Newsletter No. 511/8/2008

Dear Friends, By Divine Providence, we publish our 5th newsletter, at the beginning of the '5th month' - Menachem Av – and near the 5th of the month, the day of the Hilula in honor of the Ari, the greatest sixteenth-century teacher of Tzfat Kabbalah. According to the teachings of the Kabbalah, the number 5 refers to the most exalted revelations mentioned in the teachings of the Kabbalah, and is connected with the 5th and highest level of the soul known as 'Yechida', in which the essence of the soul is revealed. In fact, the great holiday of the Kabbalah, Lag Ba’omer, also takes place on the 5th day of the 5th week of the counting of the Omer. In this newsletter, you are invited to read 5 interesting articles: • about the publicity Tzfat Kabbalah gets in different media and press throughout the world • about the personality and writings of the Ramak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero), one of the greatest kabbalists of all times, who lived in Tzfat in the sixteenth century (in honor of his Hilula, which took place last month, on the 23rd of Tammuz) • about the exciting 'Kabbalah in the Community' activities held at a women’s prison and at a center for the blind • The meaning of the month of Av according to the Kabbalah • 'soul stories' – tales of moving spiritual experiences of people who visited our center Enjoyable reading, Eyal Riess And the staff of the International Center for Tzfat Kabbalah

Soul Stories No, the title does not refer to reincarnation, rebirth of the soul or revelations of spirits and angels (phenomena for which Tzfat is famous). These are special stories of people who have entered our center in recent weeks and experienced something good in their souls. All names used are fictitious. G of Los Angeles – G is about 75 years old, from California. He entered our office with a strange question: he wanted to know whether we knew his brother, who lives in Tzfat and whom he hadn't seen in over 30 years. Read more A Publicity Campaign One of the goals of the International Center for Tzfat Kabbalah is to raise awareness and interest in Tzfat Kabbalah around the world and to attract people from different places to visit our region to study and get a taste of Tzfat Kabbalah, and thus increase the tourist flow to the region. As a result of the center's activity in this field, numerous tourism and lifestyle journalists from all over the world have visited us in Tzfat in recent weeks and encountered a wealth of Kabbalah-related programs and attractions. Read more

’Kabbalah in the Community’ July Activities During the last month our organization conducted several special volunteer activities as part of the Kabbalah in the Community project, including a special activity in a women’s prison and experiential Kabbalah programs for groups of blind people. Kabbalah in a Women’s Prison We held a particularly moving Kabbalah program in the 'Naveh Tirza' prison for women in Ramla, at the invitation of the prison. Read more

Kabbalah Calendar The Month of AV - The Month of Love In the month of Av the spiritual process that begins in Tammuz, which we wrote about last month, reaches a climax. This is a process of revelation of the powers that enable a transformation from bad to good. Kabbalah explains that Av is the month in which the energy of love is felt strongly in all the levels of the soul. The points of connection between the months Tammuz and Av pass through the period of “the three weeks” Read more

Rabbi Moshe Cordovero One of the most important Kabbalists of all times Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, (The Ramak) was born in 1522. His place of birth is unknown, but his last name suggests that his family originated in the city of Cordova, Spain. He came to Tzfat at age 13, in 1535, and studied Talmud and Jewish Law with Rabbi Yosef Karo. The Ramak married the sister of the kabbalist poet, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, who wrote the song Lekha Dodi. At age 20 he began to study Kabbalah with his brother-in-law Read more

YPO International Group in Kabbalah lecture Kabbalah Seminar hike in nature Meyer's Academy of Palm Beach Touring Tzfat

Partnership 2000 ZHR region