Jew/Non-Jew: A Kabbalah Viewpoint

From a shi'ur (a Torah discourse) by Rav Adam Sinai:

Almost every penitent (returnee to Judaism) complains often, at least initially, how can that we even dare to think that maybe we are a people of virtue, better than the Gentiles. How is a Jew different from the non-Jew?  What is the nation of the Jews? Is the non-Jew not a person? He walks on two legs? He has no feelings? He has no soul?

The fact that we are born to a Jewish mother makes us different? Are we racists?

If we understand the logic of this, we understand also that being a chosen people is not just some sort of tribute, but also a very big undertaking, and the question is whether we are willing to take it. And understand what others have built there. Rav Ashlag says that all wisdom in the world, its value lies in what it allows us to achieve. Most of the wisdom of the Torah is to understand the methods of the supervision of God Almighty over His creatures and to devote ourselves to those characteristics, that God's attributes are reflected in our deeds.

We pereived the non-Jew's purposeas being external and the Jewish purpose as internal, and as much as he wishes to do so, he can correct his inside.

As the Zohar records: "All good deed achieved is for themselves accomplished"  (see the Preface to the Ten Spheres). Any benefit they are doing - for themselves they are doing, and if I believe in the doctrine I have to believe it. There is a fundamental difference between Jew and Gentile: thye gentile concentrates on the selfish purpose, and the Jews wants to cause satisfaction for the Creator.

This means that in every Jew there are also the element of the gentile, internal and external aspects: internal ones are the righteous and the external ones are those who hate Jews and want to just chase them and eradicate them from the world. (It's up to us. If a Jew overcomes his internal character, by doing so he aids the non-Jewish nations to do good).

Israel has a certain special point in his heart and we must raise it up to a higher level. This should be the only thing one cares about.

Only through one's intellectual soul (which is the same place where a man who cares only for the truth, more than self-pleasure more than even himself) in the sense of: "In my remembering of it, it does not let me sleep" - just the thought of it coming from the Creator is what keeps me awake. I can not think of going to bed and not do the work to sustain the point of this truth. It should be felt: Our pleasure comes from the truth and not from another source. And: "gifts of flesh and blood, but next to you full and broad, rich and open" (from the Grace After Meals text). And why? To overcome the shame: "So that we will in this world not be ashamed nor embarrassed in the next world". To overcome the shame.

Israel was built only from the second-stage - when malchut (the kingdom) arose and integrated with binah (intelligence). This was the spiritual location from where the Jew was created, from where he can gain the desire to affect and influence. The Nations are from the sphere of malchut that has not gained integration with binah, and therefore can not be repaired at this stage of reality. They lack, as we perceive, the root for the desire to influence, they have no such point, and therefore there is nothing to expect or what to develop.

I applaud the creator for making me a Jew, a virtuous people that can call on Him and serve Him with truth from the heart and not out of selfishness.

Source.


^

Moore Kabbalah - or Less

If you had allegedly cheated on your spouse, what would you do?

Well, they did this:-

After attending kabbalah services together, the two were photographed on Sunday, camping outside of Santa Barbara over the Yom Kippur holiday*, the most serious and solemn day in the Jewish religion, known as the Day of Atonement

"They"?

Oh, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.  They're having problems.

A previous post.

___________

*
Yomm Kippur was Saturday only.

^

Hey, (Berg) Kabbalah Isn't Perfect

Reported:

Miss Moore reportedly agreed to go to Kabbalah counselling sessions with Kutcher.


‘But it hasn’t worked,’ the source said. ‘She is done with him.’

One too many a zivug.


^

Political Psychology a la The Kabbalah

This past week's Torah portion was B'chukosai, the last section in the book of VaYikra (Lecviticus).

In discussing a verse contained in the portion, at 26:44:-

  וְאַף-גַּם-זֹאת בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם, לֹא-מְאַסְתִּים וְלֹא-גְעַלְתִּים לְכַלֹּתָם--לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי, אִתָּם:  כִּי אֲנִי יְ-וָה, אֱלֹה-יהֶם

which translates as:-

And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God

the commentary of the Kabbalah has Rabi Chiya noting in the name of Rav Elazar that he who hates another views himself as despised, as though he were disgusting, a case of reverse projection as it were:

That the affect on one's one psychological balance is perverted.
And this observation is so very applicable to the relationsip the Arabs have seemed to develop vis a vis Zionism. Their hatred for Jews, Jewish nationalism and all that we have accomplished in our homeland despite the hostility, the terror and the interference placed in our path that they have not only adopted the warped self-image of victimhood, which many have noted, but they have turned themselves through this victims imagery into people who so hate and so that it causes them to redouble their efforts to strike out at us.

