The Universal Kabbalah Communities (or UKC) is committed to helping create and/or support communities throughout the world that will provide a safe, loving environment for every human being who seeks to participate in the creation of a better world.
These communities are based upon the teachings of the great prophets of the Bible as well as upon the teachings of the Kabbalistic Sages that followed their vision.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is based on the Universal Truth that Love of the Creator is revealed when mankind displays that Love and respect to other human beings above and beyond ideology, race, religion, language or appearance. The mission of the Universal Kabbalah Communities is to empower individuals and communities to create a world of peace, love, joy, and harmony for humanity.
THE WISDOM
Traditional Teachings – The study of this global movement is based on the traditional tools of Kabbalah: The Bible, The Book of Formation (Sefer Yetsira), The Zohar (Book of Splendor), The Ari’s writings, Rav Ashlag’s writings, and many traditional Kabbalists whose teachings are also based on these main bodies of work.
Modern Teachings – UKC is open to researching and adopting some of the many modern methods and techniques that can support spiritual growth as long as those techniques align with traditional Kabbalistic teachings
MAIN PRINCIPLES
• Every human being is a spark of The Creator, therefore, a human soul is good by nature
• Love your fellowman as you love yourself
• No coercion in spirituality
• Every human being should be empowered and supported to be a creator in his personal life and in the movement
• Rituals and beliefs are subject only to the individual’s free choice and inner faith
FORM OF WORSHIP
• Our form of worship is based on the prayers, meditations and rituals as described in the writings of The Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria, a 16th Century Kabbalist from the city of Safed, Israel) and the subsequent teachers of Lurianic Kabbalah. However, every individual community may decide on the specific style and melodies on their own.
• These rituals are similar in scope and content to that of most Orthodox Sephardic congregations around the world.
OUR HISTORY
Kabbalah (in Hebrew) means “Wisdom that has been received”.
Adam
Kabbalah is the wisdom that explains the laws of the Universe, Life and God. Adam received this wisdom directly from God. Some traditions say that The Book of Raziel the Angel (Sefer Raziel HaMalakh) and others like it contain some of Adam’s wisdom.
Abraham the Patriarch
The wisdom was handed down through the generations from teacher to student until it reached Abraham the Patriarch. Abraham the Patriarch received revelations from The Creator that enhanced Adam’s wisdom. The Book of Formation (Sefer Yetsira) is the first great work of Kabbalistic writings in the history of Kabbalah. Abraham handed this Kabbalistic Wisdom to his son Isaac and to his grandson Jacob.
Moses
The line from Abraham continued until Moses, together with the whole nation of Israel, received (Kibel) the Torah from God on Mount Sinai. Moses handed down the wisdom to Joshua who handed it over to the Elders. The Judges received the wisdom from the Elders and the Prophets of the Bible received it from the Judges. The people of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset Gedola) received the wisdom from the Prophets and the Tannaim received it from the prophets. This lineage is described in the Mishnah in The Ethics of the Fathers.
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai
One of the Tannaim is considered by Kabbalists to be the author of the Zohar , the main work of Kabbalah. The Zohar contains the foundations of Kabbalistic faith, traditions and rituals. After writing the Zohar, the wisdom of Kabbalah and the Kabbalists went into hiding because of persecutions. From that point on the wisdom of Kabbalah was hidden and the bestowing of the Kabbalistic Ordination (Semikha) occurred “underground” until the 13th Century.
The Ari (Rav Isaac Luria)
The Ari was the greatest Kabbalist of the awakening of Kabbalah in the post middle ages (16th Century). The Ari left us his writings through his main student Rabbi Haim Vital. The Ari created and organized The Wisdom of Kabbalah for the modern era. He based it on all the previous ancient Kabbalistic texts, specifically The Zohar and showed how all previous teachings are parts of one inclusive highly organized cosmology. The system introduced by The Ari is called after him The Lurianic Kabbalah and is the foundation of modern theology of Sephardic Judaism and of The Hasidic Movement founded by The Baal Shem Tov (18th Century).
Rav Yehuda HaLevi Ashlag
Rav Ashlag was the greatest Kabbalist of the 20th Century. Rav Ashlag is responsible for the renaissance of Kabbalah in our modern time. A student and teacher of The Hasidic Movement, Rav Ashlag managed to create a new way of teaching that is a synthesis of the intellect of Lurianic Kabbalah with the heart of the Hasidic way. Rav Ashlag’s works connected the teachings of The Zohar and the writings of The Ari into one system and laid the foundation for the synthesis between Kabbalah, Modern Science and Modern Philosophy. Rav Ashlag was a great believer of Spiritual Socialism based on the humanistic principles of Kabbalah as a way to heal the miseries of humanity.
Universal Kabbalah Communities – Live Kabbalah
The Universal Kabbalah Communities has been established by students who feel the need to preserve the original teachings and to especially focus on the original vision of Rav Ashlag to combine the focus of the study of Kabbalah with the creation of spiritual communities. These communities will be centered on building a safe, loving, supporting environment that will promote, enhance and support the journey of the individual towards attaching to The Creator, which is the only purpose of The Creation. This can be done only in a free democratic and spiritual environment. Since no human is immune to mistakes and ‘Power corrupts…’, every Kabbalah Community must keep a democratic structure with a viable system of checks and balances as it used to be in Jewish communities for millennia.
- The Va’ad (Board) should be elected yearly by the paying members of the community.
- The Gabbai (Treasurer) will be also elected yearly by the paying members of the community.
- The Rabbi/s will be elected by the paying members of the community.
Rabbi Shaul Youdkevitch
Shaul Youdkevitch is a well known teacher of Kabbalah for people around the world since 1984. After teaching thousands of students and establishing Kabbalah based communities around the world he arrived to the need for an independent organization that will support Kabbalah students with study materials and guidance to establish communities based on Rabbi Ashlag’s teachings. The communities, according to Rav Ashlag and many Kabbalists need to be based on a democratic structure with checks and balances. Since this is an area that hasn’t been developed yet, Shaul established Universal Kabbalah Communities in early 2008 in order to support this much needed form of Kabbalah Communities.