Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
glam
()
Date: October 27, 2004 12:43AM
I don't know what I find more amazing -- how much the Kabbalah class experience and the promise of "transforming our creation" sounds like the Landmark Forum, or how people who've become involved in either organization can come here, read accounts like these, and somehow still believe that what they've experienced is truly unique and honestly transformational. How can they not see the similarities?
Glam
Glam
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
glam
()
Date: November 03, 2004 01:59AM
No wonder Madonna loves Kabbalah so much...it sounds like she's the one who's being worshipped:
[observer.guardian.co.uk]
Quote
Give me back my old Madonna
Raquel Hecker used to worship at the same Kabbalah centre as the singer. Now she's become disillusioned - both with mystic Judaism and with her favourite star
Sunday October 31, 2004
The Observer
A petite blonde steps into an unassuming five-storey building in midtown Manhattan, strides past a poster with her image on it, takes an elevator up a storey and steps out into a gleaming white chamber with rows of pews decorated in a Greco-Roman motif. A man leading a service for 200 worshippers glances up from a book. The entire room inhales at once. One woman's jaw goes slack.
Madonna - Esther to her friends here at the Kabbalah Centre - has entered the building. Back before she was Esther, Madonna was my childhood idol. So I was curious how Kabbalah had inspired her - how she had gone from covering Don McLean to covering the Barry Sisters, as she did in July, performing at a private party for the head of the Kabbalah Centre, Rabbi Philip Berg.
The first time I went to the Kabbalah Centre was for a Friday-night Shabbat service. The place was packed, albeit unevenly. The men were seated throughout the left and centre sections, the women squeezed tightly into the right section, except for an empty front row. I slid in there and heard two women by the door whisper and point. Slowly it dawned on me: I had planted my ass in the designated celebrity row.
When Madonna walks into the Kabbalah Centre, chairs materialise out of thin air to form a new row in front of the celebrity row. A bearded man runs over with an electric fan and aims it at Madonna, who is flanked by two thin, attractive women in bad blond wigs. Sitting with one yoga-sculpted leg over the other, Madonna dismisses the man with a wave of her hand and he returns, humbled, to where he was sitting.
The service continues: rabbis take turns leading prayers, then when they're finished step off the stage to shake Madonna's hand. The Material Girl follows along nonchalantly, mouthing indiscernible nothings to her husband, Guy Ritchie, sitting across the room from her in the men's section. Her daughter Lourdes comes over to sit with her mother, then runs out of the room. Men steal glances, women whisper among themselves. I look, too, and I'm both mortified and delighted to learn that, if you stare at Madonna for long enough, Madonna will look right back at you.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is said to have written Zohar, the 2nd-century mystical document now considered Kabbalah's most important text.(These days it also provides the basis for a T-shirt 'I Scanned Zohar with Ashton', a reference to the actor and Kabbalah devotee Ashton Kutcher). According to legend, the Aramaic manuscripts were lost for years and found by Moses de Leon in the 13th century in a cave in Israel. 'Kabbalah', literally 'to receive', became an esoteric practice studied only by male Hasidic scholars over 40, and later a legitimate element of Judaism.
Philip Berg (né Feivel Gruberger) is trying to change that. An insurance salesman and Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn, Berg became involved with Kabbalah when he met the renowned Kabbalist Yehuda Brandwein. He studied with Brandwein in Jerusalem and married his niece Rizka. Eight children later, he left her and took up with Karen Berg, an acquaintance from his days selling insurance. According to Centre literature, she possesses 'an extraordinary sixth sense and intuition'. She was the one who suggested they start the Kabbalah Centre in Israel in the early Seventies, then return to the US in 1981.
When Berg spends Shabbat at the New York Kabbalah Centre, he sits at the head table with Karen on his right and Madonna on his left. On Madonna's recent Reinvention tour, he blessed every stage she danced across. Berg's gravitas has made enough of an impression on Madonna that she has recommended his Centre to Gwyneth Paltrow and Britney Spears, among others. Roseanne Barr lectures at the Centre in LA. Among the stars seen with the Centre's red strings around their wrists are Sharon Osbourne, Winona Ryder, David and Victoria Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell and Courtney Love.
Paris Hilton, Madonna explained in an ABC interview, was brought to the Centre by her parents after they heard about her sex video. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, who wore matching his-and-hers baby costumes to the Centre's Los Angeles Purim party in March, may have a Kabbalah wedding in Tel Aviv.
Certainly Madonna has given Berg's organisation a particular sort of credibility. Former presidential candidate Wesley Clark seemed taken with Kabbalah as he grew interested in Madonna's support; in December 2003 he gave a speech that included Kabbalah in a list of major world religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Just as Madonna draws the celebrities who admire her, those celebrities in turn draw those who admire them. On the Kabbalah Centre website, a young devotee says her interest in the Centre began 'the minute I heard that Britney wears the bendel and that it was also shown in her latest music video, "Everytime".'
