Rav Berg

Feminine Spirituality Revealed in Book by Karen Berg

Karen Berg has published a book, “God Wears Lipstick.” This fascinating excursion into the world of the feminine aspect of spirituality is filled with the wisdom and insights of Karen Berg herself, who, for more than thirty years has been co-directing the Kabbalah Centre.

 

Karen Berg explains that women have a unique and crucial role to play in the universe. She is able to delve into the hidden secrets of the Kabbalah to illuminate how women have a spiritual advantage, the meaning and force of soul mates, and the purpose and meaning of life.

Withholding nothing Karen Berg teaches from her heart about managing relationships, the significance and force of sex, and what reincarnation is and its role in our lives.

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

Karen Berg, the Shechinah and YouTube

Discussing the Kabbalah on YouTube, Karen Berg, co-director of the Kabbalah Centre with her husband Philip Berg, explained the role of the shechinah in creation and the meaning of the story of the Garden of Eden.

The shechinah, according to Karen Berg’s explanation, is the feminine aspect of spirituality, or godliness. This is the aspect of god that flows into the world, nurturing and supporting it. When God created the world, and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the tree of life represented the part of the spiritual world which is whole, unified and consistent. But there was also the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is the tree that Adam and Eve ate from. This tree represented the world of duality, inconsistency and human influence.

Karen Berg then went on to add that we are born innocent, but as we mature we learn of the world’s shortcomings and develop many of our own inconsistencies. It is the job of adults to teach their children about the spiritual nature of the world and instruct them in how they can contribute to Tikkun Olam.

Karen Berg Opens the Kabbalah to Women

Karen Berg, along with her husband Rav Philip Berg, has been a guiding force in the growth of the Kabbalah Centre for the past thirty years. Due to Karen Berg’s untiring efforts, the Kabbalah has gone from being an ancient, esoteric wisdom taught by men to only a selected few students who were also men, to a discipline open to all who seek its wise counsel, whether men and women, young and old, rich and poor.

Since Kabbalah is much more than a philosophy, but is rather a blue print for how to live your life, Karen Berg’s efforts at making the Kabbalah accessible to all, especially to women who are the nurturers of the world, will help bring the final, long awaited result of tikkun olam.

Tikkun Olam Fixes the World

When people make mistakes this results in the negativity we all see everyday in the world, such as death, illness, pain, poverty, loneliness and of course much more. However these negative aspects of existence are there as a benefit to us, and we should look at these negative events as opportunities to grow. This is how the great ‘light’ is revealed, through the improvements in behavior we make, which is what Rav Berg calls “tikkun” or repair.

At the Kabbalah Centre we learn about the concept of the ‘shattered vessel’, which is the world as it exists with all its broken, negative aspects. By helping people, being kind, and doing good deeds we bring more light into the world, which makes the world a better place.

Free Will at the Kabbalah Centre

One of the more amazing things about the Kabbalah Center and Rav’s Berg’s teachings is how he can make incredibly difficult ideas understandable by using examples from our contemporary culture. Rav Berg can do this because he sees everything in the world, including popular culture, as real revelations of the ‘light’, the presence of God in the world.

Rav Berg explains that people must practice ‘tzimtzum’ (restriction) in order to achieve their spiritual goals. They must use self-control and know when to be either non-reactive or pro-active to raise up their spiritual level. This is free will.

Ego Reduction at the Kabbalah Centre

Rav Berg teaches the importance of reducing your ego. The selfish ego, as taught at the Kabbalah Center, is the “desire to receive for oneself alone.” Sharing is what is important in life both on a spiritual level as well as on a physical level, and this is the way to a life of happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment, with less negativity.

Rav Berg explains that all life is a choice between sharing or not. We can be influenced by the ego or choose to be influenced by the ‘light.’ Interestingly, at the Kabbalah Centre Rav Berg teaches that the ego was created by the ‘light’ so that there would be free choice in the world. When we talk about “Satan” what we really mean is the ego.

Karen Berg and the Kabbalistic Dream

I just came across the amazing story of how Karen Berg, the co-director of the Kabbalah Center with her husband Rav Berg, first became involved with learning Kabbalah. Back in 1971 Karen, who came from a secular Jewish background, heard that Rav Berg had just returned to the United States from studying Kabbalah in Israel. Having known him before, she decided to call him and ask Rav Berg to teach her Kabbalah. This request was not as simple as it might sound, since Kabbalah has always been considered esoteric knowledge only to be shared with certain people who have attained a certain level of spiritual and intellectual profeciency. Uncertain what to do, Rav Berg prayed that his own teacher, Rav Brandwein in Israel, would appear to him in a dream and tell him whether or not to teach the Kabbalah to Karen. Upon waking Rav Berg was disappointed that his teacher did not appear to him and thought this meant that he could not teach Karen Kabbalah. Rav Berg went to meet Karen to explain to her why he could not teach her. Instead Karen described to Rav Berg the strange dream she had that night. An old man touched her forehead with his cane and blessed her. Karen's description of the Holy man matched perfectly that of Rav Berg's teacher, Rav Brandwein. Rav Berg realized that Karen's dream conveyed the message that yes, indeed, he should teach Karen Kabbalah. Thus a partnership in love and spiritual growth began and grew to become the Kabbalah Centre of today.

Rav Berg - From Teacher to Student to Teacher

Rav Berg with his wife Karen has been spreading the wisdom of the Kabbalah to their students through the many Kabbalah Center facilities which are found worldwide. Rav Berg has been pursuing this objective relentlessly ever since Rav Berg's own teacher, Rav Yehuda Brandwein confessed to him his desire to pass on the great mission of disseminating the message of the Kabbalah to all those seeking spiritual path through life through Rav Berg. In a heartfelt request which is found in Rav Berg's memoir "Education of a Kabbalist" Rav Brandwein said to Rav Berg, "I've been waiting for someone to appear who would explain Kabbalah completely and perfectly-so perfectly that everyone would at last be brought back to spirituality. And I have decided that this person is you." This is the goal of the Kabbalah Centre and the dream of Rav Berg.

Philosophical or intellectual pursuit

There are a lot of opportunities for a philosophical or intellectual pursuit  out there. Make sure you involve some examination and investigation to see into the different schools of thought etc.

The pursuit of knowledge is essential and there is also the option to study something that has moral and ethical worth.

Study of Kabbalah includes intellectual depth and analysis, with the engaging qualities of a discipline that is not only an intellectual pursuit, but also ethical and moral. So, why not try it out?

The Rav

Rav Berg, the founder and leader of the Kabbalah Centers around the world, is extremely active in teaching Kabbalah - together with his wife Karen and kids.
He is termed The Rav" (Rav is Rabbi in Hebrew) which is a sign of respect that relates to Rav Berg as the absolute and ultimate religious/spiritual leader.