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22093729? ago

Part 53 >

Mockery of Jewish Law and Tradition

Selections from Berg's Writings

Berg masquerades as an observant "orthodox rabbi." Anyone who observes his practices or reads his books, however, will discover an altogether different picture:

The very fact that he is suing a Jew, let alone an orthodox rabbi, in a secular court, instead of - at best - summoning him before a Bet Den (religious court) is one of the most serious offenses against Jewish law which is binding upon all religious Jews, states unequivocally:

"It is forbidden to submit a law-suit for adjudication before gentile judges and their courts of law even if the sentence will conform to Jewish law. This is prohibited even if both parties agree to submit the case before them. Whosoever submits a law-suit for adjudication before them is a rasha (totally wicked person) and is regarded as one who reviles, blasphemes, and rebels against the Torah of Moses our Teacher! GLOSS: The Bet Din is authorized to ban and excommunicate him until he will remove the authority of the gentiles from his fellow (Jew). One excommunication also anyone who supports the one who goes to the gentiles!" (Schulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, section 26, paragraph 1)

Following here are a few examples of Berg mocking and denying fundamental principles of traditional Judaism in his writings:

Berg writes in his tract called THE KABBALAH CONNECTION, p42:

"Like the scientists, the leaders of the three main streams of Judaism today are interpreting the body of the Torah according to their own Desires to Receive and the Desire to Receive embodied in their congregations. Unhappily, whereas the sages who presented commentaries on the Talmud, from Rashi and Rabbi Tam of the Tosafot and others worked and disagreed with one another in the spirit of pure science inspired by G-d and believing totally in what they wrote, the last century has seen a turning away from the sanctity of Halacha - away from pure science in favor of applied science which, in this case, means conforming more readily and easily to the mainstream of contemporary life. The reality of gufei Torah thus is lost, abandoned and forgotten. We no longer inquire, as did the sages of the Talmud, into the nature and structure of the "cables" of observance - the physical aspect of communication with the metaphysical plane. We have become, instead, obsessed with the need to tailor Judaism to fit as many Jews as possible".

In other words, the gospel according to Berg declares that there is no longer any valid Halacha. Halachic authorities in the last century are but professional "tailors" who cut, weave and sew to order, their Halachic pronouncements seeking to accommodate the desires and caprices of as many customers as possible.

In the same tract, p. 43:

"Judaism is not concerned with conforming to a strict religious way of life in which it is perceived that if one wants to be considered a Jew he has to perform certain ritual tasks. On the contrary, the goal is to connect to metaphysical forces through which we can fulfill our Desire to Receive The Torah, properly understood, can completely fulfill all our needs, and once that goal has been achieved, the barriers that have been created between Jews and non-Jews will collapse".

And on p. 44:

"The aspect of Law does not have its customary secular implication of conformity and sanction. The Halacha of binding of Tefillin each morning is not a rule laid down by the Torah to keep the Jewish people in line. It merely bears witness to the fact that for six days in every week, the Tefillin is in tune with the paths by which energy is flowing, and that if we want to use that energy, this is the means by which we can connect with it. Halacha, properly understood, is therefore descriptive rather than prescriptive. To say, that a particular deed or action is "Halachically incorrect" is not to say that one is doing wrong, is not an observant Jew or is not fitting into the mainstream of Judaism. We are merely making the observation that the particular action is question is not properly connecting with the energy pattern available to it."

Even the most ignorant Jew knows that the word mitzvah (pl. mitzvot) means commandment, thus a Divine edict and obligation. Halacha, regardless of the etymology of that word, means specifically Jewish LAW, in the plain sense of that term.

The Torah states very explicitly that the observance of Mitzvot goes with promises of rewards in the here-and-now or the hereafter, while the violation of mitzvot incurs punishment - ranging from purely spiritual penalties to fines, flogging, excommunication and capitol punishment. [See also further on, chapter VII.]

Berg, therefore, displays sheer ignorance, stupidity, an outrageous perversion of the facts, and a total distortion of the Torah. His nonsense of mitzvot being "descriptive" (suggesting that it is optional) rather than "prescriptive" (which means obligatory), is the typical claim of licentious renegades who seek, and wallow in, anti-nomianism (discarding the legitimacy and relevance of law). The Torah, and all of Jewish tradition, makes it very clear, beyond any shadows of doubt, that to act "Halachically incorrect" is indeed to "do wrong" - which requires (even on the unintentional level) an act of repentance.

There is not a single instance where the authorities mentioned talk in their cited commentaries about manipulating "energies" or connecting "cables." They would condemn this as idolatrous. The Halachic and Kabbalah authorities condemn most severely those who would use "practical Kabbalah" or seek to tap the supernal lights or energies. They state that people like that invariably become wicked and despicable heretics and will have a bitter end.

[For sources see: Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Pardes Rimonim XXVII:27; Rabbi Chaim Vital (citing Rabbi Isaac Luria), in Sha'ar Ru'ach HaKodesh, Tikun III, in Likutei Torah, section Shemot, and also in Sha'ar Hamitzvot, section Shemont. See also Rabbi Yehudah Hechassid, Sefer Chassidim, par. 204-5, and the commentaries there.]

Berg's indiscriminate and unqualified involvement with Kabbalah resulted in precisely all that these warnings predicted. Like the alchemists of old, who pursued the study of the Kabbalah and the occult sciences in order to produce gold to indulge their desires, and like all others who sought to master the Kabbalah for personal gain, Berg reduces the Torah and Jewish tradition into a manual of magic and astrology to manipulate Heavenly forces or energies to attain personal gratification or to avoid personal misfortune. Berg's "system" promises his followers that they can turn Almighty G-d into their private lacky, a genie in a bottle, to do their bidding. The Torah (Halacha), which Jewish tradition sees as the revelation of G-d's Will, G-d's commandments, G-d's prescription for the proper life, behavior and human self-discipline, are discarded by Berg as rabbinic myths, orthodox naiveté, a nefarious plot of ignorant religious fanatics to control the ignorant masses.

Se Part 54 >