Any opinions on Kabbalah Learning Center in Los Angeles, CA?

Answer 1

The Truth about the Kabbalah Centre
Published by Task Force on Cults and Missionaries, Los Angeles, CA 1995


Who is "Dr. Philip S. Berg"?

Philip S. Berg is the charismatic founder and leader of a quasi-Jewish cult functioning under the name of "Research Centre for Kabbalah." It has branches in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, a few other cities.

Berg portrays himself as an orthodox rabbi and proclaims his "Kabbalah Centre" to be a Jewish orthodox institution. IN his youth he did study at an orthodox Yeshiva in Brooklyn NY, and it seems that he was ordained.

Berg claims to have a doctorate (all his books go under the name "Dr. Philip S. Berg"). In some of his books he alleges to have a doctorate in "comparative religion," while another source claims his doctorate to be in "jurisprudence in biblical law." When personally confronted about the discrepancies, and questioned about his alleged doctorate, he admitted (in a published interview) that in fact -he has no academic degree at all - and that his alleged "doctorate" is "part of his smichah (ordination)" … Everyone knows, of course, that there is no such thing.

For his public lectures Berg advertises himself invariably as "the greatest Kabbalist in the world;" "the world's foremost authority on the Kabbalah;" "a living Kabbalist and the rarest of teachers;" or other such flamboyant terms of self-aggrandizement.

Outside of his own Centre and circle of followers, neither the academic nor the Jewish religious worlds know anything about him except for the anomalies of his centers. They have absolutely no regard for him, his teachings, writings or activities. In fact, he is universally condemned by both the orthodox rabbinate and contemporary schools of Jewish mysticism in Israel, the USA and elsewhere, as a charlatan.

What is the "Kabbalah Centre"?

One of the most extensive articles about Berg and the Kabbalah Centre was published in a national Canadian Jewish weekly, the Canadian Jewish News, dated March 18, 1993, pp. 2, 6-7 and 9. It exposed, with names, some of the Kabbalah Centre's anomalies, such as:

In the autumn of 1990, a Marilyn McLeod was dying of cancer. She was visited by a "Rabbi" Yardeni of the Kabbalah Centre who persuaded her to purchase a complete hard cover set of the Zohar, as well as a few other books about Jewish mysticism, for hundreds of dollars. Marilyn was also told to change a mezuzah and her Hebrew name. For $250, they changed her mezuzah, gave her about a dozen audio tapes from the centre, and changed her name altogether. Though Marilyn couldn't read any Hebrew, she was told to simply scan the Zohar for its healing properties. Shortly thereafter (January 1991) she dies.


Other cases are cited of people unable to read Hebrew (let alone Aramaic - the language of most of the Zohar), and who could ill afford the high prices charged, who were persuaded to purchase the Zohar and other works, who were told that mere scanning of the books would help them in their quest for spiritual fulfillment.


Young people drawn into the centre were persuaded to help with maintenance of the building and other jobs.


When thoroughly questioned, Berg "readily concedes that 'most' of the students as well as the teachers at the centre would likely not be able to read or interpret a page from the Hebrew Zohar."


Nonetheless, he maintains, in an alleged "paraphrase of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai" that :you can learn from someone who doesn't know"…

Both in the interview as well as in their promotions, Berg calls his centre "Yeshiva Kol Yehuda," alleging affiliation and association with (as the continuation or successor to) the Yeshivah Kol Yehuda in Jerusalem, originally founded in 1922 by the late Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag and later headed by the late Rabbi Yehudah Tzvi Brandwien. Berg calls himself as "Rabbi Brandwein's chief student."


[Note: see further on, chapter X, about this false allegation!]

The Kabbalah Centre offers its classes and publications to an indiscriminate mixture of "man, woman, child, non-Jew," religious or secular.


Berg condemns rabbis who criticize and censure him and his organization as "jealous; they are simply jealous of how we are teaching people."


A former student who spent 18 months studying at the centre and "thousands of dollars on books and tapes," decided to investigate orthodox Judaism and realized how far removed the centre is from traditional Judaism. He said that at first "everything was very impressive. Everything made sense to me. They were in synch with what I knew about spirituality. But then I did a little outside reading and I started to realize that to know Kabbalah you need to be at a level of personal development… They never mention that. They don't talk about kashrut, mitzvot or tefilah (prayer). They never mention G-d. They talk about a light, about power. They offer instant gratification and instant answers…"

Answer 2

I don't have any personal experience with them but I understand it's the best place to go for learning about Kabbalah, short of attending rabbi school.

Answer 3

I heard that they think they have an exclusive franchise on the wisdom of kaballah. A few weeks ago a woman was outside their place on Robertson and handing out cards advertising the new ASK THE KABALA book. A staff member came out and told her that if she did not stop standing on the sidewalk near them he would call the police.

Answer 4

the place is a load of cr@p. almost a cult and out to rip people off.
I heard they were selling those red string bracelets for 10 bucks. They cost, literally, a cent.
big scam and little to actually do with kabalah.

Answer 5

I wanted some information a few years ago...decided it was not for me...and asked to be removed from the mailing list. They call me at home, get the number from my message for my cell phone and call me on that, e-mail me and e-mail me and each time I have asked to be removed from their list. I have nothing against the place..but they are rather aggravating.

Answer 6

False and greedy....(you asked for my opinion.)

Answer 7

keep your money