Rav Berg

Karen Berg Brings Tikkun Olam to World Through Women

2009-07-07T02:59:00.000-07:00

Karen Berg has been co-directing the Kabbalah Centre alongside her husband and spiritual soul mate, Rav Berg, for over fifty years. As the co-director she has been able to guide the Kabbalah Center toward broadening the number of students that come in contact with Kabbalah and who in turn bring the practice of Kabbalah into the world. In her special role as a woman, Karen Berg has especially made the Kabbalah accessible to a large number of women, who are in a unique position as women, to help spread the message of Tikkun Olam to others.

This achievement is even more significant because until Karen Berg was able to create an atmosphere in which women could become students of Kabbalah, the Kabbalah was closed to women and they simply did not learn this special, ancient and life-sustaining wisdom. I would like to give a big thank-you to Karen Berg for helping women to change their own lives and the lives of everyone around them, and making the world a better place to live, for everyone.

2009-06-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

Karen Berg has written a book to take you on a journey of discovery, self-awareness and exploration of the amazing world of the feminine aspect of godliness. Called, “God Wears Lipstick”, this intense book, written by a woman that opened up the world of the Kabbalah to women for the first time in 4,000 years, Karen Berg is in the unique and special position to explain and expand on women’s special role in the universe.

Karen Berg bases her treatise on the deep secrets of Kabbalah. She explains why women have a unique spiritual advantage in the world; the special power of soul mates; and the real purpose and meaning of life.

In Karen Berg’s straight-from-the-hip approach you will explore with her the secrets of reincarnation, the real meaning and sacred power of sex, and what it takes to manage relationships in a deeply spiritual and satisfying way.

If you have been wondering why the world is divided into two genders, this is the book to answer that question.

“Women are the nourishers of the world, and as such, we are the messengers of God.”

--Karen Berg

Karen Berg and the Shechinah on YouTube

2009-06-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

See Karen Berg on YouTube discussing the secrets of creation, the Garden of Eden, the Shechinah, innocence and educating children. In her poised and endearing style, Karen Berg explains difficult ideas in simple language to help make Kabbalah accessible to all.

The Ethical Aspect of God’s Creation and the Sephirot

2009-06-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

The focus of the work of Rav Berg at the Kabbalah Center is to help people use the teachings of the Kabbalah to improve themselves and then transform the world into the perfected place which is the goal of creation. Understanding how the sephirot interact with each other and are affected by human behavior helps us to improve our behavior.

When we look at the famous chart of the sephirot we see that there are two outer columns. The column on the right represent the sephirot which signify how God reveals more blessings in the world when mankind and individuals use their previous blessings with compassion. The sephirot on the left side correspond to the way God hides these blessings when people abuse them in a selfish way and without compassion. This is exactly how our behavior is responsible for whether or not God seems present or absent.

By studying the sephirot and the Kabbalah we can learn how to make the world a better place.

How is the world created with Sephirot?

2009-05-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

Rav Isaac Luria, who lived in Sefad, Israel, in the mid-16th century, developed a cosmology to describe how God created the world using the 10 emanations, or sephirot. Each of the sephirot are like the manifestation of God’s will, or ‘ratzon’ in the world. The names of the sephirot are as follows, but each name is need of a description to understand how God manifests his will in a particular way.

1. Keter- this means ‘crown’ in Hebrew and is the equivalent of ‘will’ or ‘ratzon.’
2. Chochmah- wisdom
3. Binah- understanding, which is different than wisdom
4. Chesed- loving kindness
5. Din- judgement
6. Tiferet- harmony or beauty
7. Netzach- victory
8. Hod- glory
9. Yesod- foundation
10. Malchot- kingship or sovereignty

Sephirot and Creation

2009-05-21T01:29:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun to talk a little bit about some of the more well-known ideas in Kabbalah. We have all heard of the ‘sephirot’, and seen pictures of the charts which illustrate how the sephirot relate to one another, but what does it all really mean?

First off, it is crucial to always keep in mind that the 10 sephirot are not in any way, shape, or form 10 separate ‘gods.’ The sephirot can be best understood as godly ‘emanations’, or more clearly, ten different ways God reveals himself in this world. A good way to think about it is that God himself does not change but rather the ability, or way, to perceive Him is what changes.

More about sephirot later.

