Other than exhibiting manuscripts of source texts, there cannot be such a thing as a Kabbalah museum, because authentic Kabbalah has nothing to display. However, an advertisement I received is trying to state otherwise: “A museum devoted exclusively to Kabbalah, the mystical aspect of Judaism, is to open its doors in Jerusalem, Israel, on the 25th of June.

The Jerusalem Kabbalah Museum – one of the first of its kind – will display artefacts such as amulets, garments and historical manuscripts.

The museum will display a timeline of the Kabbalah from its inception through modern day.

The museum will have a strong educational aspect to it and will provide personal Kabbalah training for those interested, as well as offering tours of Israel focusing on sites of Kabbalistic interest.

Exhibitions will include detailed descriptions of most prominent Kabbalists, rabbis and scholars of the Kabbalah, their works and accomplishments.”

My Comment: There is a Kabbalah museum in the archive at the Bnei Baruch center, which contains manuscripts by Baal HaSulam and other Kabbalists. Authentic Kabbalah is not “artefacts, garments and amulets.” It is exclusively handwritten and printed materials, which deliver the thoughts of Kabbalists to its readers.

Spirituality doesn’t incarnate into corporeality, and hence nothing in our world – besides manuscripts – has Kabbalistic content. Similarly, there is nothing sacred, or in other words, spiritual (“spiritual” meaning the property of bestowal), in clothing, amulets, and other “exhibits.” A Kabbalistic museum cannot exist, because there is nothing to “exhibit” – spirituality cannot be displayed. It would be more accurate to title this museum “Mysticism in Judaism.”

Related Material:
The Top 10 Myths About Kabbalah

Filed under: Spirituality - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Looking at Bnei Baruch, it’s clear that you practice “love for thy neighbor.” However, you do so only inside your group, and not toward the whole world. Why? Isn’t that similar to a cult?

My Answer: The Kabbalists of the past, our great teachers, provide us with strict and detailed instructions on how to arrange our studies, our life, and our attitude to ourselves, our friends, society, and the world. Naturally, we study and need only their advice, because besides them, no one else understands the Creator, the world in which we live, and the path that we are to walk.

And about the accusations that we’re a cult: some people benefit from it, and are thus ready to tar our reputation in any way possible. These are especially people who feel like they’re losing their stable grounding, because they’ve discovered that regular religion is inadequate, but they are still unwilling to replace it with Kabbalah.

Today, people aren’t the simpletons they once were, and as such, the attitude displayed by our critics only shows their ignorance in understanding the Creator’s Plan, and their rejection of the Torah as the method to correct man’s egoism. Could you show me anyone, besides Bnei Baruch, who also explains the necessity of “loving thy neighbor as thyself” as the main principle of the Torah? What other society have you seen that educates people according to this principle?

As for displaying an attitude of love only for our friends – we have the same attitude to anyone who’s moving toward the same goal; this is what makes a person our friend. And as much as every person will want to move toward the same goal, then anyone who wants to will be included in this principle and in our attitude of love!

Baal HaSulam. Igeret (Letter) 49 (1927). Pri Chacham: Igrot (Fruit of Wisdom: Letters).

I am giving you assignments, obligating you to carry out all my instructions in the observance of Torah and Mitzvot [1] properly and with dedication. I direct you to dedicate all your strength to loving others as yourself, to suffer when your friend suffers, and to feel happy when your friend is happy.

As for the love between you, I am talking precisely about the love between friends in our Kabbalistic group, since it is written, “to love thy neighbor.”

[1] Baal HaSulam considers love for one’s friend, for the sake of attaining love for the Creator – to be the main precept in the observance of Torah and Mitzvot.

Filed under: Group Work, Kabbalah Study, Kabbalistic Sources, Love - 2 Comments →

I was just interviewed by Fatma Dervish, a reporter for a Cairo weekly publication, Alyoum El Sabaa (The Seventh Day):

Fatma is quite familiar with Bnei Baruch through our English and Arabic sites. In addition to her work in the media, Fatma is writing a doctoral thesis at Cairo University on Bnei Baruch.

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