Abaas was reported to have said that “A human being is not capable of something like that,” and so, an Arab could not have commited that ugly slaughter, which was "despicable, inhuman and immoral", of the five members of the Fogel Family. Disregarding previous acts of similar and even worse incidents, this position taken by the head of the PA is not only in variance with the facts but is indicative of a warped psychotic attitude too prevalent among our enemies.


P.S.

Eric Cantor:

Speaking to thousands of pro-Israel activists assembled in Washington for the annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Cantor said..."What kind of culture leads one to do that? Sadly, it is a culture infused with resentment and hatred...It is this culture that underlies the Palestinians' and the broader Arab world's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

^

Madonna and Settlement Talks

No, not those "settlements" in Judea and Samaria - the Jewish communities in which Jewish revenants live in their patrimony, their national homeland.

Settlement talks over a few millions of dollars.  Here Madonna finds out how much Kabbalah is worth:

Madonna chaired the board of Spirituality for Kids and donated more than $600,000 to the cause, according to tax filings cited by the Times. The subpoenas do not indicate that she personally is under scrutiny, the newspaper said. One of the singer's charities, Raising Malawi, also is under investigation in the tax matter, even though it cut ties to the Kabbalah Centre this spring.

"Raising Malawi is actively cooperating with all investigations and will continue to do so," Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, told The Associated Press in an email saying it would be her only comment.

The Kabbalah Centre has been controlled by the Berg family for more than 40 years and has grown into an international organization that has drawn celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Gwyneth Paltrow.

he Times indicated the center might have assets of $260 million.

The center is run by chief executive Karen Berg, 68, with the help of sons Michael Berg, 37, and Yehuda Berg, 38.

The federal investigation follows several court actions involving the center's finances. A trustee sorting out a $68 million fraud scheme in a New York bankruptcy court has demanded the center return $2.9 million it received as an investor in what turned out to be phony financial scheme.

Settlement talks were ongoing.

Heiress Courtenay Geddes filed two lawsuits against the center earlier this year. One claims the Bergs and others connected to the center defrauded her of about $1.3 million. The other alleges Geddes contributed $500,000 for a homeschooling program that never was created.

Geddes' attorney argued in February that the center and its related organizations exist primarily to enrich the Berg family.

The Kabbalah Kutie is out of this world.

^

Shiloh in the Zohar

In this week's Torah portion reading, Shiloh is mentioned.

תקפא) לא יסור שבט מיהודה, עד כי יבוא שילׂה. שילׂה כתוב, עם ה', ובשאר מקומות כתוב, שילו עם ו', להורות שם הקדוש י"ה. כי במקום אחר כתוב, שילו, בלא ה', ובמקום אחר, שִלׂה, בלי י'. וכאן כתוב, שילׂה, בי' וה', שהוא שם הקדוש העליון, ושהשכינה תקום מנפילתה בגלות, בשם הזה י"ה, שהוא מ"י. כי י"ה שם הבינה, הנקראת גם מ"י.

In English translation, this Zohar section reads:-

581. "The staff shall not depart from Yehuda" has been explained by the friends, but "until Shiloh come" is spelled with Hei~, while in other PLACES IT IS SPELLED SHILO with Vav*. This is an indication of the secret of the Holy Name Yud-Hei, for in other places it is spelled Shilo without Hei, or without Yud**. Here it is spelled Shiloh with both Yud and Hei, which is the secret of the supernal Holy Name, and means that the Shechinah shall rise FROM HER FALL IN THE EXILE through this name of Yud-Hei, which, as we said, is the mystery of 'who', FOR YAH IS THE NAME OF BINAH, ALSO NAMED 'WHO' [which are considered two letters of God's name -YM].

In other words, the renewal of Jewish life in ancient Shiloh is a proper course of action and significantly contributes to the process of "raising the Shechina from its lower depths", from "the dust".

This is explained thus:-

Later approaches used the place of the Shechina in real life and its identification with Jewish history in order to construct a whole ethos around "raising the Shechina," which is perceived as the core of the redemption. The raising of the Shechina from the dust became a central component in the lives of the Kabalists in Tsefat and various customs were tied to it, such as tikkun hatzot (waking at midnight to mourn the destruction of the Temple), studying Torah, calling for a life of poverty (which imitates the present situation of the Shechina) and giving charity (which is meant to redeem the Shechina from its destruction).

From this developed a unique image of the divine in crisis. Alongside the exalted, perfect and unapproachable God, the Shechina is revealed to be an imperfect and downtrodden figure. This is an image of divinity not at its best but rather in a state of weakness.