Once wannabes only had to dress like her; I should know - I was one. Such was my Madonna worship that one night when I was 13 I wore a cross around my neck to Hebrew school. At my bar mitzvah, I sang "Material Girl' in lace half-gloves and rubber bracelets.
These days, though, keeping up with Madonna isn't simply a matter of trading your old black bracelets for new red ones. 'I want people to think like me now,' Madonna told the TV show 20/20 last June. And just how does she think? 'When in doubt,' she said, 'act like God.'
I got to know more Kabbalah devotees by volunteering to set up Shabbat dinner. I'd ask the students what drew them to the Centre and several mentioned Madonna. They'd tell their specific story - an epiphany they had reading one of Berg's books, a serendipitous glimpse of one of the Centre's ads in the paper - then mention Madonna as an afterthought. Few of them gave her sole credit with bringing them to Kabbalah, but just about everyone mentioned her and most said they had heard about it in the first place because of her. Only one credited her without hesitation. 'I saw how much she had transformed because of Kabbalah,' he said, 'and I thought, well, if it worked for her ...'
One evening, when I had just reported for duty, another volunteer asked me, 'Do you have your tickets yet?' 'Huh?' 'Your Madonna tickets!' she exclaimed (referring to her recent Reinvention tour). 'If you buy them from the Centre they are the best seats! And all the proceeds go to the Spirituality for Kids programme!' The royalties from Madonna's children's books go to the same fund, which helped purchase the former Atkins headquarters for the Kabbalah Grammar School for Children. According to WABC, Madonna spent a total of $22 million on the school, which will open its doors in 2005 - but only to pupils whose parents are both Kabbalists.
Celebrity Kabbalah followers like Elizabeth Taylor get private tutoring in their mansions. 'There's no set charge, just donations,' said one student. But the typical donation is $200 to $300 an hour, and students can only serve kosher food.
'During the week ahead we will want to bad-mouth others,' my teacher told a class one Thursday night. 'Miriam got leprosy the second she bad-mouthed Moses.' Pause. 'What is leprosy?' No one says anything. 'Leprosy is when on your skin there's a big stain, like barley. Every time you speak lashon hara ' - talking about someone behind his back - 'you might get one.'
There are other lessons, too. 'Satan makes us feel like we could put things off,' the teacher says. 'This week, work on your sense of urgency to do things. For example, "I want to buy a Zohar , but maybe in two weeks" - then it will never happen!' The Kabbalah Centre loves its product placement. During Shabbat services, one rabbi instructed the congregation to drink $3.80, 1.5 litre bottles of Kabbalah water even as he took drinks from a bottle by his side. According to the rabbi, the process of making Kabbalah water is 'more complicated than that of making Coca-Cola'. In the lobby you can buy a single red string that has been blessed at Rachel's tomb in Jerusalem for $8.50, or a yard's worth for $26. Thesmokinggun.com reported that the US Patent Office rejected the Centre's request for a patent on bendels, so they're not exclusive to the lobby. Next season they'll be sold with a Kabbalah candle at Bergdorf's, Barneys NY and Neiman Marcus.
As I leave a class with Jane (not her real name), we walk past posters advertising a few of the Centre's other classes - 'How to Find Your Soulmate', '12 Steps to Everlasting Love' - with stock photos of couples kissing and kids on swings. Jane tells me that she works in public relations and that 'it's not very Kabbalistic'. We walk past piles of tapes for sale on 'Divine Sex' and 'Kabbalistic Astrology'. Over the speakers, I hear Ray of Light. Later, Jane and I are folding napkins into unlikely origami shapes to add a French-restaurant feel to the next evening's Shabbat dinner. Jane has been fishing for religion since her teens; she's attended Methodist, Catholic, Pentecostal and Jehovah's Witness services. She says she likes the Kabbalah Centre best: the principles taught in the classes are easy to apply, especially the notion that when you help others you really help yourself.
I am disillusioned as to how my former idol is no longer the unabashedly confident superwoman I so admired. Plenty of people are still following her, but look what she's following. Maybe once she gets the financial breakdown she requested and finds how her money is being spent, she will reinvent herself as the wayward Catholic iconoclast I loved. My friend and I spend the rest of the night drinking tea in a Chinese restaurant, reading fortune cookies, and commiserating about how we missed Madonna over steamed pork buns.
[observer.guardian.co.uk]
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
Mena
()
Date: April 16, 2005 03:18PM
I also think that Madonna`s whole personality has changed a lot. She has become insecure, she seems to have lost a little bit of her famous humor and she seems weaker in every ways.
Aren`t those things exactly what being a cult member does to you? They talk about giving up your "ego" when they really mean giving up your personality.
Madonna is a good warning for everyone of us. She was streetsmart, life and fun loving person and even she fell on one of the oldest tricks when she reached the difficult middle-age and single parenthood. She didn`t have enough confidence on those things so she had to look help from outside. Unfortunately she asked from Bergs whom are now milking her huge fortune to themselves.
