoing choice - whether to be influenced by the ego
or the "light". The Centre teaches that the ego, sometimes referred
to as "
satan" (pronounced
sa'tan) was
created by the "light" in order to give humanity free choice.
On teaching Kabbalah
Berg states it is his destiny to reveal the real truths about
Kabbalah. Traditionally, while some parts of the Kabbalah were
considered acceptable to teach to younger
Torah scholars, most of Kabbalah was held to be
forbidden to be taught, or at the very least, severely discouraged,
except to very learned scholars over forty years of age. Berg
describes Kabbalah as a "universal philosophy", and claims that no
one, regardless of religion or gender, should be denied study of
it.
- There are those who pose as religious leaders who, for
their own selfish reasons, spread false requisites for the study of
the Zohar and discourage people from
"indulging" in its sublime treasures. Either these rabbis
fear for their positions, because people tasting of the Kabbalah
might embarrass them with the incisiveness of their questions, or,
perhaps, because their own upbringing deprived them of this because
their own knowledge, they see no reason to allow others of "lower
standing" to be given the opportunity of partaking of Kabbalah's
spiritual elixir....These kat (cults) of Rabbis have been,
and are still in some quarters, blemishes and disfigurements on the
face of Rabbinic Judaism. "The arid field of Rabbinism,
the P'shat seekers are the fools and hate knowledge."
(Tractate Sanhedrin, P. 99B) These Rabbis of
ill-repute attempt to conceal from the layman the facts that the
foremost Jewish legalists and talmudists were also famous
kabbalists. (The Zohar, Ed. Berg, Introduction,
Parashat Pinhas, p. xxxiii-xxxv)
Many of his ideas have angered other Kabbalists. For example, while
most Kabbalists have traditionally taught that Jews must follow
Halakha ("Jewish law") as strictly binding,
Berg teaches that knowing the purpose behind Halakha is more
important.
- Judaism is not concerned with conforming to a strict
religious way of life in which it is perceived that if one wants to
be considered a Jew he has to perform certain ritual tasks.
On the contrary, the goal is to connect to metaphysical forces
through which we can fulfill our Desire to Receive. The
Torah, properly understood, can completely fulfill all our needs,
and once that goal has been achieved, the barriers that have been
created between Jews and non-Jews will collapse (The
Kabbalah Connection, p.43)
Astrology
Berg advocates the use of
astrology
readings to counsel his students, and has written numerous books on
the subject. Berg asserts that his beliefs in kabbalistic astrology
are strongly influenced by the classic work of Kabbalah,
Sefer Yetzirah, attributed
pseudepigraphically to the patriarch
Avraham
(see also
Sefer Raziel
HaMalakh). In his belief, kabbalistic astrology provides a link
between scientific astronomy and esoteric astrology. He refers to
Kabbalah, where all living things, all matter, all energy and even
space-time itself is a manifest of God. Because of this, cosmic
forces have a divine nature, and Judaism was heavily influenced by
them, including holidays like
Passover and
the
Hebrew calendar.
However, traditional Judaism is often critical of using astrology
in religion. The
Talmud records stataments
from different figures which both forbid and accept some use of
astrology, a tension also present in other rabbinic literature from
600 CE until the enlightenment. Berg is not the only kabbalist who
recognizes the
Jewish connection to Astrology.
See
Jewish views of
astrology,
Kabbalistic
astrology, and
Hebrew astronomy
for a fuller discussion.
Reward and punishment
Berg believes that as living things, and as part of God, we have
control over our own actions. Berg holds that God does not reward
people for good behavior and punish them for bad behavior. Instead
he believes that bad behavior lead to bad effects. The reason for
rules in the Torah is to prevent adverse effects. If we all kill,
what can happen? We can be killed. If we all steal, what can
happen? We can be stolen from. According to Berg, the commandments
were put in place by God to bring harmony to a chaotic world, not
to judge people. Some claim this teaching is generally considered
outright heresy in Orthodox Judaism, as it contradicts one of the
Jewish principles of
faith according to Rabbis
Joseph
Albo and
Maimonides. But others
believe that Rabbi Berg's teachings reinforce the Jewish principle
of faith. Still, Berg's belief does correspond with that of his
teacher
Yehuda Ashlag as suggested in
Ashlag's article
There is None Else Beside Him.
Berg has written:
- We are taught from childhood that if we do something good,
God will reward us and if we do something bad, he punishes us.
Never believe it. (The Wheels of a Soul, Berg, p.
