Kabbalah

Senior Rabbi Micah Greenstein spoke in at the final session of this year's Temple Israel University speaking series. He expounded on the philosophy of Kabbalah to an audience of about 60 at the Temple Israel in Germantown on March 19.
Rabbi Greenstein described Kabbalah as a serious Jewish tradition and not just new age fad. He criticized celebrities such as Madonna and Britney Spears, who have brought Kabbalah to the forefront of popular culture, for trivializing the complex religious practice.
The Kabbalah that features red strings and special bottled water was categorized as 'practical Kabbalah' by the Rabbi Greenstein, which is the type of Kabbalah that celebrities such as Madonna have popularized.
Madonna is such a strong believer that she even has quotes from the Kabbalist bible, known as the Zohan, which, in Yiddish, translates to "book of brilliance."
The reason certain celebrities have brought Kabbalah to the public eye was due to the media coverage.
The Rabbi explained the reason practical Kabbalah was all the rage was because it offered people something to believe in, but "did not require a serious religious commitment."
He elaborated on its superficiality and how it was a simplistic "self-help philosophy" which required no sacrifices and no judgments.
"This type of Kabbalah is just a supercharged way to do Jewish," he explained.
"Practical Kabbalah claims to know the secret inner nature of reality," he said.. "It yearns itself to people who want the theological equivalent of insider trading."
Rabbi Greenstein challenged the shallow philosophy of practical Kabbalah and defined true Kabbalah as something that requires intense commitment and faith to become one with God, and thus one with everything.
In the Jewish religion, there are two main books: the Torah and the Zohar. The Rabbi described the writings of the Torah as the "outer-shell of God's world."
Thus making the Zohar the inner core of God's world or the "mystical" part of the Jewish religion, where the world we consider reality is only the surface of God's infinite universe.
The Zohar asks Jewish followers to have faith in the sometimes incomprehensible aspects of Judaism.
Rabbi Greenstein delved into the depths of Kabbalah without putting anyone to sleep with amusing jokes and metaphors.
"What did the Kabbalist say to the hot dog vendor? Make me one with everything," he said jokingly, keeping the listener's attention.
He backed up his opinions with quotes from the Jewish bible as well as quotes from other Rabbis.
His approach was that of teacher rather than a preacher. He defined essential terms and explained multifactorial philosophies in an easily comprehend able and interesting manner.
Erin Delle, a sophomore psychology major at the University of Memphis, came with little knowledge and understanding of Kabbalah, and after listening to the Rabbi, left with a new perspective on Kabbalah and the Jewish religion as a whole.
"I'm not necessarily a religious person, but I am interested in spirituality, and this was an eye-opening speech,." she said.