THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

eincarnation. I confirmed this in dialog with several Kabbalist students, who remained
strangely undisturbed by this lack of support.] However, _Post_ columnist Amotz Asa-El's
denial that reincarnation ever entered mainstream Judaism is clearly wishful thinking,
considering the stature of the rabbi which prompted his commentary. And contrary to claims
that only Sephardic (oriental) Judaism is prone to accepting Eastern influences, Chabad of
California publishes a well-written and attractive magazine circulated worldwide among
nonreligious Jews, and features articles which credit Kabbalah with the Hindu doctrine that
"in future incarnations, we can fall to the vegetational life of trees or even the inanimate life
of stones." ("Does a Stone Have a Soul?", by Laibl Wolf, _Farbringen_, Spring 1999)
4c. Why NA Loves Kabbalah: NA spokesmen applaud Jewish teachers for recently releasing
Kabbalah from the restricted access imposed on it by past generations of Jewish sages, for
making its teachings available to all (Jewish and non-Jewish alike), and especially for
encouraging free exploration without rabbinic supervision. Even orthodox Jewish teachers of
Kabbalah are hailed by NA as partners who are furthering the Plan. Whether they are
deliberate or unwitting partners, it is anticipated that the results will be the same. Why?
Because the freedom surrounding Kabbalah today has created an unguarded passageway
between NA and Judaism, discarding the last shreds of orthodox Jewish discipline and Torah
framework, and allowing the introduction of "new" guides who do not need Jewish
community approval. Kabbalistic teachers can now include outright NA disciples, identifiable
by their lack of concern for a Jewish frame of reference; the spiritism (contact with
disembodied spirits) in Kabbalah is sufficient for achieving their goal of getting as many
people as possible, as quickly as possible, into the spirit realm where the "Ascended Masters
of the Hierarchy" await. The ultimate NA goal is to gain full control of Kabbalah in the
Jewish community, taking it through successive "transformations" until it is finally severed
from all links with the Torah, thus "recovering" its "purity". The many Jews who are
captivated by Kabbalah [and who, like my above-mentioned friends, are not bothered by the
absence of Torah links] will be led away from Torah with ease.
While in the past most Jews hotly contested the idea that Kabbalah had any kinship with New
Age, some Jews are now promoting the idea that Jewish Kabbalah really does affirm NA
teaching [which would imply either a gross ignorance of NA teaching and/or Kabbalah, or a
knowledge of their commonality which escapes the average Jew]. This view is reflected in a
book published in April 2000 by a Jewish company; its author actually proposes that Judaism
take the credit for today's NA teaching: "Many people will be surprised to find that Judaism is
fundamentally aligned with what we think of as the New Age. Many of the things we
associate with the New Age are not new but are part of Kaballah." (cover text, _New Age
Judaism_, published by Simcha Press). The only kind of "Judaism" which could
"fundamentally" agree with NA is the Renewal kind, and predictably, both author and
publisher turn up elsewhere in Schachter's Jewish Renewal orbit.
[This would be a good place to demonstrate how a concerned researcher can use the network
effect to uncover hidden NA foundations. This book with its full title, _New Age Judaism -
Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World_, has a seemingly positive goal: to show that Judaism
already possesses what New Age religion offers, therefore Jews need not leave Judaism.
However, the first thing we note is that it was written by Jewish Renewal teacher Melinda
Ribler. Although her mentor, the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, recommends her as someone
"who never forgets there is one God", and although she claims the endorsement of unnamed
"prominent Orthodox rabbis", Ribler is on the faculty of the very unorthodox Elat Chayyim
Center, whose curriculum clearly rejects any "one God" idea - except in the sense that He/It is
everything. We also find Ribler's book promoted by the similarly eclectic Metivta Center.