46)
Reincarnation
A central part of his theology is a belief in
Gilgulim (traditional Kabbalistic concept of
reincarnation), which he holds is a central tenet of Judaism. To
him, the single destination of a soul only to the spiritual
afterlife, is a purely Christian belief and has no place in
Judaism. He holds that this phenomenon can be proven true by
logical argument. This idea is accepted as true by many Orthodox
Jews, but some Orthodox Jews, and most non-Orthodox Jews, view the
entire idea as false, due to a lack of talmudic sources as well as
writings from Rav
Saadia Gaon that it
comes from the "Indian religions." It is also felt that the concept
is philosophically untenable. The issue of how Jews have
traditionally understood reincarnation is discussed in
Jewish eschatology and
gilgul.
- Reincarnation is not a question of faith or doctrine, but
of logic and reason...the Bible is its Fountainhead. (The
Wheels of a Soul, Berg, p. 29)
Spirituality
Berg's ideas about the effect of spirituality within
Hasidic Judaism are similar to those held by
other scholars of Judaism.
- The fundamental purpose of Hasidism, which borrowed from
the example of the Sephardim, was to
inject spirituality into the religion, as opposed to the
thoughtless formalism prevailing within the liturgy and ceremonies
of their fellow Jews in Lithuania,
the Mitnagdim. For this reason
the Hasidim did not enjoy either credibility nor popularity among
Mitnagdim.
- The place that was assigned to the Zohar in the scheme of prayer and ritual by the
Hasidim was one of the basic points at issue between the two
sects. It was and is essentially a contest between the
formalism of dogmatic ritual, as practiced by Mitnagdim and the
spiritually-directed practices of the Hasidim. (The
Zohar, Ed. Berg, Introduction, Parashat Pinhas, p. pp.
xliii-xliv)
Subjects commonly viewed as pseudoscience
In his book,
The Wheels of a Soul, Berg has written that
many concepts often understood as
pseudoscience are real, such as
Kirlian photography (p.39),
telepathy, and
clairvoyance, (p.40-41.)
Mental illness and possession by evil spirits
In chapter six of this book he discusses reincarnation and
Kabbalah. Here he writes that most mentally ill people are in fact
not mentally ill, but are in fact possessed by evil spirits. (p.50)
He commonly refers to these as
clippot or blockages.
- I know a woman who has been locked away in a psychiactric
ward twice because she felt that she was being bomdarded by evil
spirits and I can testtify that she is as normal as any who are
deemed mentally fit. That definition, in itself, is
suspect. I believe that between 70 and 80 percent of all
who live display "abnormal behavior" at one time or another and
that in most of those cases an invading spirit of evil is the
cause. Rites of exorcism might heal far more of the
"mentally ill" than all of the drugs and electro-shock therapy
employed by the psychiatric community.
In chapter 13, recalling past lives, he teaches that
astral projection is real (p.70).
Extra-terrestrial events influence Earth
Berg writes that all life affects one another, because the all
began from the same source and are of the same body (God).
- What seems to emerge from the Zohar is that seven forms of
intelligence which emanate from the seven Sfirot are directly responsible for our
universal manifestations. These advanced extra-terrestrial
non-corporeal beings living in a solar system similar to ours
direct the orbiting structures of our own universe and subsequently
display the varied quantified degrees of the Force in varied,
specific sections of planet Earth. All life dances to the
music of astral influences as more clearly demonstrated by cyclical
phenomenon. Unseen extraterrestrial forces affect
terrestrial affairs and decidedly determine the ups and downs of
terrestrial life.... It should be noted that the the term
"extraterrestrial" does not imply space aliens, but rather angels
and other energies which do not exist in the terrestrial realm of
time, space, and motion.
Applying teachings to daily life
Berg emphasises the application of the wisdom of Kabbalah in life,
in accordance to study of the Zohar. Students are encouraged to
attend courses that explain how "chaos" (i.e. potential and current
problems) can be removed from life by understanding and applying a
variety of spiritual "truths" that are based upon Kabbalistic
concepts.
The creation of the world
The world, a domain of separation, was created so that the "light"
could be revealed (received) from choice with the application of
effort. It is the ego (or satan) that allows humanity to apply
effort by acting as an adversary or "opponent".
As humanity "reveals" more light in the world, by increasingly
sharing and undertaking good deeds (despite the ego's efforts to
the contrary), the more Bread of Shame is undone, allowing humanity
to return to an original state of unity without the corresponding
guilt.
Non-reactivity
Students are encouraged to understand the importance of
non-reactivity, such as when prompted by circumstances to be angry
or judgmental towards others. Such behaviour is described as
reactive, "disconnecting' the student from the "Light" or more
properly called
en sof. In such situations, students are
strongly encouraged to be "proactive" (i.e. realize that your
reaction and not the situation is your enemy and be open to the
guidance that will help you to solve the situation in a way that
will benefit yourself and everyone else involved) and to "restrict"
what is seen as the ego's attempt to make you "disconnect".
Berg teaches that if humanity as a whole continues to be influenced
by the ego, exhibiting traits such as "hating for no reason", the
"Light" (energy) will be blocked, creating chaos - potentially an
Armageddon scenario. This is viewed as avoidable by "spreading" the
wisdom of Kabbalah to as wide an audience as possible.