But who could wake her up? I don`t think anyone can. Madonna is also suffering from narsism and her boyfriends are little boys who obey her and feed her character disorder. A "real" man couldn`t stand one minute next to her. :?
Aren`t those things exactly what being a cult member does to you? They talk about giving up your "ego" when they really mean giving up your personality.
Madonna is a good warning for everyone of us. She was streetsmart, life and fun loving person and even she fell on one of the oldest tricks when she reached the difficult middle-age and single parenthood. She didn`t have enough confidence on those things so she had to look help from outside. Unfortunately she asked from Bergs whom are now milking her huge fortune to themselves.
But who could wake her up? I don`t think anyone can. Madonna is also suffering from narsism and her boyfriends are little boys who obey her and feed her character disorder. A "real" man couldn`t stand one minute next to her. :?
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
Cosmophilospher
()
Date: June 18, 2005 04:44AM
This is on tonight, i wonder if its going to be a "Puff Piece"?
[abcnews.go.com]
Coming Up on 2020
Watch "20/20" Fridays at 10 p.m. ET / 9 C
Elizabeth Vargas takes an exclusive look inside the controversial spiritual movement called Kaballah.
--------------
What's Behind Hollywood's Fascination with Kabbalah?
New Take on Ancient Jewish Spiritual Teachings Has Drawn Celebrities -- and Criticism
By ALAN B. GOLDBERG and KATIE THOMSON
Jun. 17, 2005 - Most people don't have a clue what the spiritual movement Kabbalah is, though they may be aware it has something to do with a parade of stars -- from Madonna to Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher to Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton -- wearing red strings on their wrists.
Watch Elizabeth Vargas' full report on "20/20" tonight at 10 p.m. ET / 9 Central.
Kabbalah has become a multimillion-dollar empire with more than 40 branches all over the world. But is the Kabbalah of the stars the same Kabbalah that Jewish men in Israel have been quietly studying for centuries?
In cryptic and mystical terms, Kabbalah explores the nature of God and the universe. Rabbis have traditionally believed the philosophy behind it is so complicated that it could only be taught to ultra-religious Jewish men over 40 who had spent their lives studying Judaism.
In 1971, with virtually no money, Karen Berg and her husband, Philip Berg -- the spiritual leader known to followers as the Rav -- opened their first Kabbalah Centre, turning traditional Jewish wisdom upside down by offering Kabbalah study to women and non-Jews. The Bergs had a simple but radical idea: Kabbalah wasn't just for elite Jewish scholars but was something that could be simplified and taught to everyone.
"It wasn't until we started really bringing it to the people that they actually had access to this knowledge," Karen Berg told Elizabeth Vargas in an exclusive interview to air on "20/20" tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Their movement picked up momentum quickly, Berg said. "It was almost like Jesus … talks on the Mount and brought people. And they believed in what he said. And they brought more people … God forbid, I'm not saying that we're messiah consciousness. I'm only saying that we built in the same fashion."
However the Bergs built their movement, many followers say Kabbalah has changed their lives. And the adherents aren't just celebrities.
Don Ellis, a former FBI agent who now practices law and runs a bodyguard service, was raised a Southern Baptist in Texas. He says Kabbalah gave him the spiritual answers he'd been searching for. "I studied a number of different religions, spiritualities, searching for something. And then one day, I saw a CD set called 'Power of Kabbalah.' That's all it took for me was that one series. I haven't looked back since," he told Vargas.
There are no Kabbalah Centres near Ellis' home, so he stays connected by listening to their tapes. He said Kabbalah has created spiritual and financial miracles for him.
Spiritual Accessories
The Bergs have brought this ancient wisdom out of the dark ages and mass-marketed it, inventing their own must-have accessories like red strings and Kabbalah water, which they aggressively sell and claim will protect followers from "negative energy." At services and classes, they teach that Kabbalah is not a religion but a "technology for the soul" that plugs anyone into what they call the "Light" or God -- a God that has 72 names, which if meditated on, can make your dreams come true.
But rabbis like Yitzchok Adlerstein, a professor of law and ethics at Loyola University in Los Angeles, question some of the practices of the Kabbalah newcomers -- like Britney Spears, who tattooed one of God's 72 names in Hebrew on her neck.
"Using one of the names of God on her neck is going to bring enough prosperity to Britney as my tattooing Britney's name to my neck. I guarantee you," Adlerstein told "20/20."
"What the Bergs are offering is not remotely Kabbalah," he added.
The Bergs insist their writings are a direct interpretation of the Zohar, an ancient text, dense and complex, that contains a mystical discussion of what God is.
"We go directly to the source, directly to the Zohar. We don't teach anything that's ours. We don't claim to be teachers. We don't even care if anyone respects us or not. Our job is to bring content to people, content that wasn't there before. Nothing we do comes from our brain," said Yehuda Berg, one of the couple's sons, who runs the Kabbalah Centres with his mother and brother, Michael Berg.