In some Kabbalistic approaches, the structures of exile and redemption, of destruction and rescue, are wrapped around the drama within the imperfect divine figure. For the Kabalistic approach, in which the acts of man play a major part in the design of the divine world, this picture of imperfection is an invitation to repentance. The downtrodden Shechina needs to be raised up. The ones to accomplish this are the people – its sons, who support and lift it up from its ailments. This is an approach that encourages religious activism and integrates well with the feminine image of this divine entity, which contrasts with the masculine image of the Kabbalists and strengthens erotic and activist structures. Thus, the image of the Shechina within the Kabalistic philosophy strengthens Jewish religious ritual as a whole, which is harnessed for the redemption of the Shechina and its raising from the dust.

____________
~ לא-יסור שבט מיהודה, ומחקק מבין רגליו, עד כי-יבא שילה (Genesis 49:10)
* וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֵּה חַג-יְה-ה בְּשִׁלוֹ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה (Judges 21:19)
** לְהִשְׁתַּחֲו‍ֹת וְלִזְבֹּחַ לַי-וָה צְבָאוֹת בְּשִׁלֹה (I Samuel 1:3)

^

Lourdes As a Seminary Girl

Even Lourdes, daughter of Madonna, on her way to a Kabbalah service in New York, seems to appear no different than your average seminary-girl, no?

More Madonna Kabbalah Kutie Narashkeit

.

Brahim Zaibat is a devout Muslim who – according to his mother – prays to Allah a number of times a day and shuns alcohol and cigarettes.

Those religious views contrast sharply with the hedonistic lifestyle personified by the Material Girl. Moreover, Madonna is a high-profile follower of Kabbalah, a variation of Judaism.


^

Madonna, Kabbalah Kutie, Discovers Real Kabbalah

There is a more esoteric element in Kabbalah termed gilgul neshamot (see here).

That means, alternatively, recycling of souls, reincarnation, transmigration or metempsychosis.


Well, it seems Madonna has reached this stage:-




She is reported to be coming to Israel soon with Rabbi Yehuda-Phillip Berg (aka Shraga Feivel Gruberger) for a birthday celebration, I think.



- - -

Is That A Red String Kabbalah Thing?

Kabbalah Kutie Kylie Still With the Red

Kylie Minogue at M6 Mobile Music Live event held in Paris yesterday.

And her red wrist string.

Source

Kylie, New Kabbalah Kutie

This is Kylie Minogue. Miss Minogue was born into a Catholic family:



Now look closer:



Yes, she has been wearing the "red string" now for over a month and has also been to Kabbalah meetings. A source said: 'It seems that she is definitely interested in learning more about the religion.' She paired the bracelet with a red mini dress as she arrived for a meeting in central London yesterday.

The star continues to take medicine after being diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago.



Source

Another Kabbalah Kutie

Actress Sienna Miller has turned to Kabbalah and has started wearing the controversial faith’s bracelet. The 28-year-old has attended meetings at the Kabbalah centre in New York – where Madonna is a regular visitor.

And she has told friends she is keen to learn more about the mystical Jewish discipline.

While her father is Jewish, Sienna has never spoken about being religious.

Says a friend: ‘Sienna has joined Kabbalah and started wearing the red bracelet. She certainly seems fascinated, and with so many famous devotees, joining won’t do her career any harm either.’

I Fool Around With A Kabbalah Number a la Pauli

And where does the Kabbalah pop up?

Here:-

the physicist Wolfgang Pauli...was a leading member of the group of theoretical physicists, including Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, who transformed our understanding of the way matter behaves at the subatomic level...Yet even at the height of his success he was not a happy man. Working as a junior professor in Hamburg, he spent his days in monk-like devotion to physics, and his nights drinking and roving the “Sankt Pauli” red light district looking for sex “without feeling, without love, indeed without humanity”. This pattern had been established for almost a decade by the time he turned up on [Carl] Jung’s couch.

...Pauli...wholeheartedly accepted the more controversial aspects of Jung’s theoretical framework, which struck a chord with his own long-standing interest in the mystical significance of particular numbers. Why did his exclusion principle demand that each electron be described by four quantum numbers, and not three as he had previously believed? What was the significance of the number 137, which appears in nature as the fine structure constant that determines the degree of splitting of spectral lines?

...Pauli was intrigued to find, on consulting a scholar of Jewish mysticism, that the word Kabbalah, written as numbers in Hebrew, adds up to 137. Miller agrees that this is “an extraordinary link between mysticism and physics”.

Let's see ifr we can play around with 137.

Backwards, 7 - 3 = 4 but 4 + 1 = 7.

Wow.

