Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Kabbalah, a major school of thought in Jewish mysticism.
Kabbalah
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The Schmooze L.A. Times Takes On the Kabbalah Centre
Before the Kabbalah Centre had one material girl, it had another. Long before Madonna started wearing a red string bracelet and visiting Israel, there was Karen Berg, the avaricious wife of Rabbi Philip Berg, the Centre’s founding rabbi. In a series of articles, the Los Angeles Times is exposing the dark underside of what many…
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The Schmooze Yom Kippur Solidarity for Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
The couple that prays together stays together — right? That’s what celebrity Kremlinologists have been trying to figure since Friday, when reportedly feuding Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher attended services together at the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles. People Magazine reports that the pair sat on opposite sides of the aisle during the service —…
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Life Prime Ribs: Madonna Back at Kabbalah Center
The recent controversy surrounding Madonna and the Kabbalah Center’s charity work in Malawi seems to not have had any lasting effect on her relationship with the organization. The singer was spotted taking her kids to the Kabbalah Center in New York to observe the days of repentance according to Ynet. Zehavit Cohen, who is one…
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The Schmooze Thousands Attend Funeral of Murdered Rabbi
Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira was laid to rest on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, following his stabbing murder by a visitor to the Yeshiva in Beer Sheva where the rabbi was greeting guests just after midnight Friday morning. Thousands attended the funeral procession of the revered Kabbalist, which began in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah…
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The Schmooze Is Madonna Leaving Kabbalah for Opus Dei?
Is kabbalah losing its most famous student? No one can say for sure, but reports are spreading that Madonna is considering a switch to Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic sect arguably most famous for protesting its own vilification in “The Da Vinci Code.” The rumors suggest that Madonna sought out the group in reaction to…
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Life Prime Ribs: Gwyneth and Kabbalah; Knesset’s ‘Shiksa’ Debate
Apparently a love for Kabbalah runs in the family. Contact Music is reporting that in an upcoming episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” Gwyneth Paltrow discovers that her great-great-great grandfather was a master of Kabbalah. In other celebrity Kabbalah news, The Kabbalah Centre has apparently sent out an email to its members explaining…
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The Schmooze Gwyneth Paltrow’s Got Rabbinic Roots
For Gwyneth Paltrow, Kabbalah isn’t just a passing fad. The actress (and sometimes singer), who will appear on this Friday night’s episode of NBC genealogy series “Who Do You Think You Are,” discovered that her great great great grandfather was Kabbalah master Tsvi Paltrowitch. Documents describe Paltrowitch, the Gaon of Nitzy in Russia, as “a…
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Food Making Your Dinner Table a Temple
For my 33rd birthday back in 1992, I received a book from our best friends and frequent dinner partners, a book that changed my life. It was the Hebrew edition of the collected writings of Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, a 13th-14th century kabbalist and biblical commentator. It included what has become a constant companion over…
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