Criticism
Critics of Rabbi Berg express concerns about his Kabbalistic
pedigree, claims of special authority, adaptations to pop culture,
business practices and high-pressure social tactics.In addition, it
is claimed that no originality appears to be advanced in his work.
His sole contribution is to popularise some basic concepts.
Credentials
Philip Berg claims to have a
doctorate,
and many of his books are listed as being by "Dr." Berg. However,
in different interviews he has offered different explanations of
what type of
Ph.D. he earned. He claimed to
have a Ph.D. in
comparative
religion, at another time he claimed to have a Ph.D. in
jurisprudence (in biblical law), and
later claimed that his Ph.D. was given as part of receiving
semicha, traditional rabbinic ordination. , but Semicha
programs - especially Israeli Orthodox ones - are never given
together with a PhD. He has never shown his Ph.D. to investigative
reporters, and refuses to name the organization that gave him the
Ph.D. Much of his
kabbalistic knowledge and
teaching is allegedly derived from his
Orthodox background, but neither he nor the
Kabbalah Centre are known to be affiliated to, or recognized by any
Orthodox rabbinical organizations.
Berg used
to call his center "Yeshiva Kol Yehuda," and claimed that
it was affiliated with a genuine Orthodox Jewish yeshiva, Yeshiva Kol Yehuda, in Jerusalem
, Israel. The yeshiva in Israel was founded
in 1922 by Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, and later led by
Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi
Brandwein. Berg claimed to be a student of Rabbi Brandwein, and
alleges that he received rabbinical ordination at this yeshiva.
However, investigative journalists have interviewed this yeshiva.
They deny any relationship between his group and theirs. They also
deny Berg received rabbinical ordination there, but confirm he
studied Kabbalah with Brandwein.
For unknown reasons, Rabbi Berg has recently shunned his first name
(Philip), noticeably in most of the Kabbalah Centre's publications,
and instead has adopted the formula "
Rav" Berg as if it
were his real name. "
Rav" has a higher
connotation than the word "
Rabbi", in
a fashion similar to the term
Rebbe.
In recent times, as a sign of respect, some great rabbis are simply
called "The Rav". If this is Philip Berg's intention, he could
possibly be the subject of criticism for appointing himself to the
title.
Teaching practices
Kabbalah teaching was traditionally to be taught only to male,
Jewish, scholars with the whole of the Torah and Talmud, and much
of the other writings, at their finger-tips, aged at least 30 (40
for some teachers), and married. Rav Berg is willing and eager to
teach all peoples from any background. Traditionally, this would
have resulted in his expulsion from the Jewish community.
Works by Philip S. Berg and his sons
- Philip S. Berg, The Wheels of a Soul. Research Centre
of Kabbalah, 1984. ISBN 0-943688-13-2
- Philip S. Berg, Astrology, the Star Connection: The Science
of Judaic Astrology. Research Centre of Kabbalah, 1987. ISBN
0-943688-37-X
- Philip S. Berg, Kabbalistic Astrology Made Easy.
Research Centre of Kabbalah, 1999. ISBN 1-57189-053-X
- Michael Berg, The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for
Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment. Wiley Publishing,
2003. ISBN 0-471-22879-6
- Yehuda Berg, The 72 Names of God: Technology for the
Soul. Kabbalah Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-57189-135-8
- Yehuda Berg, The Power of Kabbalah. Kabbalah
Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-57189-250-8
- Yehuda Berg, The Red String Book: The Power of
Protection. Kabbalah Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-57189-248-6
- Rav P. S. Berg, Kabbalistic Astrology: And the Meaning of
Our Lives. Kabbalah Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-57189-556-6
References
- Mim Udovich "Kabbalah Chronicles: Inside Hollywood's hottest
cult" Radar Online, June 15, 2005
- Abby Ellin and Adam J. Sacks The Kabbalah centre wants your
heart - and your money: The String That Binds The Village
Voice, August 11, 2004
- Robert Eshman L.A.'s Kabbalah Learning Center seems to
attract many searching Jews, but criticism of it is widespread
The Jewish Journal, February 14, 1997
- Aynat Fishbein The Cabal of the Cabbalah Centre Exposed:
New Relations "Tel Aviv" (An Israeli magazine) September 1994,
pp.31–35
- Tamara Ikenberg, Madonna, et al. have watered down Jewish
mysticism, scholars charge Louisville Courier-Journal/August
26, 2004
- Nadya Labi What Profits Kabbalah? Time Magazine,
November 24, 1997
- David Rowan Chief Rabbi sounds alarm on mystical Kabbalah
group The Times, April 3,
2004
- The Truth about the Kabbalah Centre Task Force on
Cults and Missionaries, Los Angeles, CA 1995
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