White Dragon
October 4th, 2004, 10:41 PM
To devotees, it’s the path to spiritual fulfilment. To detractors, it’s a money-grabbing cult.
But to leaders of London’s Jewish community, the growing popularity of Kabbalah in the United Kingdom increasingly is an embarrassment.
The L.A.-based Kabbalah Centre — whose brand of coed mysticism has won celebrity devotees including Madonna, Britney Spears and Demi Moore — recently announced the launch of an after-school Kabbalah program next month for elementary-school children.
The center’s co-director told London’s Jewish News he was “very excited” about a Spirituality for Kids pilot plan in the United Kingdom, which he said would run for 10 weeks out of a non-Jewish primary school in Hertfordshire, just outside London.
JTA (http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Kabbalah+craze+goes+British&intcategoryid=5)
But to leaders of London’s Jewish community, the growing popularity of Kabbalah in the United Kingdom increasingly is an embarrassment.
The L.A.-based Kabbalah Centre — whose brand of coed mysticism has won celebrity devotees including Madonna, Britney Spears and Demi Moore — recently announced the launch of an after-school Kabbalah program next month for elementary-school children.
The center’s co-director told London’s Jewish News he was “very excited” about a Spirituality for Kids pilot plan in the United Kingdom, which he said would run for 10 weeks out of a non-Jewish primary school in Hertfordshire, just outside London.
JTA (http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Kabbalah+craze+goes+British&intcategoryid=5)