The Sandspur

Issue date: 4/7/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Brandy Vanderwerken SPEAKING TO ROLLINS: Dr. Zion Zohar came to Rollins recently to shares his knowledge on Kabbalah.

Dr. Zion Zohar recently visited Rollins to present students with a lecture on the growing popularity of Kabbalah. Dr. Zohar specializes in Jewish studies and has taught a wide array of different courses based on the Jewish religion, society and beliefs.

Why is it that a religion so old is now becoming so popular? Unfortunately, celebrities influence society and promote millions to believe in what they believe in. Fads are always coming and going. Kabbalah is the new Hollywood fad, which teaches people the mystical way of thinking about the universe, God and people.

Kabbalah, the Hebrew word for tradition, originally designated legal tradition of Judaism, but was later applied to the Jewish mystical tradition. The goal of Kabbalah is to obtain a complete understanding of God, the universe and how they relate to each other. Jewish holy books, symbols and analogies are used to achieve this understanding.

The popularity of Kabbalah has become widely known through those actors and singers who have decided to adopt the religion, and in turn, bring their fans along with them.

Madonna, a popular singer, is famous for her devotion to Kabbalah. She has donated a lot of time and money to her belief in Kabbalah. Britney Spears followed along in the footsteps of her friend Madonna in the practice of Kabbalah. Britney claims that it "has helped me get rid of a lot of negative influences that were guiding me down the wrong path."

Kabbalah refers to oral mystical teaching not normally revealed to the general population, but passed on from teacher to pupil. In legend, God taught Kabbalah to some angels, who in turn, after the Fall taught it to Adam. The Kabbalah was to help mankind return to God. It then passed to Noah, to Abraham and Moses.

Kabbalah places God as being above all existence. According to Kabbalah beliefs, a pure soul, once the body dies, will be sent to God. An unpure soul will be reborn in another body, and the process continues until the soul has become pure. Evil is only the denial of good, and in the Jewish setting evil is only overcome through strict obedience to the law.

The influence Kabbalah has had on Hollywood has prompted the opening of "The Kabbalah Center" in Los Angeles, California. "The Kabbalah Center" is the international headquarters of Kabbalah. The center includes fast-paced prayer services and separate seating for men and women. It is a typical Orthodox synagogue, except for the fact that many who pray inside are not even Jewish. The center has transformed Kabbalah into a generic, nondenominational mysticism.

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