Indeed, the Kabbalah Centres' approach to the Zohar is a far cry from the rigorous intellectual pursuit of Jewish scholars. The Bergs teach that merely to have the Zohar in your possession offers one protective powers, a claim scholars say is ridiculous.
Ellis has spent thousands of dollars buying complete sets of the Zohar for his home, office and family. "That's the telephone line to God. All you have to do is plug it in and you're connected," said Ellis, who admits he doesn't know what the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic text he's reading means. "I have no idea what it says. But anyway, that doesn't matter. This is powerful stuff," he said.
Karen Berg said the message of the Kabbalah text transcends language barriers "because your brain, your subconscious has a way to pick up what -- they're almost like a scanner in a supermarket. You know it's just a code, a bar code. And yet they can manage to take the material they need from it."
Adlerstein says this is nonsense. "The notion that you can mumble a couple of words or find the right mantra, or by focusing on letters with your fingers, is the antithesis of what Kabbalah is," he said.
No Strings Attached -- to Ancient Text
The Bergs' Kabbalah promises to make you rich, find your mate, improve your sex life, even get you pregnant. They say so in their books, in which they call themselves the world's foremost authorities on Kabbalah. But critics say they're reducing the ancient tradition to "Kabbalah Lite."
But what's wrong with making an obscure and complicated philosophy accessible to the masses?
Adlerstein says the Bergs' centers aren't truly communicating the message of Kabbalah. "Sure, you can take astrophysics and reduce it to 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,' and maybe people understand that, but it's not astrophysics," he said.
Moreover, Adlerstein says the signature red strings, which the Bergs sell along with texts for $26, have no origin in traditional Kabbalah study. The Bergs say the strings protect followers from negative forces. But Adlerstein said, "To sell it for 26 bucks and attribute all kinds of magical properties to it, again, the idea of reducing Kabbalah to a kind of magical formula, or technology, is repugnant to me," he said.
But the rabbi's criticism doesn't bother Kabbalists like Madonna. "There's a lot of rabbinical organizations who are saying, you know, this is blasphemy -- they're not part of us and they're right, we're not," she said.
But the Bergs have stirred up a controversy that goes beyond interpretation of ancient spiritual texts. With millions in product sales, coupled with the Kabbalah Centres' vast real estate holdings, there is the question of where does the money go?
Some critics say the Bergs pressure their Kabbalist followers to purchase expensive tour packages and that their Spirituality for Kids foundation, which has received millions of dollars from Madonna, has given loans to a private construction company for real estate deals in Los Angeles.
Some also ask why Karen Berg's tax return says she and her family have taken a vow of poverty when their lifestyle is hardly humble. Karen reportedly drives a Mercedes. And she, Michael and Yehuda Berg, and their families live side by side in million-dollar homes in Beverly Hills.
Karen Berg likens their arrangement to that of Roman Catholic priests. "Last time I checked, the Vatican looked like a very nice place for people to live for someone who's taken a vow of poverty," she told Vargas.
[abcnews.go.com]
Coming Up on 2020
Watch "20/20" Fridays at 10 p.m. ET / 9 C
Elizabeth Vargas takes an exclusive look inside the controversial spiritual movement called Kaballah.
--------------
What's Behind Hollywood's Fascination with Kabbalah?
New Take on Ancient Jewish Spiritual Teachings Has Drawn Celebrities -- and Criticism
By ALAN B. GOLDBERG and KATIE THOMSON
Jun. 17, 2005 - Most people don't have a clue what the spiritual movement Kabbalah is, though they may be aware it has something to do with a parade of stars -- from Madonna to Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher to Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton -- wearing red strings on their wrists.
Watch Elizabeth Vargas' full report on "20/20" tonight at 10 p.m. ET / 9 Central.
Kabbalah has become a multimillion-dollar empire with more than 40 branches all over the world. But is the Kabbalah of the stars the same Kabbalah that Jewish men in Israel have been quietly studying for centuries?
In cryptic and mystical terms, Kabbalah explores the nature of God and the universe. Rabbis have traditionally believed the philosophy behind it is so complicated that it could only be taught to ultra-religious Jewish men over 40 who had spent their lives studying Judaism.
In 1971, with virtually no money, Karen Berg and her husband, Philip Berg -- the spiritual leader known to followers as the Rav -- opened their first Kabbalah Centre, turning traditional Jewish wisdom upside down by offering Kabbalah study to women and non-Jews. The Bergs had a simple but radical idea: Kabbalah wasn't just for elite Jewish scholars but was something that could be simplified and taught to everyone.
"It wasn't until we started really bringing it to the people that they actually had access to this knowledge," Karen Berg told Elizabeth Vargas in an exclusive interview to air on "20/20" tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Their movement picked up momentum quickly, Berg said. "It was almost like Jesus … talks on the Mount and brought people. And they believed in what he said. And they brought more people … God forbid, I'm not saying that we're messiah consciousness. I'm only saying that we built in the same fashion."
