WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SPIRITUALITY?
At its heart, spirituality is about creating a sense of connectedness within an individual and between a person and his/her world — a necessary ingredient of our survival on both a personal and planetary level. It is a looking inward to fulfill our potential to achieve happiness, love, joy — all the things we really want out of life. It is a looking outward to foster positive connections with other individuals and with the greater community. It helps us to foresee the consequences of our actions and their impact on others and ourselves.

Spirituality is concerned with matters of the spirit — an awareness of something greater than oneself, something that goes beyond our five physical senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and sight). It is spirit that informs our perception of life, an understanding of who we are and why we are here.

Spirituality may include belief in a particular religion, but the emphasis is more on personal experience than "faith" in any supernal being or system. Most often, spirit is experienced as an overwhelming feeling of oneness with an unconditional love for all that exists. Spirituality itself is not a religion.

As Karen Berg, founder of KCA, has said, "Authentic spirituality has nothing to do with set rules or doctrine. When we are on a spiritual path, we are seeking to reconnect with Spirit — within another person, within a place, within life — outside of any particular faith. This Spirit has no name, no particular form."

In KCA, that spiritual power is what we call the LIGHT. The Light is a metaphor for the source of all good — endless happiness, joy, love, comfort, protection, and confidence.

KCA endeavors to build your child's self-esteem through an intimate, low teacher-to-student ratio, allowing for more individual attention and care. Experience has shown that allowing a student the room to grow is the key determinant in healthy child development. Our flexible format allows your child to reach his or her highest standards at a pace that is suitable to his or her unique needs.

history

The Kabbalah Children's Academy was founded on the teachings and principles of The Kabbalah Centre, which was established by Rav Ashlag in Jerusalem in 1922. The Centre's leadership was passed to Rav Ashlag's student, Rav Brandwein. Upon Rav Brandwein's passing in 1969, the position of Dean of The Kabbalah Centre was passed on to his student, Rav Berg.

Rav Berg was born in New York into a family descended from a long line of rabbis, and he was ordained at the renowned rabbinical seminary Torah VaDaat. Under his leadership, along with that of his wife, Karen, and two sons, Yehuda and Michael, The Kabbalah Centre has grown to the point at which it now encompasses more than 50 locations around the world.

Part of Rav and Karen Berg's dream was to create a school in which children would be guided by the ancient wisdom of Kabbalah. The Kabbalah Children's Academy first opened in Los Angeles in 1996. Their dream has now been realized, and the children are reaping the benefits.

message from founders

Karen Berg A few years back I started asking some different questions about education. Could our children learn more? Is preparing a child for a life based solely on academics? What do we want to teach our children about the world? Can integrity be taught at school? Resilience? Compassion? Responsibility? Can children learn from an early age to be part of a community and what would happen when they applied these lessons to their adult life? Can a school nurture dreams and prepare children for greatness? Parents in the community shared this type of thinking about their children's education. These questions led us to open The Kabbalah Children's Academy. From a few simple questions, KCA has grown into a unique academic environment, one where integrity and resilience are taught alongside math and science. Can a school educate the whole child — mind and body, character and spirit? Absolutely. Thank you for your desire to give your child an education that addresses all his/her needs. With sincere wishes for a spiritually fulfilling life for you and your children, and for the future of the world.

Rav Berg Heeding the words of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the Zohar (the main source of Kabbalistic wisdom), the little children of our time are going to make a vast difference in the future of humanity. This is because at no other time in history have our young been exposed to the wonderful wellspring and fountain of the most wondrous of all studies, Kabbalah. Today, unlike any prior generation, we can look towards a future which will include the wonderful possibilities for the removal of chaos, pain, and suffering.