The ad for Rabbi Joseph Gelberman's upcoming lecture promises that Jewish mysticism can reveal the secrets to happiness. Sorry, the rabbi says, but that's a bit misleading. Kabbalah, he insists, doesn't teach happiness. It teaches joy.
Happiness is outer-centered.
The New York rabbi will lecture about the Kabbalah on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28 in San Francisco for the Learning Annex and for the Sivananda Vedanta Yoga Center. Like tarot cards, they are used to gain insight into the present, past and future. Gelberman, who said he was born with psychic powers, considers them part of his Jewish heritage. The great Chassidic rabbis, that's what they did. In the world of mainstream Judaism, psychic readings seem way out there.