However the Bergs built their movement, many followers say Kabbalah has changed their lives. And the adherents aren't just celebrities.
Don Ellis, a former FBI agent who now practices law and runs a bodyguard service, was raised a Southern Baptist in Texas. He says Kabbalah gave him the spiritual answers he'd been searching for. "I studied a number of different religions, spiritualities, searching for something. And then one day, I saw a CD set called 'Power of Kabbalah.' That's all it took for me was that one series. I haven't looked back since," he told Vargas.
There are no Kabbalah Centres near Ellis' home, so he stays connected by listening to their tapes. He said Kabbalah has created spiritual and financial miracles for him.
Spiritual Accessories
The Bergs have brought this ancient wisdom out of the dark ages and mass-marketed it, inventing their own must-have accessories like red strings and Kabbalah water, which they aggressively sell and claim will protect followers from "negative energy." At services and classes, they teach that Kabbalah is not a religion but a "technology for the soul" that plugs anyone into what they call the "Light" or God -- a God that has 72 names, which if meditated on, can make your dreams come true.
But rabbis like Yitzchok Adlerstein, a professor of law and ethics at Loyola University in Los Angeles, question some of the practices of the Kabbalah newcomers -- like Britney Spears, who tattooed one of God's 72 names in Hebrew on her neck.
"Using one of the names of God on her neck is going to bring enough prosperity to Britney as my tattooing Britney's name to my neck. I guarantee you," Adlerstein told "20/20."
"What the Bergs are offering is not remotely Kabbalah," he added.
The Bergs insist their writings are a direct interpretation of the Zohar, an ancient text, dense and complex, that contains a mystical discussion of what God is.
"We go directly to the source, directly to the Zohar. We don't teach anything that's ours. We don't claim to be teachers. We don't even care if anyone respects us or not. Our job is to bring content to people, content that wasn't there before. Nothing we do comes from our brain," said Yehuda Berg, one of the couple's sons, who runs the Kabbalah Centres with his mother and brother, Michael Berg.
Indeed, the Kabbalah Centres' approach to the Zohar is a far cry from the rigorous intellectual pursuit of Jewish scholars. The Bergs teach that merely to have the Zohar in your possession offers one protective powers, a claim scholars say is ridiculous.
Ellis has spent thousands of dollars buying complete sets of the Zohar for his home, office and family. "That's the telephone line to God. All you have to do is plug it in and you're connected," said Ellis, who admits he doesn't know what the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic text he's reading means. "I have no idea what it says. But anyway, that doesn't matter. This is powerful stuff," he said.
Karen Berg said the message of the Kabbalah text transcends language barriers "because your brain, your subconscious has a way to pick up what -- they're almost like a scanner in a supermarket. You know it's just a code, a bar code. And yet they can manage to take the material they need from it."
Adlerstein says this is nonsense. "The notion that you can mumble a couple of words or find the right mantra, or by focusing on letters with your fingers, is the antithesis of what Kabbalah is," he said.
No Strings Attached -- to Ancient Text
The Bergs' Kabbalah promises to make you rich, find your mate, improve your sex life, even get you pregnant. They say so in their books, in which they call themselves the world's foremost authorities on Kabbalah. But critics say they're reducing the ancient tradition to "Kabbalah Lite."
But what's wrong with making an obscure and complicated philosophy accessible to the masses?
Adlerstein says the Bergs' centers aren't truly communicating the message of Kabbalah. "Sure, you can take astrophysics and reduce it to 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,' and maybe people understand that, but it's not astrophysics," he said.
Moreover, Adlerstein says the signature red strings, which the Bergs sell along with texts for $26, have no origin in traditional Kabbalah study. The Bergs say the strings protect followers from negative forces. But Adlerstein said, "To sell it for 26 bucks and attribute all kinds of magical properties to it, again, the idea of reducing Kabbalah to a kind of magical formula, or technology, is repugnant to me," he said.
But the rabbi's criticism doesn't bother Kabbalists like Madonna. "There's a lot of rabbinical organizations who are saying, you know, this is blasphemy -- they're not part of us and they're right, we're not," she said.
But the Bergs have stirred up a controversy that goes beyond interpretation of ancient spiritual texts. With millions in product sales, coupled with the Kabbalah Centres' vast real estate holdings, there is the question of where does the money go?
Some critics say the Bergs pressure their Kabbalist followers to purchase expensive tour packages and that their Spirituality for Kids foundation, which has received millions of dollars from Madonna, has given loans to a private construction company for real estate deals in Los Angeles.
Some also ask why Karen Berg's tax return says she and her family have taken a vow of poverty when their lifestyle is hardly humble. Karen reportedly drives a Mercedes. And she, Michael and Yehuda Berg, and their families live side by side in million-dollar homes in Beverly Hills.
Karen Berg likens their arrangement to that of Roman Catholic priests. "Last time I checked, the Vatican looked like a very nice place for people to live for someone who's taken a vow of poverty," she told Vargas.