Kabbalah Kutie Kopies Sephirot

Seems someone has noticed a problem:



and decided to get explicit:

which reminded me of...the Kabbalah's conceptualization - the Sephirot:

The Kontemplating Kabbalah Kutie

If that's not perfect makeup, there's a bit of photoshopping there

Nothing like Kabbalah on a First Date - The Kabbalah Kutie

Madonna’s relationship with Jesus Luz is a sham, according to friends...“It's a classic Madonna publicity stunt - but it suits both parties well...Madonna and Jesus – who met on a photo shoot for US magazine W in Brazil in December - were spotted attending a New York Kabbalah centre on Saturday (14.02.09), although they arrived separately.



The source continued: "Taking Jesus to Kabbalah is a masterstroke as she always historically introduces her lovers to the religion.”

More.


Nothing like Kabbalah on a first date.

Kabbalah Kutie Goes Undergound?

An item here concerning a death threat on Madonna:-

Muslim extremists have threatened to kill Madonna, the pop star who has expressed admiration for Israel and who professes to study Kabbalah, as well as star Britney Spears. Mohammed Abdel-Al, spokesman and senior terrorist for the Popular Resistance Committees, was recorded as threatening, "If I meet these whores, I will have the honor – I repeat, I will have the honor – to be the first one to cut [their] heads off…if they will keep spreading their satanic culture against Islam."

sent me looking.

Well, I found this:

Pop singer Madonna has reportedly cancelled three concerts in Israel after Palestinian terrorists threatened to kill her and her two young children.

The singer was said to be terrified when she received threatening letters from an unnamed Palestinian group which mentioned details about her children, Lourdes, 7, and three-year-old Rocco, British newspaper The Sun reported. It quoted a source as saying Madonna was targeted because she was a symbol of the West and not because she practises the Jewish faith Kabbalah.

But that was in 2004.

I continued. And found this:-

The pop diva stayed locked in her Prague hotel room only venturing out to perform two sell out concerts this week following alleged assassination threats by Russian crime bosses. According to reports in the Czech daily Blesk, Madonna cancelled her original plans to visit the historic town centre and go shopping and instead stayed locked in her room at the luxury Four Seasons

But that was in 2006.

I tried another search and found this:-

Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesman and senior leader of Palestinian terror group the Popular Resistance Committees, warns the two pop superstars face death unless they change their evil ways, which includes acting like "prostitutes" to sell records.

In new book, "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans - to a Jew!," Abdel-Al rages: "If I meet these whores I will have the honor - I repeat, I will have the honor - to be the first one to cut the heads off Madonna and Britney Spears if they will keep spreading their satanic culture against Islam."

But that was in 2007.


This guy's name keeps popping up: Mohammed Abdel-Al.

Maybe he's a Madonna publicist?

In any case, here's the Material Girl's new disguise:



And in case you don't like the Kabbalah Kutie, neither does this Jew:-

Sacha Baron Cohen made a number of jokes at Sunday’s Golden Globes [and] proceeded to take jabs at a few celebs: “But this recession is affecting everyone, even celebrities. Victoria Beckham hasn’t eaten for three weeks...And even Madonna has had to get rid of one of her personal assistants. (pauses) Our thoughts go out to you Guy Ritchie.”

But then I found this, that seems to be more relevant:

Madonna is reportedly being targeted by Muslim fanatics

The US singer - who follows the Jewish rooted faith Kabbalah - has added to her personal security team and warned ex-husband Guy Ritchie to increase protection for the children they raise, Lourdes 12, Rocco, eight and adopted David Banda, three...

...Extremists angry about the current situation in Gaza - where Israeli and Palestinian groups have been warring since the beginning of the year - have taken their attack on western values to a personal level, writing hate messages about Madonna on websites...Madonna, 50, has now reportedly hired two minders, veterans of Israeli security service Mossad, who accompanied her on her recent 'Sticky and Sweet' world tour. Madonna's security team have also reportedly told her ex-husband, film director Guy Ritchie, to move as his present house is close to a busy road in London and doesn't have sufficient security measures to protect their children...

Well, I hope this isn't one of those security guards. Just doesn't seem to look the part:




and so, by the time you'll read this, Madonnna, perhaps, will be in another disguise, a blond Edith Piaf deep in the back alleyways of Paris:-

Kabbalah Explained to Americans

Found here

Madonna Gives It Better

It is revealed:

Madonna donated £2million to Kabbalah groups in one year alone

Tax filings for her charitable foundation, called Ray of Light Foundation, revealed a total of £1.75m was given to the Kabbalah Centre of Los Angeles.

A further £2,600 was given to an offshoot of the group, Spirituality for Kids. The money is believed to have paid for books and other items to be used in schools.
Huge donations: Madonna and adopted son David Banda arrive at the Kabbalah Centre in New York last month; Madonna donated nearly £2million to the religion in one year

The figures are contained in the 2007 tax filings to the US taxman for her Ray of Light Foundation.

Better: