The tradition of Jewish mysticism seems to have recently made a jump from the cryptic pages of the Zohar to the creepy pages of the National Enquirer, leaving many Jews asking just what is the authentic tradition of Jewish mysticism.
Hillel at UCLA, in conjunction with UCLA Extension, is addressing that question in a four-session series entitled, “Kabbalah Goes Mainstream: The Current Fascination with Jewish Mysticism.”
“On the one hand, the pursuit of Kabbalah accompanies the search for spirituality, the seeking of more intimate religious and communal ties and an interest in a deeper understanding of the self,” says Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, director of UCLA Hillel.
“On the other hand, there is a sense that this whole enterprise reflects a commercialization, a cheapening of the spiritual substance of Jewish life, an attempt by hucksters to sell a product and manipulate the public,” says Seidler-Feller.
At the same time, he says, the interest is healthy for a Jewish community that has been too quick to dismiss Kabbalah as non-essential to meaningful Jewish observance.
“There were rabbis throughout history who felt you couldn’t be a religious Jew without Kabbalah,” Seidler-Feller notes. “The Jewish community has to get over its know-nothingism, its sense of intimidation. By doing so they grant the control of the Kabbalah to the marginal forces.”
Seidler-Feller says the blend of the academic, popular, spiritual and psychological dimensions represented in the series should appeal to a wide range of the community.
The classes will feature a world-class roster of experts on Kabbalah and Messianism, as well as an impressive showing of scholars and rabbis from the entire range of local institutions.
Hebrew University professor Moshe Idel, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Kabbalah and the Israel Prize laureate of 1999, who is a visiting professor at UCLA this quarter, will lead off the series Feb. 23 with “Kabbalah Today: On the Emergence of Magic and Practical Kabbalah in Contemporary Jewish Life.” He will be joined on the panel by professor Jody Myers, coordinator of California State University, Northridge’s Jewish Studies Program; and Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple.
Richard Popkin, an internationally renowned expert on Messianism and skepticism, will join Rabbi Seidler-Feller and Rabbi Yitzchok Alderstein, director of educational outreach at the Simon Weisenthal Center, on March 1 for “Moshiach Now: A Dialogue on Contemporary Jewish Messianic Thought.”
On March 15, Rabbi Abner Weiss of Beth Jacob Congregation and psychologists Doreen Seidler-Feller and J. Marvin Spiegelman will address “Kabbalah and Psychology: Using Spiritual Insights for Growth and Healing.”
The series wraps up March 29 with “Healing Hands, Healing Minds: Meditation, Spirituality and the Mind-Body Connection,” featuring Rabbi Mordecai Finley of Ohr HaTorah, Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man of Metivta, Rabbi Deborah Orenstein of Makom Ohr Shalom, and Katherine Brown-Saltzman of the UCLA Medical Center.
All classes are at UCLA Hillel, 900 Hilgard Ave., 7:30-9:45 p.m. Fees are $50 for the entire series (non-credit), $105 (credit). Single admission fee at the door is $18. For more information call UCLA Hillel at (310) 208-3081 or UCLA Extension at (310) 825-0500.
By Tom Tugend, Contributing Editor
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