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
Cosmophilospher
()
Date: June 18, 2005 10:50AM
Well i watched the 20/20 piece.,
It was a 35 min piece.
They succeeded in getting a lot more followers for these people.
They did allow one Rabbi to criticize them, but of course, they avoided the #1 issue.
The techniques of the how they are persuading people to join this New Age Cult.
This Kabballah thing, is just a New Age cult of Greed and Narcissism.
The Berg's have set it up so they can live like kings, while claiming on their income tax they have taken a "vow of poverty". What a riot!
They are so greedy, they even refuse to pay any income tax, and just plow all the cash into the tax-exempt organization they control!
To see the Wife Of Berg sitting there, and her two chubby boys, was almost too much to bear.
These guys to my mind, are just flat out Hucksters, out to get rich, and do so in a way they don't have to pay tax.
What was disappointing from the 20/20 piece is that they avoided dealing with the TACTICS they use to suck people into this thing.
They showed staff members on tape, telling people the Kabballah water would cure cancer, but then just claimed they were bad employees.
Bottom line, this is a SCAM SCAM SCAM.
But since these guys are smart enough to target some beautiful celebrities, they will continue to enrol lots of people, and bilk them.
They promise you a SOULMATE, to lure in the ladies.
They promise you WEALTH, to enrol the greedy.
Greed is Good, right??!!
Its just a superfical New Age pseudo-philosophy of Narcissism, and people are buying it.
People are spending thousands buying books in Hebrew they cannot read.
They should have had a cult expert on that show, not just a Rabbi. But of course, 20/20 is a part of Hollywood, so they can't do that.
What a world.
Just throw the lambs to the slaughter, to the chubby Berg boys, who will rake in MILLIONS for many years more.
What a racket.
These guys have a license to print money.
Start a "religion", get tax-exempt status for your church org, then claim a vow of poverty so you don't pay taxes, and then GET RICH!!
What a total racket.
These guys really are flat out confidence artists, in my view.
Too bad Pappa Berg could not have appeared on the show. I am sure he is much slicker than his sloppy, greedy, foolish children, claiming prayer can "alter water molecules".
These people are flat out con-artists.
It was a 35 min piece.
They succeeded in getting a lot more followers for these people.
They did allow one Rabbi to criticize them, but of course, they avoided the #1 issue.
The techniques of the how they are persuading people to join this New Age Cult.
This Kabballah thing, is just a New Age cult of Greed and Narcissism.
The Berg's have set it up so they can live like kings, while claiming on their income tax they have taken a "vow of poverty". What a riot!
They are so greedy, they even refuse to pay any income tax, and just plow all the cash into the tax-exempt organization they control!
To see the Wife Of Berg sitting there, and her two chubby boys, was almost too much to bear.
These guys to my mind, are just flat out Hucksters, out to get rich, and do so in a way they don't have to pay tax.
What was disappointing from the 20/20 piece is that they avoided dealing with the TACTICS they use to suck people into this thing.
They showed staff members on tape, telling people the Kabballah water would cure cancer, but then just claimed they were bad employees.
Bottom line, this is a SCAM SCAM SCAM.
But since these guys are smart enough to target some beautiful celebrities, they will continue to enrol lots of people, and bilk them.
They promise you a SOULMATE, to lure in the ladies.
They promise you WEALTH, to enrol the greedy.
Greed is Good, right??!!
Its just a superfical New Age pseudo-philosophy of Narcissism, and people are buying it.
People are spending thousands buying books in Hebrew they cannot read.
They should have had a cult expert on that show, not just a Rabbi. But of course, 20/20 is a part of Hollywood, so they can't do that.
What a world.
Just throw the lambs to the slaughter, to the chubby Berg boys, who will rake in MILLIONS for many years more.
What a racket.
These guys have a license to print money.
Start a "religion", get tax-exempt status for your church org, then claim a vow of poverty so you don't pay taxes, and then GET RICH!!
What a total racket.
These guys really are flat out confidence artists, in my view.
Too bad Pappa Berg could not have appeared on the show. I am sure he is much slicker than his sloppy, greedy, foolish children, claiming prayer can "alter water molecules".
These people are flat out con-artists.
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
Cosmophilospher
()
Date: June 19, 2005 02:20AM
Inside Hollywood's Hottest Cult
Part One: Red String Theory A four-month Radar investigation reveals how a renegade rabbi and his striver wife ended up atop a multi-
million-dollar empire built on bracelets, bottled water, and Madonna.
[radaronline.com]
[radaronline.com]
(from)
[blogcritics.org]
In any case, be sure to follow Radar Online's series as it explores:
The false claims the Centre has made about its distinguished origins.
The Centre’s solicitation of freelance ghostwriters on the website Craigslist, to help the Bergs write “scholarly” books on Kabbalah, some of which the writers are encouraged to model on new-age best-sellers.
