Forget Havdalah, Here Comes Kabbalah

Kabbalah, the mystical branch of Jewish study with such followers as Britney Spears and Madonna, is coming to Harvard.

The Chabad House at Harvard, which aims to help Jewish students explore their heritage, will offer a 10-minute weekly Kabbalah class followed by 45 minutes of yoga starting Oct. 25.

Kabbalah, a course of study separate from the traditional study of Jewish law and customs, comes from texts written around the 13th century, according to Rabbi Meir Sendor, who was attending a conference at Hillel yesterday.

Kabbalah deals “not just in theology, which is the doctrine of the divine, but also in how to transform the conscience to become more aware of God, each other, ourselves and the true nature of reality,” Sendor said.

Kabbalah scholars need a background in Judaism, Sendor said, echoing many critics of Kabbalah as a popular trend.

“Kabbalah is a guide to the experience of divine reality. It is an experiential tradition—one rooted in the Jewish tradition. In order to understand Kabbalah authentically, you have to apprentice yourself to the whole faith,” Sendor said.

In fact, Kabbalah was traditionally open only to Jewish men over age 40 who had studied Jewish law.

But Kabbalah has recently cultivated a following of celebrities who have little in common with its traditional students.

Danny J. Popper ’06, a computer science concentrator eating dinner at Hillel yesterday, said that pop culture Kabbalah is “a New Age thing for Britney Spears and Madonna. I honestly doubt that it’s the real thing.”

Elkie Zarchi, who will lead the Harvard Chabad Kabbalah sessions, also pointed out the distinction between Madonna’s Kabbalah and the one she will teach.

“I imagine that Madonna could be doing plenty worse things with her time—and if studying Kabbalah is making her a better person, good for her,” Zarchi wrote in an e-mail. “But I don’t think the Kabbalah she refers to is the traditional Kabbalah—Jewish Mysticism in all its glory.”

Currier House resident Adam E. Strich ’07, a philosophy and near eastern languages and civilization concentrator, said the Harvard Chabad course will offer a more authentic alternative to the Kabbalah portrayed in the popular media.

If Kabbalah is taught in the appropriate way, Strich said, the Harvard Chabad course “can stop a lot of people from buying overpriced red string from Wal-Mart,” referring to the bendel bracelet commonly worn by celebrity Kabbalah followers.

Sendor said he understands the recent interest in Kabbalic study.

“People are simply looking for a passionate, transformative experience of deeper reality,” he said.