Rav Berg Translated the Zohar to English

2009-03-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

You might not know this, but Rav Berg is the first person that translated the entire Zohar into English. Amazing! Without this translation we would all be forced to learn Aramaic in order to read the Zohar. Aramaic is a little used language today but used to be in much more wide usage many hundreds of years ago. Aramaic is a Semitic language related to both Hebrew and Arabic. While I'm on the subject I'll tell you the little I know about Aramaic. Some books of the Bible are written in Aramaic, including the books of Daniel, and Ezra. The Talmud is also largely written in Aramaic. More later.

Wedding blessings

2008-12-15T04:29:00.000-08:00

The Kabbalah lists many blessings that one can attain, and using the light of one who who studies and teaches Kabbalah is extremely meaningful.

Rav Berg founded the Kabbalah Center, and he is considered by his adherents and followers to be a leading Kabbalist and Kabbalah teacher. At Youtube you can see him making the benedictions and doing some singing at a wedding.

I would advise going to Youtube to watch it.

Finally - Started!

2008-11-20T02:33:00.000-08:00

It took me a while, but I have been very busy.
I bought a book by Rav Berg (check here), and have been reading it, before I take the risk of going to a lecture or two at the Kabbalah Centre. I am quite overwhelmed by all that is happening at work, so I need to dedicate some time to considering the content and meaning of the book.

Berg is Kabbalah Leader

2008-11-12T02:16:00.000-08:00

Rav Berg, the founder and leader of the Kabbalah Center, which has grown to many cities around the US as well as internationally, is a Kabbalah Leader. Rav Berg studied with some of the greatest Kabbalistic masters of the contemporary age, and as Rav Berg himself testifies, he was appointed to continue the Kabbalist traditions, and he was also told to open the doors of the Kabbalah to the masses. This is quite interesting and revolutionary, as traditionally the Kabbalah was studied by a select few Jewish Kabbalists. The Kabbalah Centre opened the light of the Kabbalah to the masses and especially English speaking people.

Teaching Kabbalah

2008-11-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

I have a very basic knowledge of what it takes to be able to decipher the Kabbalah texts. It isn't only a question of being able to understand the literal meaning of the texts, which aren't all written in English, but also a question of the concepts.

The Kabbalah Centers on many concepts that repeat themselves over again and without knowing these base concepts there is quite a bit you will miss.
The answer is to find a teacher - or Rav - who can lead you through the fundamental Kabbalah central concepts.

Online and Offline Kabbalah

2008-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a place to study Kabbalah, then both online and offline there are a number of options. The Kabbalah Centre is one of those that will be suggested by most people asked. Search for the Kabbalah Centre and its founders, Rav Berg and Karen Berg, on the internet, and you are sure to find interesting material. The Kabbalah Center has a large number of people who attend its lectures, and there are many who have seen Rav Berg and Karen Berg as Kabbalah visionaries who have started the Kabbalah revolution with the founding and ongoing activities of the Kabbalah Center.

Kabbalah of old

2008-09-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Throughout the ages the Kabbalah has been studied by many people, primarily, of course, by observant Jews. This is due to the fact that the Kabbalah's texts are all written in Hebrew or Aramaic. Despite this, there were attempts to study Kabbalah on the part of many who lack the skill to study on their own.

The Kabbalah Center, under the auspices and leadership of Rav Berg, offers courses and lectures in Kabbalah in English. The texts and sources that are required to study Kabbalah and to prepare lectures in Kabbalah remain the classic texts, yet the lectures are given entirely in English, many by Rav Berg
, and thus they open the 2000 year old world of Kabbalah to the English speaker.

Rav Berg and his wife, Karen Berg, established the Kabbalah Center as the means to spread the teachings of the Kabbalah, and as the Kabbalah Centre itself declares, to improve people's lives and thereby, the world.

Kabbalah

2008-09-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

The many generations of leaders over the years who have taken hold of the world in one way or another are generally considered to be those who conquered continents or who were involved in military campaigns of one sort or another. There are, however, many leaders who influenced the world and History more than those whose names were on the lips of thousands of people during their lives. Sometimes, however, it takes a keener eye and a wider perspective to notice these individuals.

The principle text of the Kabbalah, the Zohar, was compiled by the Talmudist Rav Shimon Bar Yochai 2000 years ago, and it is not only Jews who have realized the tremendous influence that the Zohar, the Kabbalah, and Bar Yochai have had on the world and history. One need only look for the various institutions and centres of Kabbalah around the internet and America to note how popular the Kabbalah and Zohar texts have become among those who otherwise have nothing to do with it. The breakthrough is when places like the Kabbalah Center started teaching these sources in English and other modern languages.