Is the Kabbalah Center a Cult?

Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism that includes magical practices and speculates on the nature of god, an afterlife, and man's role in the universe. With alternative routes to spirituality becoming more popular, it is no wonder that many celebrities such as Madonna and Paris Hilton have turned to the Kabbalah for guidance at some point in their life.

While Kabbalah is a legitimate branch of Jewish mysticism and Jewish lore, the Kabbalah Center often engages in abuses of the people it claims to server. Jewish leader have called the group lead by Rabbi Phillip Berg. Rabbi Phillip Berg started out as an insurance salesman and married the niece of Kabbalist Rabbi Brandwein. Shortly after the marriage, Berg distributed his new uncle's books. The techniques used in by Berg to indoctrinate his followers are similar to other groups where the new inductees are separated and in a situation where a couple is financially strained, the partner who sides with Berg is told to get a divorce because the marriage is spiritually unsuitable.

Supernatural powers, including the ability to resurrect the dead, are attributed to the founder of the Kabbalah Centre, but weird religious beliefs do not necessarily fit the definition of a cult. Phillip Berg and his followers have taken no dangerous actions as of yet, but inductees into one of the Kabbalah centers are often isolated from society. New inductees into one of the centers are often told to hold off marriage to continue working with the group.

Madonna and the other celebrities that have joined this quasi-Jewish group may be shielded from the more extreme aspects of Rabbi Berg's practices, but it may be that the man and the family who run the Kabbalah center are just controlling as Mormon leaders were at the beginning and the group may moderate itself. Rabbi Berg's qualifications to lead a religious group have been questioned in the past by the UK Publication Guardian.

Jewish Rabbis and other Western mystics who study this form of ancient Jewish mysticism say that little Berg teaches is authentic to the tradition and recommend avoiding the books on the market, especially those put out by the Berg family. People with a genuine interest are better off contacting their local Jewish synagogue and seeing if a course in Kabbalah is offered. For now it seems like the Bergs have found a profitable way to make a living by running the Kabbalah Center.

Sources:

http://www.rickross.com/reference/kabbalah/kabbalah27.html

http://radarmagazine.com/web-only/the-kabbalah-chronicles/2005/06/inside-hollywoods-hottest-cult.php