mosze_zblisko_daleka
07.04.05, 00:49
Dear Friend,
On behalf of my parents and teachers Kabbalists Rav & Karen Berg, my family
and all of the friends and students at The Kabbalah Centres worldwide, we
would like to offer our unconditional love and support to all our Catholic
brothers and sisters who are feeling the sorrow of losing their spiritual
leader, Pope John Paul II.
Kabbalah teaches us that we must feel the pain of others and all of us at the
Centre accept this responsibility. At the core of every human being is a
spark of divinity, and feeling the pain of others and offering unconditional
love is the only way to unite our common humanity and achieve lasting peace
on this planet.
On a personal note, I will always remember the fact that the Catholic Church
played a pivotal role in disseminating Kabbalah to the world. Many people
don’t know that it was Pope Paul IV who gave his permission for the first-
ever printing of the Zohar in 1558. This occurred during a tumultuous time in
history – the Roman Inquisition - when tremendous violence abounded and
thousands of spiritual books were burned daily in the streets.
Remarkably, it was the Italian Rabbis at the time who were most opposed to
revealing the teachings of Kabbalah and they were fanatical in their efforts
to stop the printing of the Zohar.
This led Kabbalist Isaac De Lattes to write the following introduction inside
the Zohar:
“That the hand of the government, which rules over us with great wisdom, has
not touched us (the Kabbalists) is to be explained only by the fact that the
government has the good intention of removing the thorns and harsh
expressions that provoke enmity between Christians and Jews. But those Rabbis
[the opponents of the Zohar] who wish to uproot everything are the true
destroyers of the world.”
We at the Centre are committed to sharing the Light of the Zohar with
Catholics all over the world and we pray every day for a world of peace,
tolerance and endless happiness.
In these shifting times, let us not forget the glow a single candle casts
upon a dark room. No matter how black the darkness appears nor how great it
looms – no amount of darkness can snuff out the light. This is a far-reaching
phenomenon and when you grasp this, you’ve grasped the power of the Zohar and
the soul of The Kabbalah Centre.
So I ask all readers of this email to devote themselves to scanning the Zohar
portion below, to living the principle of HUMAN DIGNITY and to meditating on
the soul of Pope John Paul II as it makes its journey from this world to the
next. May this passage bring Light to the entire world.
All the Best,
Yehuda Berg
