Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Kabbalah, a major school of thought in Jewish mysticism.
Kabbalah
The Latest
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The Schmooze Madonna’s Sukkot at Kabbalah Rabbi Memorial
Madonna, one of the world’s most prominent Kabbalah followers, decided to skip the funeral of mentor Rabbi Philip Berg — and instead attended a joyous memorial in New York. The mystic Material Girl joined other followers of Berg at kosher hot spot Prime at the Bentley hotel in Manhattan, the New York Post reported. The…
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Fast Forward Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher Attend Funeral of Kabbalah Rabbi Philip Berg
Rabbi Philip Berg, the founder of the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Center, whose death was announced on Monday, was buried Wednesday at a cemetery in the northern Israeli city of Safed, a place that has been associated for centuries with Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. Berg, 86, attracted a large number of followers to Kabbalah, among them American…
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Fast Forward Rabbi-to-Stars Philip Berg Dies at 86
Rabbi Philip Berg, who brought the teachings of Kabbalah to a celebrity following that included Madonna and Britney Spears, has died. Berg, the founder of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles, died Monday at a hospital in that city. He had been ill since suffering a stroke in 2004. Berg was 86. His followers also…
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The Schmooze Madonna’s Son Rocco Bar-Mitvahed
Can you picture Madonna and Guy Ritchie dancing the hora? This is what one can only hope happened after their son Rocco was bar-mitzvahed on July 13 at the Kabbalah Center in New York. Madonna celebrated her boy’s transition to manhood by posting a picture on Instagram. “We finish the last letter of the Torah…
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Opinion How Fracking Conflicts With Kabbalah
Every year, more than 100 billion gallons of water are used in the United States for hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” a process that breaks up rock in order to force out millions of cubic feet of natural gas. What people may not realize is that most of this water stays deep underground. The 20%–50% of…
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Culture How Greek Philosophy Influenced Both Christian and Jewish Theology
My fellow columnist at the Forward, the estimable J.J. Goldberg, has written a blog post about my May 19 column, “Could the Holy Ghost be Jewish?” In his blog, he respectfully takes exception to my statement that “neither biblical nor rabbinic Judaism has anything like the Christian Trinity in its thinking about God,” and goes…
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Opinion How the Trinity Impacted Judaism — via Kabbalah
If you don’t follow Philologos, the Forward’s inimitable language columnist, you’re missing one of the outstanding intellectual joys in contemporary Jewish life. I don’t say that idly. Week after week for 20-plus years, with an astonishing combination of erudition, curiosity and wit, he’s used readers’ inquiries into the origins of words and phrases to explore…
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The Schmooze Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Head To Israel
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis will be jetting off to the Holy Land next week, the Times Of Israel reported. This isn’t Kutcher’s first trip. The “Two And A Half Men” star’s most recent Israel sighting was with ex-wife and fellow Kabbalah enthusiast Demi Moore in 2010. This time however, Kutcher will be promoting high…
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