The previously unreported lawsuit that charged Philip Berg with copyright infringement and plagiarism.
The Centre’s penchant for lending money to companies owned by close friends and associates of the Bergs, including more than $2 million in loans to a company with a P.O. Box address that flips investment properties in such Los Angeles neighborhoods as Compton and Watts.
The Bergs’ luxurious lifestyle, in stark contrast to the bleak four-to-a-bedroom conditions and $35-a-month stipend they offer the full-time volunteers who cook and clean for them.
The Centre’s use of cultlike techniques to control members, including sleep deprivation, alienation from friends and family, and Kabbalah-dictated matchmaking.
The bizarre scientific claims made by the Centre’s leaders on behalf of Kabbalah Water, ranging from its ability to cleanse the lakes of Chernobyl of radiation to its power to cure cancer, AIDS, and SARS.
The Centre’s sponsorship of the Oroz Research Centre, a “23rd century” scientific institution that markets a “liquid compound for the treatment of nuclear waste” that also cures gynecological problems in cows, sheep, and other farm animals.
The Bergs’ plan to leverage celebrity congregants to expand the scope of their merchandising, and their failed attempt to lure Madonna to partner with them in a venture to repackage Kabbalah Water for the mass market.
The Bergs’ explicit strategy of steering Kabbalah away from its Jewish roots in order to appeal to a wider global market, and their plans to brand both the Centre and family members for maximum popular appeal.
Part One: Red String Theory A four-month Radar investigation reveals how a renegade rabbi and his striver wife ended up atop a multi-
million-dollar empire built on bracelets, bottled water, and Madonna.
[radaronline.com]
[radaronline.com]
(from)
[blogcritics.org]
In any case, be sure to follow Radar Online's series as it explores:
The false claims the Centre has made about its distinguished origins.
The Centre’s solicitation of freelance ghostwriters on the website Craigslist, to help the Bergs write “scholarly” books on Kabbalah, some of which the writers are encouraged to model on new-age best-sellers.
The previously unreported lawsuit that charged Philip Berg with copyright infringement and plagiarism.
The Centre’s penchant for lending money to companies owned by close friends and associates of the Bergs, including more than $2 million in loans to a company with a P.O. Box address that flips investment properties in such Los Angeles neighborhoods as Compton and Watts.
The Bergs’ luxurious lifestyle, in stark contrast to the bleak four-to-a-bedroom conditions and $35-a-month stipend they offer the full-time volunteers who cook and clean for them.
The Centre’s use of cultlike techniques to control members, including sleep deprivation, alienation from friends and family, and Kabbalah-dictated matchmaking.
The bizarre scientific claims made by the Centre’s leaders on behalf of Kabbalah Water, ranging from its ability to cleanse the lakes of Chernobyl of radiation to its power to cure cancer, AIDS, and SARS.
The Centre’s sponsorship of the Oroz Research Centre, a “23rd century” scientific institution that markets a “liquid compound for the treatment of nuclear waste” that also cures gynecological problems in cows, sheep, and other farm animals.
The Bergs’ plan to leverage celebrity congregants to expand the scope of their merchandising, and their failed attempt to lure Madonna to partner with them in a venture to repackage Kabbalah Water for the mass market.
The Bergs’ explicit strategy of steering Kabbalah away from its Jewish roots in order to appeal to a wider global market, and their plans to brand both the Centre and family members for maximum popular appeal.
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: October 22, 2006 10:41PM
Is the orphange being opened by Madonna, another Kabbalah front group?
Is this entire adoption situation a massive PR stunt?
Madonna is going on Oprah this week, we'll see if she is promoting her Kabbalah cult on the show.
[www.thisislondon.co.uk]
Yohane had never heard of Madonna, or her raunchy songs. He was told only that she was "a very nice Christian lady". It was never explained that Madonna is in fact deeply involved with the Kabbalah sect.[/color:cc6408a69c]
[www.latimes.com]
Madonna's Malawi orphanage will be based on the teachings of Kabbalah, the mystical Jewish sect that rivals Scientology as Hollywood's favorite boutique religion. And Judaism has very strict ideas about charity. Eight centuries back, the rabbi and scholar Moses Maimonides defined eight levels of giving, and the highest form is giving that helps the poor to become independent, followed by anonymous giving to an anonymous beneficiary. Madonna's actions over the last few weeks? Down around Rung No. 4.
The best thing she could have done for Yohame Banda, according to her own religion, would have been to provide what he needed so he could support himself and his son. She opted instead for a high-profile alternative that permanently decreased his monthly nut and bought her a week of photo-ops.[/color:cc6408a69c]
Is this entire adoption situation a massive PR stunt?
Madonna is going on Oprah this week, we'll see if she is promoting her Kabbalah cult on the show.
