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MYSTICAL. GIRL

on page 39

holy men can have transformative pow-
ers.
According to Rabbi Shaul
Youdkevitch, the director of the
Kabbalah Center in Israel, non-Jews
have taken part in Jewish practices
throughout the religion's history.
Indeed, he said, the main principles of
Kabbalah — human dignity and loving
one's neighbor as oneself — are universal
and speak especially to those who feel
alienated from their surroundings.

Post-Modern

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Unless water is provided soon, Sara, Miriam and young
people like them will not be able to call it home much longer.
Jewish National Fund has pledged to build 75 life-
sustaining reservoirs throughout Israel and the Negev,
so young families can continue calling Israel home for

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V

Boaz Huss, who lectures at Ben-Gurion
University's Jewish thought department,
is an expert on Kabbalah.
He said the Kabbalah Center repre-
sents "an innovative post-modern inter-
pretation of Kabbalah" and that the
interest in its teachings reflects a broader
trend of people searching alternative cul-
tures for spiritual answers.
According to Huss, Madonna is play-
ing a key role.
"The link is Madonna," he said. She is
"one of the most influential and signifi-
cant artists of the post-modern era. She
shapes and is still shaping a lot of our
culture and this integration" with
Kabbalah "is very interesting."
That Kabbalah centers also draw
many Israelis should not come as a sur-
prise, he said. "It is natural in Israel" that
Israelis "will go back to something
somehow connected to Jewish tradi-
tion," Huss said.
On the Tel Aviv boardwalk during the
Tashlich ceremony, boisterous dancing,
singing and clapping broke out among
the Kabbalah followers. Packed in tight,
concentric circles, the participants, many
of them Israeli, sang and danced around
a tallit held high in the air.
The singing stopped and the groups
suddenly started cheering in unison,
fluttering their hands in the air in what
one of the members says is an attempt
to direct positive energy.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to give
light for the rest of the entire year," said
Avraham Nissin, a 26-year-old university
student who has been involved in the
Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv for eight
years.
"Kabbalah is not just for Jews; it's light
and knowledge," he said.
Observing the scene of fervor and
prayer was Mazal Naor, a retired
accountant from Jerusalem who came to
Tel Aviv for Rosh Hashanah.
"I think it's great," Naor said. "It
unites everyone for peace. I don't know
who is Jewish, who is Christian or who
is Muslim here, and the unity is nice to
see."

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