[www.thisislondon.co.uk]
Yohane had never heard of Madonna, or her raunchy songs. He was told only that she was "a very nice Christian lady". It was never explained that Madonna is in fact deeply involved with the Kabbalah sect.[/color:cc6408a69c]
[www.latimes.com]
Madonna's Malawi orphanage will be based on the teachings of Kabbalah, the mystical Jewish sect that rivals Scientology as Hollywood's favorite boutique religion. And Judaism has very strict ideas about charity. Eight centuries back, the rabbi and scholar Moses Maimonides defined eight levels of giving, and the highest form is giving that helps the poor to become independent, followed by anonymous giving to an anonymous beneficiary. Madonna's actions over the last few weeks? Down around Rung No. 4.
The best thing she could have done for Yohame Banda, according to her own religion, would have been to provide what he needed so he could support himself and his son. She opted instead for a high-profile alternative that permanently decreased his monthly nut and bought her a week of photo-ops.[/color:cc6408a69c]
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: October 27, 2006 06:02AM
Well, ole Madonna is still at it. I personally think she is just a completely self-absorbed person. After all, wouldn't it be better to support the kid with his father, rather than taking the kid away from the family?
Also, it seems the child will not have full rights. Is that why she went to Malawi in the first place?
Dzonzi said under current adoption laws, the boy was not entitled to inherit any of the wealth of Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie. [/color:d3bfa6a5c1]
Also, it seems the child will not have full rights. Is that why she went to Malawi in the first place?
Dzonzi said under current adoption laws, the boy was not entitled to inherit any of the wealth of Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie. [/color:d3bfa6a5c1]
Madonna - Kabbalah - Children
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: October 27, 2006 09:25AM
Madonna appears to have told a direct lie on the Oprah show about the family in the adoption. She said in her interview, that no one from his family had ever visited him.
This appears to be a blatant lie. I have seen Madonna lie many times before, about various things. In my view, this is just another of her attention-grabbing PR stunts, probably to promote her Kabbalah orphanage, with no risk to her assets as the child will not inherit any.
[www.examiner.ie]
“If my mother had the means, or any of my other relatives, my son would not have gone into the orphanage. But, because of HIV/ AIDS, my family would not take the risk of another person breastfeeding my son,” the father said.
Bottle-feeding with formula is simply not an option for many families in Malawi, the second poorest country in the world. There can be little doubt that the situation for families like Yohane’s has become increasingly desperate.
And yet, where exactly does compassion end and colonialism begin?
The first rule of childcare workers in the Western world is to try at all costs, to keep families together.
Madonna could have righted many of the wrongs in Lipunga and reunited this desperately-poor family instead of driving them even further apart.
“Inter-country adoption must never be a first port of call,” according to Phillipa Lei of World Vision. “We look to more sustainable solutions that are community based and drawn from extended family networks. Instead, we encourage sponsorship in the child’s country of origin.”
Malawi-based Reuters correspondent Mabvuto Banda, who has been reporting on the story, says: “Madonna claimed that none of David’s family visited him. This is not true. And I wonder if she knew that the cloth she used to tie the baby on her back when she danced at the orphanage belonged to David’s grandmother, who was there at the time? She said, ‘If we didn’t care about this baby, why were we there?’ Where does Madonna think that the cloth she used came from?
“This story hurt Yohane very much. He regularly cycled for three days to get to the orphanage.”
Mabvuto explained little David Banda’s exit from Malawi was hurried and unexpected. [/color:b7bcd8fee0]
This appears to be a blatant lie. I have seen Madonna lie many times before, about various things. In my view, this is just another of her attention-grabbing PR stunts, probably to promote her Kabbalah orphanage, with no risk to her assets as the child will not inherit any.
[www.examiner.ie]
“If my mother had the means, or any of my other relatives, my son would not have gone into the orphanage. But, because of HIV/ AIDS, my family would not take the risk of another person breastfeeding my son,” the father said.
Bottle-feeding with formula is simply not an option for many families in Malawi, the second poorest country in the world. There can be little doubt that the situation for families like Yohane’s has become increasingly desperate.
And yet, where exactly does compassion end and colonialism begin?
The first rule of childcare workers in the Western world is to try at all costs, to keep families together.
Madonna could have righted many of the wrongs in Lipunga and reunited this desperately-poor family instead of driving them even further apart.
“Inter-country adoption must never be a first port of call,” according to Phillipa Lei of World Vision. “We look to more sustainable solutions that are community based and drawn from extended family networks. Instead, we encourage sponsorship in the child’s country of origin.”
Malawi-based Reuters correspondent Mabvuto Banda, who has been reporting on the story, says: “Madonna claimed that none of David’s family visited him. This is not true. And I wonder if she knew that the cloth she used to tie the baby on her back when she danced at the orphanage belonged to David’s grandmother, who was there at the time? She said, ‘If we didn’t care about this baby, why were we there?’ Where does Madonna think that the cloth she used came from?
“This story hurt Yohane very much. He regularly cycled for three days to get to the orphanage.”
Mabvuto explained little David Banda’s exit from Malawi was hurried and unexpected. [/color:b7bcd8fee0]
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